City liability for enforcement failures
- The city is not liable for damages or injuries arising from the failure of the municipal board, mayor, or other city officers or employees to enforce the Charter or any other law or ordinance, or from negligence while enforcing or attempting to enforce them (Section 5).
- An aggrieved party may still file a personal action in the proper court against the official or employee for any act or omission in the performance of duties (Section 5).
Police jurisdiction and water-purity coverage
- The City of Bago’s police jurisdiction for police purposes is co-extensive with its territorial jurisdiction (Section 6).
- For protecting and ensuring the purity of the water supply, police jurisdiction extends to:
- all territory within the drainage area of the city water supply, or
- within one hundred meters of any reservoir, conduit, canal, aqueduct, or pumping station used in connection with the city water service (Section 6).
- The city court has concurrent jurisdiction with the justice of the peace court of the respective municipalities to try crimes and misdemeanors committed within the drainage area or within the 100-meter spaces (Section 6).
- The court first taking jurisdiction retains exclusive jurisdiction thereafter (Section 6).
- The police force of concerned municipalities has concurrent jurisdiction with the city police force for maintaining good order and enforcing ordinances throughout the covered zones and spaces (Section 6).
- Any license issued within covered zones/areas/spaces must be granted by the proper municipal authorities, and the fees accrue to the municipal treasury, not the city (Section 6).
Mayor, vice-mayor, and executive duties
- The mayor is elected at large by qualified voters of the city (Section 7).
- The mayor must be at least thirty years of age, a city resident at least one year prior to election, and a qualified voter (Section 7).
- The first election for mayor covers the officials next following the approval of the Act (Section 7).
- The mayor serves four years unless removed for just cause with due process of law (Section 7).
- The mayor’s salary is not exceeding PHP 5,400 per annum (Section 7).
- With the approval of the President of the Philippines, the mayor may receive a noncummutable allowance not exceeding PHP 2,000 per annum in addition to salary (Section 7).
- A vice-mayor performs the mayor’s duties in sickness, absence, or temporary incapacity; in a definite vacancy until filled; and presides over municipal board meetings but votes only in case of tie (Section 8).
- If the vice-mayor is temporarily incapacitated or the vice-mayor office is vacant, the duties are performed by the councilor who received the highest number of votes in the last election; the acting mayor has the same powers and duties (Section 8).
- The vice-mayor is elected the same manner as the mayor, with the same qualifications, and receives compensation equivalent to the mayor’s salary during service as acting mayor (Section 8).
- The mayor exercises executive and administrative control over city departments, subject to authority and supervision of the President, unless otherwise provided by law (Section 9).
- The mayor must:
- enforce the Charter and other laws and ordinances in the city (Section 9);
- safeguard city lands, buildings, records, moneys, credits, properties, and rights (Section 9);
- ensure collection of city taxes and revenues and proper application to appropriations for municipal expenses (Section 9);
- institute and defend judicial proceedings to recover and protect city interests (Section 9);
- examine books, records, and papers of officers, agents, and employees under executive supervision and control at least twice a year and whenever occasion arises (Section 9);
- inform and recommend measures to the board (Section 9);
- represent the city and sign bonds, contracts, and obligations made according to law and ordinances (Section 9);
- submit a budget of receipts and expenditures at least two months before the start of the fiscal year (Section 9);
- receive, hear, and decide petitions, complaints, and claims on municipal administrative or executive matters (Section 9);
- grant or refuse municipal licenses/permits, and revoke them for violation of conditions, for acts prohibited by law/ordinance done under protection of such licenses, or for other good reasons or general interest (Section 9);
- exempt, with concurrence of the division superintendent of schools, deserving poor pupils from school fees (or part thereof) (Section 9);
- take emergency measures to avoid fires and floods and mitigate storms and other public calamities (Section 9);
- submit an annual report to the President of the Philippines (Section 9);
- perform other executive duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance (Section 9).
- The mayor appoints one secretary who holds office at the mayor’s pleasure; compensation is fixed by ordinance approved by the President, at not exceeding PHP 300 per annum (Section 10).
Secretary records, seals, and fees
- The mayor’s secretary has custody of city and departmental records and documents where not otherwise provided (Section 10).
- The secretary keeps the corporate seal and affixes it with the mayor’s signature to ordinances and resolutions signed by the mayor and to other required official documents (Section 10).
- The secretary furnishes certified copies of non-confidential city records and documents upon request and charges PHP 0.20 for each one hundred words, with fees paid directly to the city treasurer (Section 10).
- The secretary performs other duties required by the mayor (Section 10).
Municipal board composition and operations
- The municipal board is the legislative body of the city (Section 11).
- It is composed of the vice-mayor (presiding officer) and eight councilors elected at large by popular vote during the regular election for provincial and municipal officials in conformity with the Revised Election Code (Section 11).
- The presiding officer votes only in case of tie (Section 11).
- For sickness, absence, suspension, temporary disability, or to maintain quorum, the President of the Philippines may appoint a temporary substitute from the same political party, who has all member rights and duties until return (Section 11).
- If a municipal board member is a candidate in an election, the member is disqualified to act with the board on election matters; other members discharge election duties, or they may choose a disinterested elector to act (Section 11).
- Municipal board members receive a per diem fixed by ordinance, not exceeding PHP 20 per day of session attendance; the presiding officer receives PHP 30 per day (Section 11).
- Board members must be qualified electors, city residents for at least one year immediately prior, and at least twenty-three years of age at election (Section 12).
- Elections for board members coincide with the regular election for provincial and municipal offices; elected members assume office on January 1 next following election after qualifying; they serve four years until successors are elected and qualified (Section 12).
- The eight candidates with the greatest number of votes are declared elected (Section 12).
- Suspension and removal of board members follow the same circumstances, manner, and effect as for elective provincial officers; applicable statutory provisions on suspension/removal are made applicable (Section 12).
- Vacancies are filled under the Revised Election Code (Section 12).
- The municipal board chooses its own secretary serving for the term; compensation is fixed by ordinance approved by the President, not exceeding PHP 1,920 per annum (Section 13).
- The board secretary keeps records of proceedings, files documents, records ordinances and resolutions/motions directing payment or creating liability with dates of passage and publication, and keeps a seal with the inscription "Municipal Board - City of Bago" (Section 13).
- Each ordinance must be published as required by the Charter; upon request, the secretary furnishes copies of public character records under the seal and charges PHP 0.20 for each one hundred words, payable directly to the city treasurer (Section 13).
- The board secretary keeps office and non-confidential records open to public inspection during usual business hours (Section 13).
Sessions, quorum, and ordinance approval
- Unless the President orders otherwise, the board holds one ordinary session each week on a day fixed by resolution, and extraordinary sessions called by the mayor, not exceeding 30 days during any one year (Section 14).
- The board sits with open doors unless otherwise ordered by an affirmative vote of five members (Section 14).
- The board determines its rule of procedure not set forth in the Charter (Section 14).
- Five members constitute a quorum; a smaller number may adjourn day to day and compel attendance of absent members by ordering city police arrest and production under penalties previously prescribed by ordinance (Section 14).
- Passage requires five affirmative votes for:
- ordinances, and
- resolutions or motions directing payment of money or creating liability (Section 14).
- Other measures prevail by the majority votes of members present at a duly called meeting (Section 14).
- Ayes and nays are recorded on passage of ordinances, resolutions/motions directing payment or creating liability, and upon request of any member on other resolutions/motions (Section 14).
- Approved ordinances/resolutions/motions are sealed, signed by the presiding officer and secretary, recorded in a book, and posted by the secretary at the main entrance of city hall on the day following passage (Section 14).
- Ordinances/resolutions/motions take effect and are in force on and after the 10th day following passage, unless otherwise stated, or if vetoed by the mayor (Section 14).
- A vetoed ordinance, if repassed, takes effect 10 days after the veto is overridden by the required votes unless otherwise stated or again disapproved within the allowed period by the mayor (Section 14).
- Each ordinance and resolution/motion directing payment or creating liability is forwarded to the mayor for approval (Section 14).
- The mayor must return the forwarded measure with approval or veto within 10 days of receipt; non-return within that period is deemed approval (Section 14).
- If vetoed, the mayor’s written reasons accompany the veto (Section 14).
- The board may enact again to override the veto by the affirmative votes of seven members; the ordinance/resolution then becomes finally approved (Section 14).
- The mayor may veto particular items of an appropriation ordinance or items of an ordinance/resolution/motion directing payment or creating liability without affecting non-objected items (Section 14).
- Objected item(s) do not take effect except as provided for vetoed items returned with veto; if items in an appropriation ordinance are disapproved, the corresponding items in the previous year’s appropriation ordinance are deemed reenacted unless expressly provided otherwise in the veto (Section 14).
Legislative powers: taxes, ordinances, regulation
- The municipal board has legislative powers except as otherwise provided by law and within conditions and limitations (Section 15).
- The board may:
- levy and collect taxes for general and special purposes in accordance with law, including real property tax not to exceed 2% ad valorem (Section 15);
- make appropriations for city government expenses (Section 15);
- fix, with approval of the department head, number and salaries of city officials/employees not otherwise provided in the Act (Section 15);
- authorize free distribution of medicines to city employees/laborers with salary or wage not exceeding PHP 60 per month or PHP 2.50 per day, and distribute native milk to indigent mothers and bread and light meals to indigent children ten years or less, under direct supervision/control of the mayor (Section 15);
- fix the tariff of fees and charges for services rendered by the city or its departments (Section 15);
- provide for erection/maintenance or rental of necessary buildings for city use (Section 15);
- establish and maintain schools as provided by law and, with approval of the Director of Public Schools, fix reasonable tuition fees (Section 15);
- establish or aid vocational schools and institutions of higher learning conducted by the national government or its subdivisions/agencies; with approval of the Director of Public Schools, fix reasonable tuition fees for vocational and higher institutions supported by the city (Section 15);
- provide for and maintain an efficient police force and enact necessary police ordinances for confinement and reformation of vagrants, disorderly persons, mendicants, prostitutes, and persons convicted for ordinance violations (Section 15);
- provide for an efficient fire force, maintain engine houses, fire engines, hose trucks, hooks and ladders, and regulate their management and use (Section 15);
- establish fire zones, regulate types of buildings/structures, regulate construction/repair, and fix permit fees for construction, repair, or demolition (Section 15);
- regulate lights in stables/shops/other buildings and restrict permits for bonfires and pyrotechnic displays (firecrackers, skyrockets, other pyrotechnics), and fix permit fees (Section 15);
- enact regulations to protect the public from conflagration and prevent/mitigate famine, floods, storms, and other public calamities and provide relief (Section 15);
- regulate and fix license fees for a detailed list of businesses and establishments (including hawkers/peddlers/hucksters within specified limits; auctioneers; plumbers; barbers; collecting/mercantile/advertising agencies; beauty parlors; massage parlors; tattooers; jugglers/acrobats; hotels/clubs/restaurants/cafes; lodging/boarding houses; livery garages/stables; dealers in large cattle; public billiard tables; laundries; cleaning and dyeing; public warehouses; circuses/parades; public vehicles; race tracks; bowling alleys; shooting galleries; merry-go-rounds; pawnshops; dealers in second-hand merchandise; junk dealers; brewers/distillers/rectifiers; money changers and brokers; public ferries; theatres and theatrical performances; places of amusement; keeping/preparation/sale of various meat and provisions) (Section 15);
- tax and fix license fees for retail dealers of automobiles/accessories and for specified retail dealers of other merchandise not yet subject to municipal tax, classifying them by exclusive sale categories including textiles, hardwares, groceries (with an exception for perfumery), drugs (including medicines and perfumeries), books/stationery/paper/office supplies, jewelry, slippers, and arms/ammunitions/sporting goods (Section 15);
- tax, fix license fees for, regulate business, and fix locations of match factories, blacksmith shops, foundries, steam boilers, lumberyards, shipyards, storage and sale of gunpowder and specified combustible/explosive materials and related products, and other establishments endangering public safety; regulate tanneries, renderies, tallow chandleries, embalmers, funeral parlors, bone factories, and soap factories subject to health-service rules (Section 15);
- regulate steam engines/boilers and other motive powers other than marine steam engines/boilers not belonging to the Government of the Philippines; provide inspection and fix license fees for engineers operating them (Section 15);
- enact ordinances for maintenance and preservation of peace and good morals (Section 15);
- regulate and fix license fees for keeping of dogs; authorize impounding and destruction when running at large contrary to ordinances; tax and regulate keeping/training fighting cocks (Section 15);
- establish municipal pounds; regulate restrain and prohibit domestic animals running at large; provide distraining, impounding and sale for penalty incurred by owners for violations (Section 15);
- prohibit cruelty to animals and provide punishment (Section 15);
- regulate weighing and measuring of bricks, lumber, coal, and other merchandise (Section 15);
- regulate and fix location and license fees for night clubs, dancing schools, dancing halls, cabarets, cockpits and other amusement places (Section 15);
- lay out, construct, improve, and manage wharves, piers, parks, cemeteries, and other public places; provide lighting/cleaning/sprinkling of streets and public places; regulate and fix license fees and prohibit use of them for processions, signs, banners, placards, advertisements, hand bills, and flying of signs/flags/banners; prohibit placing/throwing/depositing/leaving obstacles, offal, garbage, refuse, offensive or damaging matter in streets/public places, and provide for collection and disposition; inspect, fix license fees, and regulate openings for gas/water/sewer and other pipes, building/repair tunnels/sewers/drains, erecting poles and stringing wires; provide for and regulate crosswalks, curbs and gutters; name streets and regulate numbering of houses and lots; regulate traffic and sale upon streets/public places; abate nuisances and punish author/owners; construct/maintain and regulate bridges, viaducts, culverts; prohibit/regulate ball playing, kite flying, hoop rolling, and other amusements that annoy users or frighten horses/animals; regulate speed of horses/animals/motor vehicles/cars/locomotives within city limits; regulate locating/constructing/laying tracks of electric and other railroads in streets/public places as authorized by law; change location/grade/crossings of railroads and require raising/lowering to conform; require railroad companies to fence property and construct/repair ditches, drains, sewers, culverts along and under tracks to avoid obstructing natural drainage (Section 15);
- construct/maintain and regulate navigation on canals and water courses within the city and clear/purify them; regulate public landing places, wharves, piers, docks and levees including those of private ownership; regulate drainage and filling of private premises when necessary for sanitary enforcement (Section 15);
- subject to the Public Service Law, fix charges paid by water craft landing at or using public wharves/docks/levees/landing places owned/operated/managed/controlled by the city (Section 15);
- maintain waterworks for supplying water; purify source and passages; regulate consumption/use; fix rents subject to Public Service Law; regulate construction/repair/use of hydrants, pumps, cisterns, and reservoirs (Section 15);
- establish, maintain, and regulate public drains, sewers, latrines, and cesspools (Section 15);
- subject to health-service rules, establish/maintain/regulate public stables, laundries and baths, and fix fees; prohibit establishment/operation of public markets within city limits by persons/entities/associations/corporations other than the city (Section 15);
- establish/authorize slaughterhouses; provide for veterinary/sanitary inspection; regulate use and charge reasonable slaughter fees; no veterinary/sanitary inspection fees are charged for meat from large cattle or domestic animals slaughtered outside the city when inspection was done where slaughter occurred (Section 15);
- prevent discrimination/exclusion of any race in or from public institutions/services within city limits (Section 15);
- regulate inspection of gas/electric/telephone/street railway conduits, mains, motors, and apparatus; condemn/substitute/remove defective or dangerous equipment (Section 15);
- declare, prevent, and abate nuisances; regulate ringing of bells and loud/unusual noises; require owners/agents/tenants to keep buildings/premises sanitary; if not corrected within 60 days from written notice, the city health officer causes sanitary cleaning and charges cost not exceeding 60% of assessed value as a lien against the property; regulate/prohibit/fix license fees for use of property on/near public ways/grounds/places (or elsewhere in the city) for electric signs and for billboards or structures displaying posters/signs or pictorial/reading matter, except signs displayed at the place where the profession/business advertised is wholly or partly conducted (Section 15);
- enforce health-service rules and, by ordinance, prescribe penalties for violations (Section 15);
- extend ordinances over all water within the city, over any boat/floating structures thereon, and for water purity over drainage area and within 100 meters of covered facilities (Section 15);
- tax, fix license fees for, regulate sale/trading/disposal of alcoholic or malt beverages, wines and mixed/fermented liquors including tuba, basi, tapuy, offered for retail sale (Section 15);
- regulate any other business/occupation not specifically mentioned and impose a license fee on persons engaged in it or who enjoy privileges in the city (Section 15);
- grant fishing and fisheries privileges subject to the Fisheries Act (Section 15);
- fix the date of holding the fiesta not oftener than once a year and alter it not oftener than once in three years (Section 15);
- enact all ordinances necessary for sanitation and safety, prosperity, promotion of morality/peace/good order/comfort/convenience/general welfare, and to carry out Charter powers and duties, including fixing penalties for ordinance violations not exceeding a PHP 200 fine, six months imprisonment, or both for a single offense (Section 15).
Restrictions on commercial signs
- No commercial sign, signboard, or billboard may be erected or displayed on public lands, premises, or buildings (Section 16).
- If, after due investigation and after giving the owners an opportunity to be heard, the mayor determines a displayed sign is offensive to sight or otherwise a nuisance, the mayor may order its removal (Section 16).
- If the sign is not removed within 10 days from the mayor’s removal order, the mayor may cause removal and the sign is forfeited to the city; removal expenses become a lawful charge against the person or property liable for creation/display (Section 16).
City departments and heads
- The city has the following departments: finance, engineering, law, health, police and fire, and assessment (Section 17).
- The mayor has general supervisory control over all city departments unless otherwise provided by law (Section 17).
- The municipal board may readjust department duties as public interest demands and, with Presidential approval, consolidate any city department/division/office with another (Section 17).
- Department heads must control their departments under the mayor’s direction and supervision and have powers prescribed by the Charter or ordinance (Section 18).
- Department heads must certify payrolls and vouchers covering payment of money before payment, except where expressly otherwise provided (Section 18).
- At least four months before each fiscal year opens, department heads must prepare and present to the mayor an estimate of receipts and appropriations needed for the ensuing fiscal year and submit comparison information the mayor may desire (Section 18).
- Department heads must submit to the mayor reports on department operations when required (Section 18).
- When a department head is absent, sick, or unable to act, the officer next in charge acts in the department head’s place with authority to sign necessary papers, vouchers, requisitions, and similar documents (Section 18).
Appointments, removals, and conflict restrictions
- The President of the Philippines, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, appoints the city court judge and auxiliary judge, city treasurer, city engineer, city attorney, city health officer, chief of police and fire department, and other department heads that may be created (Section 19).
- These appointed officers are not suspended nor removed except in the manner and for cause provided by law (Section 19).
- Other officers and employees whose appointments are not otherwise provided by law are appointed by the mayor upon recommendation of the corresponding department head in accordance with the Civil Service Law, and are suspended/removed under that law (Section 19).
- It is unlawful for any city officer, directly or indirectly, individually or as a firm member, to:
- engage in any business transaction with the city or its authorized officials/boards/agents/attorneys where money is to be paid from city resources to that person or firm (Section 20);
- purchase city real estate or other property belonging to the city or sold for taxes/assessments or by legal process in a suit by the city (Section 20);
- become surety for any person having a city contract/business where security may be required (Section 20);
- be surety on the official bond of any city officer (Section 20);
- be financially interested in any transaction or contract where the National Government or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof is an interested party (Section 20).
- Before assuming office, every city official and regular employee must file in the office of the city attorney a sworn statement of assets and property holdings (Section 21).
Finance department and city treasurer duties
- The city treasurer heads the department of finance as chief fiscal officer and financial adviser and custodian of city funds (Section 22).
- The city treasurer receives PHP 6,600 per annum salary (Section 22).
- The city treasurer must:
- collect all city taxes, licenses authorized by law/ordinance, rents due for lands/markets and city-owned property, and further charges/fees fixed by law/ordinance (Section 22);
- receive and issue receipts for costs, fees, fines, and forfeitures imposed by the city court (Section 22);
- collect miscellaneous charges by the engineering department and other departments, and charges by the city engineer for inspections, permits, licenses, and installations/maintenance/services under the private privy system (Section 22);
- collect, as deputy of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, taxes and charges imposed by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines on property or persons in Bago, depositing daily collections in a government depository bank (Section 22);
- perform duties imposed by law/resolution on provincial treasurers generally and other duties imposed by law (Section 22);
- purchase and issue supplies/equipment/property required by the city through the purchasing agent or as authorized by law (Section 22);
- be accountable for all city funds and property and render accounts as prescribed by the Auditor