Charter of the City of Lamitan Conversion

City conversion; territorial jurisdiction

Section 2 converts the Municipality of Lamitan into a component city known as the City of Lamitan.
The City comprises the present territory of the Municipality of Lamitan, Province of Basilan.
The City’s territorial jurisdiction is within the present metes and bounds of the Municipality of Lamitan.
Section 2 preserves existing boundary disputes or cases on territorial jurisdiction between the City and adjoining local government units:
- The disputed area remains with the local government unit that has existing administrative supervision until final resolution of the case.

Corporate powers and liability

Section 3 establishes the City as a political body corporate with perpetual succession and powers of a municipal corporation, exercised in conformity with the Charter and laws.
Section 3 grants the City corporate powers including: continuous succession in its corporate name; to sue and be sued; to have and use a corporate seal; to acquire, hold and convey property; to enter contracts; and to exercise other powers subject to the Charter and law.
Section 4 requires the City to have a common seal and allows it to alter the same at pleasure.
Section 4 grants general powers including levying taxes; opening/closing roads and public places; expropriating property for public use; contracting; prosecuting and defending suits; and exercising corporate powers.
Section 5 provides that the City and its officials are not exempt from liability for death or injury to persons or damage to property.

Police jurisdiction; water purity area

Section 6 limits the City’s police jurisdiction for police purposes only to be coextensive with the City’s territorial jurisdiction.
Section 6 extends that police jurisdiction to protect the purity of the water supply, covering:
- all territory within the drainage area of the water supply; or
- within one hundred meters (100 m.) of any reservoir, conduit, canal, aqueduct, or pumping station used in connection with the city water service.
Section 6 gives the City court concurrent jurisdiction with city/municipal courts of adjoining municipalities/cities to try crimes and misdemeanors committed within the drainage area or within one hundred meters (100 m.) of the specified water installations.
Section 6 provides that the court first taking cognizance of the offense has jurisdiction to the exclusion of others.
Section 6 gives the police forces of concerned municipalities/cities concurrent jurisdiction with the City police to maintain good order and enforce ordinances in the zone/area/spaces.
Section 6 requires that licenses issued within the zone/area/spaces must be granted by the proper authorities of the city or municipality concerned, and fees accrue to that city/municipality, not to the City.

City officials; appointments; basic structure

Section 7 establishes the City’s officials including: city mayor, city vice mayor, sangguniang panlungsod members, secretary to the sangguniang panlungsod, city treasurer/assistant treasurer, city assessor/assistant assessor, city accountant, city budget officer, city planning and development officer, city engineer, city health officer, city civil registrar, city administrator, city legal officer, city social welfare and development officer, city veterinarian, city general services officer, city cooperatives officer, and city building officer.
Section 7 allows the city mayor to appoint additional officers: city environment and natural resources officer, city architect, city information officer, city population officer, and city agriculturist.
Section 7 mandates establishments in the City:
- a city fire station headed by a city fire marshal;
- a city jail headed by a city jail warden; and
- a city schools division headed by a city schools division superintendent.
Section 7 authorizes the sangguniang panlungsod to maintain existing offices not mentioned; create other offices necessary to carry out City purposes; or consolidate office functions for efficiency and economy.
Section 7 sets the default rule for appointment of heads of departments/offices unless otherwise provided:
- appointed by the city mayor with the concurrence of the majority of all members of the sangguniang panlungsod;
- civil service rules apply;
- the sangguniang panlungsod must act within fifteen (15) days from submission, otherwise the appointment is deemed confirmed.

City mayor and vice mayor powers

Section 8 makes the city mayor the chief executive of the City, elected at large by qualified voters.
Section 8 disqualifies anyone from being mayor unless, at election time, the candidate is at least twenty-one (21) years of age, an actual resident of the City for at least one year prior to election, and a qualified voter.
Section 8 fixes the mayor’s term at three years, unless sooner removed, and provides a minimum monthly compensation corresponding to Salary Grade Thirty (30) under Republic Act No. 6758 (Salary Standardization Law) and implementing guidelines.
Section 8 requires the city mayor to perform wide governance functions, including:
- setting guidelines for city policies and being responsible to the sangguniang panlungsod for the program of government;
- directing formulation of the city development plan (with the city development council) and implementing it after approval by the sangguniang panlungsod;
- presenting the program of government annually (and as needed) to the sangguniang panlungsod;
- initiating and proposing legislative measures and supplying information/data needed by the sanggunian;
- appointing officials/employees whose appointments are not otherwise provided for in the Act, and those he may appoint by law;
- representing the City in business transactions and signing bonds/contracts/obligations and other documents upon authority of the sangguniang panlungsod or under law/ordinance;
- executing emergency measures during and after man-made/natural disasters and calamities;
- determining time/manner/place of payment of salaries/wages in accordance with law/ordinance;
- ensuring faithful discharge of duties and causing proceedings against offenders;
- examining books/records and requiring national officials/employees stationed in the City to make documents available except those confidential by law;
- furnishing copies of executive orders to the Office of the President and the DILG within seventy-two (72) hours after issuance;
- visiting component barangays at least once every six months;
- acting on leave applications and commutation of leave credits in accordance with law;
- authorizing official trips outside the City for periods not exceeding thirty (30) days (abroad or longer periods follow the Local Government Code of 1991);
- authorizing payment of medical care and related expenses for officials/employees injured in duty, subject to available funds;
- solemnizing marriages;
- conducting an annual palarong panlungsod with coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd);
- submitting to the provincial governor an annual report of City management/development and political/social/economic conditions, plus supplemental reports for unexpected events (particularly disasters/calamities).
Section 8 grants mayoral public safety and police-related authority including:
- being entitled to carry necessary firearms within territorial jurisdiction;
- acting as deputized representative of the National Police Commission, formulating the City peace and order plan, and implementing it upon approval;
- exercising general and operational control and supervision over police forces in the City pursuant to Republic Act No. 6975 (Philippine National Police Law);
- calling law enforcement agencies to suppress disorder, riot, lawless violence, rebellion or sedition, or apprehend violators when public interest requires and City police forces are inadequate.
Section 8 authorizes the mayor to issue executive orders and to institute proceedings for ordinance violations related to taxes/fees/charges and to recover City funds/property, and to defend the City in suits.
Section 8 fixes a mayoral duty to hold office in the city hall during incumbency.
Section 9 establishes the city vice mayor elected in the same manner as the mayor, with the same qualifications; term is three years, unless sooner removed, with compensation corresponding to Salary Grade Twenty-six (26).
Section 9 makes the vice mayor presiding officer of the sangguniang panlungsod and requires signing warrants drawn on the city treasury for sangguniang panlungsod expenditures.
Section 9 requires the vice mayor, subject to civil service law, to appoint sangguniang panlungsod officials/employees except those whose appointment is specifically provided by existing laws.
Section 9 provides succession and replacement functions:
- assumes office of mayor for the unexpired term in permanent vacancy;
- exercises mayor powers/duties in case of temporary vacancy;
- performs other duties under the Local Government Code and ordinances.

Sangguniang panlungsod composition and compensation

Section 10 defines the sangguniang panlungsod as the City’s legislative body composed of: city vice mayor (presiding officer), regular sanggunian members, president of the city chapter of the Liga ng mga Barangay, president of the panlungsod na pederasyon ng mga sangguniang kabataan, and sectoral representatives.
Section 10 provides that there are three sectoral representatives: one from women; one from the agricultural or industrial workers; and one from other sectors, including the urban poor or disabled persons.
Section 10 requires that, within ninety (90) days prior to local elections, the sangguniang panlungsod determines which individuals represent the agricultural/industrial workers category.
Section 10 provides that regular members and sectoral representatives are elected in the manner provided by law.
Section 11 fixes minimum monthly compensation for sangguniang panlungsod members at Salary Grade Twenty-five (25) under Republic Act No. 6758 and implementing guidelines.

Legislative powers and local regulation

Section 11 gives the sangguniang panlungsod the power to enact ordinances, approve resolutions, and appropriate funds for the general welfare pursuant to Section 16 of the Local Government Code and the City’s corporate powers under Section 22 of the Local Government Code.
Section 11 requires the sangguniang panlungsod to review ordinances and determine consistency with prescribed powers:
- reviews ordinances approved by the sangguniang barangay and executive orders issued by the punong barangay to determine whether they are within the scope of powers.
Section 11 authorizes measures for peace and order including:
- enacting measures to prevent and suppress lawlessness, disorder, riot, violence, rebellion or sedition and imposing penalties for ordinance violations.
Section 11 authorizes penal local ordinances with limits:
- may approve ordinances imposing a fine not exceeding Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, at the discretion of the court, for violation of a city ordinance.
Section 11 requires disaster and calamity response measures including protection of inhabitants and relief services/assistance during and after disasters and return to productive livelihood.
Section 11 authorizes ordinances targeting public health/morals and related conduct including penalties for habitual drunkenness in public places, vagrancy, mendicancy, prostitution, houses of ill-repute, gambling and other prohibited games of chance, fraudulent devices and ways to obtain money or property, drug addiction and related acts, juvenile delinquency, and obscene/pornographic materials or publications.
Section 11 authorizes environmental protection:
- may set aside at least ten percent (10%) of development funds for maintaining and enhancing ecological balance;
- may impose penalties for acts endangering the environment such as dynamite fishing, destructive fishing, illegal logging, smuggling of logs, smuggling of natural resources products and endangered species, slash-and-burn farming, and other polluting/ecological-imbalance activities.
Section 11 authorizes defining positions/salaries and determining emoluments and benefits for City-funded officials/employees consistent with the Salary Standardization Law, and provides funding for programs/projects/semises/activities.
Section 11 authorizes payment of compensation to a qualified non-government person filling a temporary vacancy in a concurrent capacity at the rate authorized by law.
Section 11 requires a mechanism and appropriate funds to ensure safety and protection of City properties and public records (including property inventory, land ownership, civil registry records, assessments, taxation, accounts, and business permits).
Section 11 authorizes, when finances allow, additional allowances/benefits to judges, prosecutors, public elementary/high school teachers, and other national officials stationed in the City.
Section 11 authorizes legal assistance to barangay officials in legal proceedings related to their duties.
Section 11 authorizes group insurance/additional coverage for barangay officials, including members of barangay tanod brigades and other service units, with public/private insurance when finances allow.
Section 11 requires resource generation and maximization for development with attention to agro-industrial development and citywide growth.
Section 11 authorizes annual and supplemental budget approvals and appropriations for specific programs/projects/services/activities and other non-contrary-to-law purposes promoting general welfare.
Section 11 authorizes taxation and tax incentives under Book II of the Local Government Code:
- may enact ordinances levying taxes, fees, and charges, prescribing rates, and granting tax exemptions/incentives/relief upon majority vote of all members.
Section 11 authorizes negotiating/contracting loans and indebtedness under Book II of the Local Government Code:
- may authorize the City mayor to negotiate and contract loans/indebtedness upon majority vote;
- the application/terms must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City before approval;
- once approved, the contract must be furnished to city residents upon request and payment of a reasonable fee.
Section 11 authorizes floating bonds or other instruments of indebtedness under Book II:
- may enact ordinances authorizing floating bonds/instruments for development projects upon majority vote;
- authorization must be published in a newspaper of general circulation;
- once approved, the contract must be furnished to city residents upon request and payment of reasonable fees.
Section 11 authorizes appropriations for construction/maintenance/rental of buildings for City use and allows the City mayor, upon majority vote, to lease City public buildings held in a proprietary capacity subject to existing laws/rules.
Section 11 allows the sangguniang panlungsod to prescribe reasonable limits/restraints on property use within City jurisdiction.
Section 11 authorizes comprehensive land-use plan adoption and requires coordination within the approved provincial comprehensive land-use plan.
Section 11 allows reclassification of lands within City jurisdiction subject to the Local Government Code.
Section 11 requires enactment of integrated zoning ordinances in consonance with the comprehensive land-use plan, subject to existing laws/rules; it also authorizes fire limits/zones and regulation of building construction/repair/modification within such fire limits/zones pursuant to the Fire Code.
Section 11 requires that subdivision plans be processed and approved consistent with national law; it also authorizes collecting processing fees and other charges accruing entirely to the City, and imposes a procedural protection:
- where national agency/office approval is required, approval must not be withheld for more than thirty (30) days from receipt of the application;
- failure to act within thirty (30) days is deemed approval.
Section 11 requires supermajority for tax exemptions/incentives to community growth-inducing industries:
- requires concurrence of at least two-thirds (2/3) of all members, subject to the Local Government Code.
Section 11 authorizes grants/loans to other local government units or charitable/benevolent/educational institutions of national/provincial/city character, provided the institutions are operated and maintained within the City.
Section 11 authorizes regulating numbering of buildings and inspection/weighing/measuring of articles of commerce.
Section 11 authorizes franchises and permits/licenses promoting general welfare, including:
- fixing/imposing reasonable fees and charges for services rendered by City government to private persons/entities;
- regulating or fixing license fees for business/profession and the conditions for revocation;
- setting terms and conditions for operation of City-owned public utilities and conditions for leasing to private persons/entities, preferably cooperatives;
- regulating signs/signboards/billboards and fixing their license fees;
- authorizing and licensing cockpits and regulating cockfighting and commercial breeding of gamecocks, while requiring that existing rights are not prejudiced.
Section 11 authorizes regulating tricycle operations and granting franchises within City jurisdiction subject to the Department of Transportation and Communications guidelines.
Section 11 authorizes, upon majority vote of all members, the grant of franchises and approval to:
- do business within the City;
- establish/construct/operate and maintain ferries, wharves, markets, or slaughterhouses; and
- undertake other allowed activities under existing laws,
- with preference for cooperatives in franchise grants.
Section 11 grants broad land/building-related regulatory powers to promote general welfare:
- declare, prevent, or abate nuisances;
- with concurrence of a majority of members present (quorum present), deny entry of legalized gambling by ordinance or regulate location;
- require sanitary maintenance of buildings/premises/lands, impose penalties, have work done at owner/administrator/tenant expense, or require filling lands/premises to a grade necessary for proper sanitation;
- regulate disposal of clinical and other wastes from hospitals/clinics;
- regulate establishment/operation of specified businesses and venues (cafes/restaurants/beerhouses/hotels/motels/inns/pension houses/lodging houses and similar, tourist guides and transports);
- regulate sale/giving away/dispensing intoxicating malt, vino, mixed or fermented liquors at retail outlets;
- regulate steam boilers/heating devices inspection and storage of inflammable/highly combustible materials;
- regulate entertainment/amusement facilities and events (theatrical performances, circuses, billiard pools, public dancing schools, public dance halls, sauna baths, massage parlors), including suspension/suppression, or prohibition to protect social/moral welfare;
- provide for impounding stray animals; regulate keeping animals in homes or as part of a business; slaughter/sale/disposition and adopt measures to prevent/penalize cruelty to animals;
- regulate funeral parlors and burial or cremation of the dead subject to existing laws/rules/regulations.
Section 11 requires ordinances ensuring efficient delivery of basic services and facilities, including:
- tree parks/greenbelts;
- establishing markets/slaughterhouses/animal corrals and authorizing their operation by the City;
- regulating construction/operation of private markets/talipapas and similar structures;
- authorizing City government operation of ferries/wharves/other structures to accelerate marine life productivity/preservation;
- regulating preparation and sale of specified foodstuffs for public consumption (meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, fruits, fresh dairy products and other foodstuffs);
- regulating use of streets/places and approving construction/improvement/repair/maintenance, including bus/vehicle stops/terminals and regulation of privately-owned public-service vehicles;
- regulating garages and conveyances for hire, designating stands for public vehicles when not in use, and regulating signs/awning posts and street lighting/cleaning/sprinkling;
- regulating traffic, prohibiting encroachments/obstacles, and authorizing removal of encroachments/illegal constructions when necessary for public welfare;
- establishing/providing maintenance/repair/operation of waterworks systems (subject to existing laws/rules), regulating hydrants/pumps/cisterns/reservoirs, protecting purity/quantity of water, extending ordinance coverage to the drainage area and within one hundred meters (100 m.) of specified water installations, regulating water consumption/use/wastage, and fixing/collecting charges;
- regulating drilling/excavation for pipes and construction/maintenance of drains/sewers/cesspools/tunnels and similar structures, hazards, and private water closets/privies;
- regulating gas mains and electric telegraph/telephone wires, conduits, meters, and related apparatus, including correction/condemnation/removal when dangerous;
- establishing/providing vocational and technical schools (subject to funds), and with DepEd, CHED, or TESDA approval as the case may be, fixing/collecting reasonable tuition and school charges in institutions supported by the City;
- establishing a scholarship fund for poor but deserving students in schools within City jurisdiction or for students residing in the City;
- adopting quarantine regulations to prevent spread/introduction of diseases;
- providing an efficient solid waste/garbage collection and disposal system and prohibiting littering/placing/throwing garbage, refuse and filth/wastes;
- providing for care facilities for disabled persons, paupers, the aged, the sick, persons of unsound mind, abandoned minors, juvenile delinquents, drug dependents, abused children, and youth below eighteen (18) years (subject to availability of funds);
- establishing and improving jails and detention centers, and instituting sound jail management and appropriating funds for detainee/subsistence and convicted prisoners in the City;
- establishing a city council for culture and the arts and, subject to funds, appropriating support;
- establishing a city council for elderly and senior citizens to formulate policies and measures, provide incentives for NGOs/entities, and appropriate funds subject to availability.

Internal legislative procedure and disclosures

Section 12 requires the sangguniang panlungsod to adopt or update internal rules of procedure on the first regular session following election of its members, and within ninety (90) days thereafter.
Section 12 requires the rules to cover organization and committee structure, including committees on appropriations, revenues, engineering and public works, education and health, women and family, human rights, youth and sports development, environmental protection, peace and order and traffic, and cooperatives.
Section 12 requires rules to cover legislative calendar/business order, legislative process, parliamentary procedures, and discipline of members for disorderly behavior and absences without justifiable cause for four consecutive sessions.
Section 12 authorizes sanctions for such discipline:
- censured, reprimanded, or excluded from session;
- suspended for not more than sixty (60) days; or
- expelled,
- with suspension/expulsion requiring concurrence of at least two-thirds (2/3) of all sanggunian members.
Section 12 provides automatic expulsion when a member is convicted by final judgment to imprisonment of at least one year for any crime involving moral turpitude.
Section 13 requires every sangguniang panlungsod member, upon assumption to office, to make full written disclosure of business and financial interests and relationships within the fourth civil degree that may create conflict of interests related to any ordinance/resolution under consideration.
Section 13 defines conflict of interest generally as circumstances where it may reasonably be deduced the member may not act in the public interest due to private, pecuniary, or other personal considerations tending to affect judgment to the prejudice of service or public.
Section 13 requires disclosure submission to the secretary of the sanggunian or secretary of the committee and requires disclosure timing:
- before participating in deliberations;
- if the member did not participate during deliberations, before voting on ordinance/resolution on second and third readings; and
- when the member takes a position or makes a privilege speech on matters affecting the disclosed business/financial/professional relationship.

Sessions, quorum, ordinance approval, effectivity

Section 14 requires the sangguniang panlungsod to fix by resolution the day, time, and place of sessions on the first day of the session immediately following election of its members.
Section 14 mandates a minimum number of regular sessions: once a week.
Section 14 authorizes special sessions when public interest demands, called by the city mayor or by a majority of the members.
Section 14 mandates openness to the public for all sessions unless a closed-door session is ordered by an affirmative vote of a majority of members present with quorum, in the public interest or for reasons of security, decency, or morality; it also prohibits holding two sessions (regular or special) in a single day.
Section 14 requires written notice for special sessions:
- personally served to members at usual residences at least twenty-four (24) hours before the special session;
- unless concurred in by two-thirds (2/3) vote of members present with quorum, only matters stated in the notice may be considered.
Section 14 requires the sangguniang panlungsod to keep a journal and record of proceedings, and allows publication upon majority resolution.
Section 15 establishes quorum as a majority of all elected and qualified members.
Section 15 provides quorum remedies:
- presiding officer calls the roll and announces results if a quorum question arises;
- presiding officer may recess or members may adjourn and compel attendance of absent members without justifiable cause by designating a member with assistance of police to arrest and present the absent member.
Section 15 bars transaction of business if quorum is still absent; upon proper motion approved by members present, the presiding officer adjourns for lack of quorum.
Section 16 requires all ordinances enacted by the sangguniang panlungsod to be presented to the city mayor:
- mayor signs on each page upon approval;
- otherwise the mayor vetoes and returns with objections for sanggunian reconsideration.
Section 16 allows sanggunian override of veto by two-thirds (2/3) vote of all its members, making the ordinance/resolution effective for legal intents and purposes.
Section 16 sets the veto communication rule: mayor must communicate veto to the sanggunian within ten (10) days; otherwise the ordinance is deemed approved as if signed.
Section 17 authorizes mayor veto of any ordinance on grounds it is ultra vires or prejudicial to public welfare, requiring written reasons.
Section 17 provides partial veto protection:
- for appropriations ordinance