Mandaluyong City Charter

City powers, liability, and policing jurisdiction

Section 5 states that the City and its officials are not exempt from liability for death or injury to persons or damage to property.
Section 6 provides that the City’s police jurisdiction for police purposes only is co-extensive with its territorial jurisdiction.
Section 6 extends police jurisdiction, for water-supply protection, over: all territory within the drainage area of the City water supply; and territory within one hundred meters (100 m.) of any reservoir, conduit, canal, aqueduct, or pumping station used for the City water service.
Section 6 grants the city court concurrent jurisdiction with the city or municipal court 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 facilities.
Section 6 gives exclusive jurisdiction to the court first taking cognizance of the offense, to the exclusion of others.
Section 6 provides that police forces of concerned municipalities/cities have concurrent jurisdiction with the City police force for maintenance of good order and enforcement of ordinances within the zone/area/spaces.
Section 6 requires that any license issued within the extended zone/area/spaces shall be granted by the proper authorities of the concerned city or municipality, and fees accrue to that treasury and not to the City.

City officers and appointments framework

Section 7 enumerates required City officers: city mayor, vice mayor, sangguniang panlungsod members, secretary to the sangguniang panlungsod, city treasurer and assistant city treasurer, city assessor and assistant city assessor, city accountant, city budget officer, city planning and development coordinator, city engineer, city health officer, city civil registrar, city administrator, city legal officer, city veterinarian, city social welfare and social development officer, and city general services officer.
Section 7 authorizes the City mayor to appoint additional officers: city architect, city information officer, city population officer, city environment and natural resources officer, and city cooperatives officer.
Section 7 permits the City to: maintain existing offices not mentioned in the subsections; create other offices necessary to carry out City purposes; or consolidate functions of any office with another for efficiency and economy.
Section 7 provides that, unless otherwise provided, appointive City officials are appointed by the city mayor with the concurrence of the majority of all sangguniang panlungsod members, subject to civil service law and rules.
Section 7 requires the sangguniang panlungsod to act on appointments within fifteen (15) days from submission; otherwise the appointment is deemed confirmed.

Powers, duties, and qualifications of mayor and vice mayor

Section 8 makes the city mayor the chief executive of the City, elected at large by qualified voters of the City.
Section 8 sets mayoral qualifications: at least twenty-three (23) years of age; actual resident of the City for at least one (1) year prior to election; and a qualified voter.
Section 8 fixes the mayor’s term at three (3) years, unless sooner removed, and mandates a minimum monthly compensation corresponding to Salary Grade thirty (30) under Republic Act No. 6758 and its implementing guidelines.
Section 8 lists the mayor’s chief governance duties, including: guideline-setting and responsibility for the program of government; directing formulation of the city development plan (with assistance of the City development council and upon approval by the sangguniang panlungsod); delivering the program of government and proposing policies/projects at the opening of the regular session each calendar year and as needed; initiating legislative measures; and appointing officials/employees whose salaries are wholly or mainly paid from City funds when their appointments are not otherwise provided.
Section 8 requires the mayor to represent the City in transactions and sign bonds/contracts/obligations and other documents on authority of the sangguniang panlungsod or pursuant to law/ordinance.
Section 8 imposes disaster and emergency functions, including carrying out emergency measures during and after man-made and natural disasters and calamities.
Section 8 mandates executive oversight functions, including ensuring faithful discharge of duties and causing proceedings for offenses committed in official duties; examining books/records and requiring national officials/employees stationed/assigned in the City to make available books/records except those classified as confidential; and issuing executive orders for faithful and appropriate enforcement of laws/ordinances.
Section 8 grants specific operational authorities, including: solemnizing marriages; conducting an annual palarong panlungsod in coordination with the Department of Education, Culture and Sports; authorizing official trips outside the City for a period not exceeding thirty (30) days; and ensuring administrative reports to metropolitan authority council chairmen and the Office of the President, including an annual report and supplemental reports for unexpected events and situations during the year.
Section 8 provides peace-and-order powers: entitlement to carry the necessary firearm within territorial jurisdiction; acting as deputized representative of the National Police Commission; formulating the City peace and order plan and, upon approval, implementing it; and general and operational control and supervision over local police forces in accordance with Republic Act No. 6975.
Section 8 authorizes the mayor to call law enforcement agencies to suppress disorder, riot, lawless violence, rebellion or sedition, or to apprehend violators when public interest requires and City police forces are inadequate.
Section 8 assigns resource-generation and finance duties, including requiring departmental estimates for the ensuing calendar year, preparing and submitting executive and supplemental budgets for sangguniang panlungsod approval, ensuring collection of City taxes and revenues, applying City funds to expenses/obligations, and issuing or suspending/revoking licenses and permits for violations of issued conditions pursuant to law/ordinance.
Section 9 provides the vice mayor is elected like the mayor, with the same qualifications, holds office for three (3) years unless sooner removed, and receives monthly compensation corresponding to Salary Grade twenty-eight (28) under Republic Act No. 6758.
Section 9 makes the vice mayor presiding officer of the sangguniang panlungsod and authorizes signing of warrants drawn on the City treasury for expenditures appropriated for sangguniang panlungsod operations.
Section 9 authorizes appointment of sangguniang panlungsod officials/employees by the vice mayor, subject to civil service law, rules, and regulations, except those whose appointment is specifically provided by existing laws.
Section 9 requires the vice mayor to assume the office of the city mayor for an unexpired term in permanent vacancy and to exercise mayoral powers and duties in cases of temporary vacancy.

Sangguniang panlungsod composition and powers

Section 10 defines the sangguniang panlungsod as the City’s legislative body composed of: the city vice mayor (presiding officer); regular sanggunian members; the president of the city chapter of liga ng mga barangay; the president of the panlungsod na pederasyon ng mga sangguniang kabataan; and sectoral representatives.
Section 10 provides for three (3) sectoral representatives: one (1) from women; one (1) from agricultural or industrial workers; and one (1) from other sectors including urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, or disabled persons.
Section 10 mandates that sectoral representatives are determined by the sangguniang panlungsod within ninety (90) days prior to local elections, and that regular and sectoral representatives are elected in the manner provided by law.
Section 10 requires elective members to possess the same qualifications as the city mayor and vice mayor, and grants compensation/emoluments/allowances as determined by law.
Section 10 directs the sangguniang panlungsod to approve ordinances and pass resolutions necessary for efficient and effective City government, including: reviewing barangay ordinances and punong barangay executive orders for consistency with prescribed powers; and maintaining peace and order through measures to prevent and suppress lawlessness, disorder, riot, violence, rebellion, or sedition and imposing penalties.
Section 10 authorizes the sangguniang panlungsod to approve ordinances imposing a fine not exceeding Five thousand pesos (P5,000) or imprisonment not exceeding one (1) year, or both, at the discretion of the court, for violations of a city ordinance.
Section 10 mandates disaster-preparedness and relief measures, including protection from man-made or natural disasters and calamities, and relief services for victims during and after such events and in return to productive livelihood.
Section 10 requires legislation against habitual drunkenness in public places; vagrancy, mendicancy, prostitution; houses of ill repute; gambling and other prohibited games of chance; fraudulent devices to obtain money or property; drug addiction; drug dens; drug pushing; juvenile delinquency; and obscene or pornographic materials/publications, and other inimical activities.
Section 10 authorizes environmental protection ordinances and penalties for acts endangering the environment and activities causing pollution, creeks/rivers eutrophication, or ecological imbalance.
Section 10 authorizes determining positions, salaries, wages, allowances, and benefits of officials/employees paid wholly or mainly from City funds, and providing expenditures needed for programs/projects/services/activities.
Section 10 authorizes payment mechanisms for temporary vacancy staff or honorarium, at rates authorized by law.
Section 10 requires a mechanism and appropriate funds to ensure safety and protection of City property and public records, including property inventory, land ownership, and vital records relating to births, marriages, deaths, assessments, taxation, accounts, business permits, and other public-interest records/documents.
Section 10 provides that when City finances allow, the sangguniang panlungsod may provide additional allowances and benefits to judges, prosecutors, public elementary/high school teachers, and other national officials stationed or assigned in the City.
Section 10 authorizes legal assistance to barangay officials initiating judicial proceedings or defending against legal action in official duties.
Section 10 authorizes group insurance or additional insurance coverage for barangay officials, including members of barangay tanod brigades and other service units, when City finances allow.
Section 10 grants broad budgetary and taxing powers to generate and maximize resources for development plans, with special attention to agro-industrial development and city-wide growth, including: approving annual and supplemental budgets; appropriating funds for specific programs/projects/services/activities; and enacting tax ordinances on majority vote while observing limitations.
Section 10 imposes a limit: no increases in real estate taxes may be enacted for three (3) years from the effectivity of this Act.
Section 10 allows, on majority vote: authorizing the city mayor to negotiate and contract loans and other forms of indebtedness; authorizing floating bonds or other indebtedness instruments for development projects; and authorizing the mayor to lease public buildings held in a proprietary capacity to private parties subject to existing laws.
Section 10 authorizes a comprehensive land use plan, land reclassification, integrated zoning ordinances in consonance with the approved comprehensive land use plan, fire limits/zones, and regulation of construction/repair/modification within fire limits in accordance with the Fire Code.
Section 10 authorizes processing of subdivision plans subject to national law and permits/approvals, and provides a timing rule: if approval by a national agency/office is required, it shall not be withheld for more than thirty (30) days from receipt of the application, and failure to act within the period is deemed approval.
Section 10 requires that, with concurrence of at least two-thirds (2/3) of all members: the City may grant tax exemptions/incentives/reliefs to entities engaged in community growth-inducing industries, subject to the Local Government Code.
Section 10 authorizes loans/grants to other local government units or national/provincial/city charitable, benevolent, or educational institutions operated and maintained within the City.
Section 10 authorizes ordinances regulating: numbering of buildings; inspection/weighing/measuring of articles of commerce; nuisances; sanitation conditions; disposal of clinical and other wastes; and many local conduct and safety/urban regulation measures (including steam boilers/heating devices and inflammable materials; entertainment/amusement facilities; impounding stray animals and animal cruelty measures; funeral parlors and burial/cremation), all subject to existing laws/rules/regs where stated.
Section 10 authorizes basic-services ordinances and facilities delivery measures, including: tree parks/green belts; markets/slaughterhouses/animal corrals and private market/talipapa regulation; ferries/wharves structures for marine/offshore productivity; meat/poultry/fish/vegetables/fruits/dairy and other foodstuff regulation for public consumption; streets/public places use and construction/improvement/repair; bus/vehicle stops and terminals; garages and hire conveyances; street signs and lighting/cleaning/sprinkling; traffic and removal of encroachments/illegal constructions; waterworks systems and protection/purification of water supply and water use charges; regulation of water/drainage works and private water closets/privies; regulation of gas and electric/telegraph/telephone wires and hazardous correction/condemnation/removal; and establishment/operation of city post-secondary institutions and tuition fees with approval of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports and subject to tuition-fee law.
Section 10 also authorizes establishment of a scholarship fund for poor but deserving students; quarantine regulations; solid waste and garbage collection and prohibition of littering/throwing garbage/refuse/filth; care facilities for disabled persons, paupers, aged, sick, persons of unsound mind, abandoned minors, juvenile delinquents, drug dependents, abused children and youth below eighteen (18) years of age; a jail/detention center improvement program and appropriations for subsistence of detainees/convicted prisoners; and councils for culture and arts and for the elderly, subject to availability of funds.
Section 10 directs the sangguniang panlungsod to perform other duties and exercise other powers provided under Republic Act No. 7160.

Legislative process and ordinance effectivity rules

Section 11 requires the sangguniang panlungsod, on the first regular session following election of its members and within ninety (90) days, to adopt or update its rules of procedure.
Section 11 mandates that the rules of procedure cover: organization and election of officers; creation of standing committees (including appropriations, women and family, human rights, youth and sports development, environmental protection, and cooperatives); committee jurisdictions; election of committee chairmen and members; order and calendar of business; legislative process; parliamentary procedures; member discipline for disorderly behavior and absences without justifiable cause for four (4) consecutive sessions, with penalties including censure/reprimand/exclusion, suspension not more than sixty (60) days, or expulsion.
Section 11 requires that suspension or expulsion needs concurrence of at least two-thirds (2/3) vote of all sanggunian members, and mandates automatic expulsion if a member is convicted by final judgment to imprisonment of at least one (1) year for any crime involving moral turpitude.
Section 12 requires every sangguniang panlungsod member, upon assumption to office, to make a full disclosure of business and financial interest and disclose any business/financial/professional relationship or affinity/consanguinity within the fourth civil degree with any person/firm/entity affected by any ordinance or resolution under deliberation where conflict may arise.
Section 12 defines included conflicts for disclosure as: ownership of stock/capital/investment in the entity/firm to which an ordinance/resolution applies; and contracts/agreements with persons/entities that an ordinance/resolution under consideration may affect.
Section 12 specifies that the written disclosure must be submitted to the secretary of the sangguniang panlungsod or secretary of the committee of which the member is a member, and must form part of the record of proceedings.
Section 12 requires timing of disclosure: before the member participates in deliberations; or if the member did not participate, before voting on second and third readings; and also when the member takes a position or makes a privilege speech affecting the described business/financial/professional relationship.
Section 13 requires the sangguniang panlungsod to fix regular session schedule by resolution on the first day of the session after election, with minimum regular sessions at least once a week for the sangguniang panlungsod.
Section 13 authorizes special sessions called by the city mayor or by a majority of the members of the sanggunian when public interest demands.
Section 13 makes all sanggunian sessions open to the public unless a closed-door session is ordered by affirmative vote of a majority of members present with a quorum, for public interest, security, decency, or morality; and bars holding two (2) sessions in a single day.
Section 13 requires special-session notice: a written notice must be served personally at the member’s usual residence at least twenty-four (24) hours before the special session.
Section 13 limits matters at special sessions: unless concurred in by two-thirds (2/3) vote of members present with a quorum, only matters stated in the notice may be considered.
Section 13 requires the sangguniang panlungsod to keep a journal and record of proceedings which may be published by resolution.
Section 14 sets quorum: a majority of all elected and qualified members constitutes quorum; if quorum issues arise, the presiding officer calls roll and announces results.
Section 14 authorizes, when there is no quorum, a presiding officer to declare a recess until quorum is constituted or allow adjournment from day-to-day; it further authorizes compelling attendance of absent members by designating a member of the sangguniang panlungsod assisted by police force assigned in the City to arrest and present the absent member, for lack of quorum situations.
Section 14 provides that with no quorum despite enforcement, no business shall be transacted and the presiding officer, on proper motion approved by members present, shall adjourn for lack of quorum.
Section 15 establishes ordinance approval: every ordinance enacted by the sangguniang panlungsod is presented to the city mayor; if approved, the mayor signs each page; if vetoed, the mayor returns it with written objections for reconsideration.
Section 15 permits override of veto by two-thirds (2/3) vote of all sanggunian members, making the ordinance effective.
Section 15 imposes a veto communication rule: veto must be communicated within ten (10) days; otherwise the ordinance is deemed approved as if signed.
Section 16 grants mayoral veto grounds including ultra vires or prejudicial effect on public welfare, requiring reasons in writing.
Section 16 allows itemized veto of: particular items in an appropriations ordinance; ordinances/resolutions adopting the local development plan and public investment program; or ordinances directing payment of money or creating liability.
Section 16 provides that item veto does not affect non-objected items; vetoed items do not take effect unless the sangguniang panlungsod overrides as provided.
Section 16 states that for appropriations item veto, the previous year’s corresponding item is deemed reenacted unless the sangguniang panlungsod overrides.
Section 16 restricts the mayor to veto only once for a given ordinance or resolution, and allows sangguniang panlungsod to override any veto by two-thirds (2/3) vote, making ordinance effective without mayor approval.
Section 17 requires barangays to furnish copies of enacted barangay ordinances to the sangguniang panlungsod within ten (10) days for review on consistency with law and city ordinances.
Section 17 establishes review timelines: if the sangguniang panlungsod fails to act within thirty (30) days from receipt, the barangay ordinance is deemed approved.
Section 17 requires return with comments and recommendations within thirty (30) days if inconsistent; it also suspends barangay ordinance effectivity until revisions are made.
Section 18 provides that any attempt to enforce a disapproved ordinance or resolution approving the local development plan and public investment program constitutes sufficient ground for suspension or dismissal of the official or employee concerned.
Section 19 sets ordinance effectivity: unless otherwise stated, an ordinance/together with a resolution approving local development plan and public investment program takes effect after ten (10) days from posting a copy in the bulletin board at the entrance of Mandaluyong City Hall and in at least two (2) other conspicuous places in the City.
Section 19 requires the sangguniang panlungsod secretary to cause posting not later than five (5) days after approval.
Section 19 mandates dissemination/posting in Filipino or English and in the language/dialect understood by the majority of people, and requires recording posting facts in a book, stating approval and posting dates.
Section 19 requires publication of main features once in a local newspaper of general circulation within the City; if none, publication in any local newspaper of general circulation.
Section 19 requires that the gist of all ordinances with penal sanctions be published in a newspaper of general circulation.

Disqualifications and succession of city officials

Section 20 disqualifies from running for any elective position in the City: those sentenced by final judgment for an offense involving moral turpitude or punishable by one (1) year or more of imprisonment, within two (2) years after serving sentence.
Section 20 disqualifies: those removed from office as a result of an administrative case; those convicted by final judgment for violating the oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines; those with dual citizenship; fugitives from justice in criminal or nonpolitical cases here and abroad; permanent residents in a foreign country or those who acquired the right to reside abroad and continue to avail that right after effectivity of Republic Act No. 7160; and the insane or feeble-minded.
Section 21 provides that if a permanent vacancy occurs in the office of the city mayor, the city vice mayor concerned becomes city mayor.
Section 21 provides that if a permanent vacancy occurs in the office of the vice mayor, the highest ranking sangguniang panlungsod member becomes city mayor or city vice mayor (as the case may be); if that member is permanently incapacitated, the second highest ranking member becomes the successor.
Section 21 provides that subsequent vacancies in those offices are filled automatically by other sanggunian members according to ranking.
Section 21 resolves tie among highest ranking members by drawing of lots.
Section 21 requires successors serve only the unexpired terms of their predecessors.
Section 21 defines permanent vacancy as arising when an elective local official: fills a higher vacant office; refuses to assume office; fails to qualify; dies; is removed; voluntarily resigns; or is otherwise permanently incapacitated to discharge functions.
Section 21 sets ranking for sanggunian succession based on the proportion of votes obtained by each winning candidate to the total number of registered voters in the City in the immediately preceding local election.
Section 22 requires permanent vacancies in the sangguniang panlungsod, where automatic succession does not apply, be filled by appointment by the President through the Executive Secretary.
Section 22 requires that only the nominee of the political party under which the vacant sanggunian member was elected be appointed; the appointee must be from the same political party and serve the unexpired term.
Section 22 mandates that nomination and a certificate of membership from the highest official of the political party are conditions sine qua non; appointments without these are null and void ab initio and ground for administrative action against the responsible official.
Section 22 requires that if the vacancy is caused by a sanggunian member who does not belong to any political party, the city mayor appoints a qualified person upon recommendation of the sangguniang panlungsod.
Section 22 provides that if vacancy is in representation of the youth and the barangay in the sangguniang panlungsod, it is filled automatically by the official next in rank of the concerned organization.
Section 23 provides that when the city mayor is temporarily incapacitated for physical or legal reasons (including leave, travel abroad, and suspension), the city vice mayor, or the highest ranking sangguniang panlungsod member, automatically exercises mayor powers and duties except appointment/suspension/dismissal of employees, which can be exercised only if temporary incapacity exceeds thirty (30) working days.
Section 23 provides that temporary incapacity ends upon submission to the sangguniang panlungsod of a written declaration by the city mayor that he has reported back to office; for legal causes, the mayor must submit documents showing legal causes no longer exist.
Section 23 authorizes written designation of an officer-in-charge when the mayor travels within the country outside his territorial jurisdiction for not more than three (3) consecutive days, specifying powers/functions except appointment/suspension/dismissal.
Section 23 provides that if the mayor fails or refuses to issue such authorization, the city vice mayor or highest ranking sangguniang panlungsod member assumes powers/duties on the fourth day of the mayor’s absence, subject to limitations.

Appointive officers and their specific functions

Section 24 provides for a secretary to the sangguniang panlungsod with rank and salary equal to a head of department or office.
Section 24 sets qualification