Scope: Reduction of Samar Municipalities
- Section 1 reduces the forty-three municipalities of the Province of Samar to twenty-five municipalities.
- The Act reorganizes municipal boundaries and identifies the seat of the municipal government for designated municipalities created or reconfigured under Section 1.
- Several municipalities are directed to preserve their present boundaries under Section 1.
Municipal Boundaries and Seats
- Catbalogan consists of its present territory and those of Jiabong and Tarangnan, including their barrios and adjacent islands, except the barrios of Tarangnan known as Bangon, Pagsanhan, San Luis, Pagui, and Caloniogan; its seat is at the present municipality of Catbalogan.
- Gandara consists of its present territory and the barrios Bangon, Pagsanhan, San Luis, Pagui, and Caloniogan, now in the municipality of Tarangnan; its seat is at the present municipality of Gandara.
- Paranas consists of its present territory and those of Motiong and San Sebastian; its seat is at the present municipality of Paranas, under the denomination “municipality of Wright.”
- Calbayog consists of its present territory and those of Santa Rita and Weyler; its seat is at the present municipality of Calbayog.
- Municipalities that preserve present boundaries under Section 1 include: Santo Niño, Almagro, Oquendo, Capul, Lavezares, Pambujan, Lao-ang, Catubig, Palapag, Oras, Borongan, Balangiga, and Zumarraga (with additional boundary inclusion stated for Zumarraga below).
- La Granja consists of its present territory and that of San Antonio; its seat is at the present municipality of La Granja, under the denomination “municipality of Allen.”
- Catarman consists of its present territory and those of Bobon and Mondragon; its seat is at the present municipality of Catarman.
- Tubig consists of its present territory and those of Parie, Sulat, and San Julian; its seat is at the present municipality of Tubig, under the denomination “municipality of Taft.”
- Lanang consists of its present territory and that of Hernani; its seat is at the present municipality of Lanang, under the denomination “municipality of Llorente.”
- Guiuan consists of its present territory and those of Mercedes and Salcedo; its seat is at the present municipality of Guiuan.
- Basey consists of its present territory and that part of the present municipality of Santa Rita which is on the left bank of the Silanga River; its seat is at the present municipality of Basey.
- Villarreal consists of its present territory except the barrio of Iquiran, together with that part of the present municipality of Santa Rita which is on the right bank of the Silanga River; its seat is at the present municipality of Villarreal.
- Calbiga consists of its present territory and that of Pinabacdao; its seat is at the present municipality of Calbiga.
- Zumarraga consists of its present territory, together with the barrio of Iquiran in the present municipality of Villarreal; its seat is at the present municipality of Zumarraga.
Municipal Elections and Transition of Officials
- Section 2 requires that municipal elections in each of the new municipalities created in enumerated paragraphs of Section 1 be held under the rules of Act Numbered Seven hundred and thirty, as amended by Act Numbered Nine hundred and twenty-eight.
- Elections must be held in the new municipalities created in paragraphs one, two, three, four, eight, eleven, seventeen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, and twenty-five of Section 1.
- After the new municipal officials are elected and qualified, Section 2 orders that the present organization of each of the municipalities mentioned in Section 1, except those described in paragraphs five, six, seven, nine, ten, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, and eighteen, be abolished.
- Section 2 provides that once abolished, all offices held by virtue of the present organization become vacant and abolished, and present municipal officials cease to hold office as soon as the new officials take the oath of office.
- Section 2 provides that until the officials elected for the new municipalities have qualified, the present organization of the existing municipalities continues.
Expedited Passage
- Section 3 declares that the public good requiring speedy enactment of the bill justifies expediting its passage.
- Section 3 directs expediting in accordance with section two of “An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws,” passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.
Effect of the Act
- Section 4 provides that Act No. 960 takes effect on its passage.
- The legal transition of offices and the holding of elections are governed by Section 2, operating after the Act’s effectivity under Section 4.