Metropolitan Water District Creation Act

District’s corporate powers and functions

Section 2 grants the Metropolitan Water District continuous succession under its corporate name until otherwise provided by law.
Section 2 authorizes the District to prescribe its by-laws, adopt and use a seal and alter it at its pleasure, and to sue and be sued in any court.
Section 2 authorizes the District to construct, maintain, and operate waterworks (including mains, pipes, water reservoirs, machinery, and other waterworks) for supplying water for domestic and other purposes, including to purify the source of supply, regulate control and use, prevent waste of water, and fix and provide for collections of rents for water service.
Section 2 authorizes the District to construct, maintain, and operate sanitary sewers necessary for proper sanitation and to charge and collect equitable and just sums for construction and rates for sewer service.
Section 2 authorizes the District to construct storm-drains needed in the city of Manila and requested by the city, and to maintain and operate existing drains, with the city of Manila appropriating sufficient funds for this purpose.
Section 2 authorizes the District to construct, maintain, and operate electric power and light system for the Government if advantageous, to utilize water power of the Angat River, to fix rents and collect dues deemed just and proper, and to sell surplus power.
Section 2 authorizes the District to acquire, purchase, hold, transfer, sell, lease, rent, mortgage, encumber, and otherwise dispose of real and personal property (including rights and franchises) within or without the District, when authorized by the District’s purpose and reasonably and necessarily required for lawful business, unless otherwise provided in the Act.
Section 2 grants the District authority to construct works across or otherwise over any stream, watercourse, canal, ditch, flume, street, avenue, highway, or railway as required by location, provided the works are constructed to afford security for life and property and the affected way is restored to its former state as near as may be or in a manner that does not unnecessarily impair usefulness.
Section 2 requires that any person or entity whose right of way is crossed or intersected must not obstruct the forming of crossings/intersections and must grant proper authority for execution of the work.
Section 2 grants the District a right of way to locate, construct, and maintain works over and through lands now or later owned by the Government of the Philippine Islands or its branches and political subdivisions.
Section 2 authorizes the District to exercise eminent domain for the District’s purposes, following the condemnation proceedings by the Insular, provincial, and municipal governments as provided by law.
Section 2 authorizes the District to enact sanitary protection regulations for the watershed and reservoirs and water mains, and for proper operation of sanitary sewers, subject to approval of the Philippine Health Service, and to enact regulations for protection of water and sewer service and light service (as established), and to fix penalties for violations of such regulations not exceeding PHP 200 per violation or six months imprisonment, or both, at the discretion of the court.
Section 2 authorizes the District, when essential for proper administration and business purposes or to carry out its organization purposes, to contract indebtedness and issue bonds, subject to approval of the Secretary of Finance; it limits bonded indebtedness of all classes to PHP 12,000,000 at any time, in addition to the bonds mentioned in Section 8, and subjects issuance to conditions in Section 5.
Section 2 grants the District general authority to do acts and carry out business reasonably necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was organized.

District Board and governance structure

Section 3 vests corporate powers in a Board that manages business and preserves property, unless otherwise provided by law.
Section 3 sets the Board composition as: the Mayor of the City of Manila (as president of the Board), the president of the Municipal Board of Manila, the governor of the Province of Rizal, the Director of Public Works, and three taxpayers of the district appointed by the Governor-General with the consent of the Senate.
Section 3 requires the District Board to render reports to the Secretary of the Interior under Sections 574 to 577, inclusive, of Act No. 2711.
Section 4 requires the Board president to set the time and place for the first meeting immediately after appointment, and to ensure adoption of rules of procedure and regular meeting schedules.
Section 4 fixes quorum at not less than five members for transacting business.
Section 4 requires four affirmative votes for adopting any resolution or motion, except as otherwise provided in the Act.

Meetings, compensation, and officers

Section 4 grants ex-officio members necessary meeting expenses while attending Board meetings not exceeding PHP 5 per day, with no other compensation as District Board members.
Section 4 grants other members PHP 20 per day for each Board meeting actually attended, in lieu of all expenses.
Section 4 authorizes the Board to appoint a secretary and fix the secretary’s salary.
Section 6 requires the District’s affairs and current business to be conducted under the District Board’s direction by a manager, an assistant manager, and such additional officers and employees as the Board provides.
Section 6 limits officers’ and employees’ duties and powers to those defined and prescribed by the District Board, so long as they are not inconsistent with the Act.
Section 6 provides that the Manager and Assistant Manager are appointed by the Governor-General with the consent of the Senate, and may be removed for cause by the Governor-General.

Manager and Assistant Manager roles

Section 7 fixes the Manager’s annual salary at an amount not exceeding PHP 12,000, as fixed by the District Board.
Section 7 requires the Manager to represent the District in all business matters and to submit annual reports and such partial reports as the Manager is required to render or chooses to render to the Board regarding the business condition of the District or any part.
Section 7 authorizes the Manager to perform other executive duties prescribed by law or required by Board resolution.
Section 7 fixes the Assistant Manager’s annual salary at an amount not exceeding PHP 7,500, as fixed by the District Board.
Section 7 requires the Assistant Manager to perform duties required by the Board or the Manager, and provides that the Assistant Manager shall be manager in case of temporary absence or disability of the Manager.

Indebtedness, bonds, sinking fund, guaranty

Section 5 requires that when the District Board deems it necessary to incur indebtedness or issue bonds, it must pass a resolution declaring the purpose and stating the bond conditions.
Section 5 requires the indebtedness/bonds resolution to be passed by at least five members of the District Board and approved by the Secretary of Finance for validity.
Section 5 mandates that bonds are not sold at less than par.
Section 5 provides that bonds are redeemable at the pleasure of the District Board after ten years from the date of issue and payable thirty years after the date of issue.
Section 5 provides that bonds bear interest at an annual rate determined by the Secretary of Finance, payable quarterly, with principal and interest payable in gold coin or its equivalent, in the Secretary of Finance’s discretion, either in Manila (if sold in the Philippine Islands) or in the United States Treasury (if sold in the United States).
Section 5 requires bonds to be in registered form and transferable at the office of the Insular Treasurer in Manila or at the Registry Office of the Department of the Treasury of the United States, Washington, District of Columbia.
Section 5 authorizes issuance in accordance with Acts of Congress approved February 6, 1905 and July 1, 1902, and declares the bonds exempt from payment of all taxation by the Government of the United States, the Government of the Philippine Islands, or any authority, branch, division, or political subdivision thereof; this exemption must be stated on the face of the bonds.
Section 5 requires a sinking fund with, at each annual due date, a total equal to the total of an annuity of PHP 19,371.33 for each PHP 1,000,000 of bonds outstanding, with interest at 3.5% per annum.
Section 5 places custody of sinking funds with the Insular Treasurer, who must invest them subject to approval of the District Board and the Secretary of Finance.
Section 5 establishes that the Government of the Philippine Islands guarantees payment of both principal and interest, and will pay if the District fails.
Section 5 appropriates sums from the general funds in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated to make the guaranteed payments.
Section 5 requires refund to the Government by the Metropolitan Water District; if not refunded within 30 days after payment, the Collector of Internal Revenue (with respect to the City of Manila) and the provincial treasurer of Rizal (with respect to municipalities comprising the rest of the District) must retain, from their revenues in their possession, sums necessary to refund the government payment in any proportion the Insular Auditor approves to ensure collection.

Transfer of Manila water and sewer system

Section 8 authorizes and directs the District Board to receive and assume on behalf of the Metropolitan Water District all assets and liabilities of the city of Manila sewerage and waterworks system, including sewerage and waterworks bond sinking funds, and the city’s indebtedness for the present system.
Section 8 requires the District Board, in turn, to pledge those acquired assets as security for payment of the acquired sewerage and waterworks bonded debt.
Section 8 establishes Government guaranty for payment of both principal and interest on those bonds, and requires the District Board to create a sinking fund in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as in Section 5, and to use appropriated sums under Section 5 for their payment.

Ownership and uniform rates

Section 9 requires the Metropolitan Water District to own and control all sewer and water distributing systems of the city of Manila and municipalities comprising the District.
Section 9 mandates the District to charge and collect a uniform rate for services rendered, whether to persons, corporations, firms, governmental bodies, municipal entities, or religious or charitable institutions.

Legislative reserved powers, repeal, effectivity

Section 10 provides that the Act may be amended or repealed at any date by legislative authority, and that the Metropolitan Water District may be reorganized or dissolved by legislative provision.
Section 11 repeals all Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent with the Act.
Section 12 provides that the Act takes effect on its approval.
The Act is approved March 6, 1919.