Charter creating Quezon del Sur province

Capital and seat of government

Section 3 sets the capital town and seat of government of Quezon del Sur as the Municipality of Gumaca.
Section 3 provides that the capital and seat of government of Quezon del Norte is Lucena City.

Corporate powers and general authority

Section 4 declares that Quezon del Sur is a political body corporate with perpetual succession and provincial corporate powers exercised under the Charter and other laws.
Section 4 grants the province corporate powers including: continuous succession in its corporate name, suing and being sued, using a corporate seal, acquiring/holding/conveying property, entering contracts/agreements, and exercising other powers subject to limitations in the Act and other laws.
Section 5 establishes general powers: levy taxes; close/open roads, streets, alleys, parks or squares; acquire and dispose of property for provincial interests; expropriate for public use; contract and be contracted with; prosecute and defend suits to final judgment and execution; and exercise corporate powers.
Section 6 provides that the province and its officials are not exempt from liability for death or injury to persons or damage to property.

Legislative districts and election commencement

Section 7 provides that Quezon del Sur has two legislative districts commencing in the next elections after the effectivity of the Act.
Section 7 enumerates First District municipalities: Agdangan, Buenavista, Catanauan, General Luna, Macalelon, Mulanay, Padre Burgos, Pitogo, San Andres, San Narciso, San Francisco and Unisan.
Section 7 enumerates Second District municipalities: Alabat, Atimonan, Calauag, Guinayangan, Gumaca, Lopez, Perez, Plaridel, Quezon and Tagkawayan.
Section 7 provides that Quezon del Norte has two legislative districts, consisting of the present first and second legislative districts of the former Province of Quezon.

Police jurisdiction and court jurisdiction

Section 8 limits Quezon del Sur’s police jurisdiction to be coextensive with its territorial jurisdiction for police purposes only.
Section 8 extends police jurisdiction for water protection to all territory within the drainage area of the province’s water supply source.
Section 8 further extends police jurisdiction to within one hundred meters (100 m.) of any reservoir, conduit, canal, aqueduct or pumping station used in connection with the province water service.
Section 8 mandates that regional trial courts and other courts under DOJ of adjoining municipalities continue to try crimes and misdemeanors committed within the mandated jurisdiction of the new province.
Section 8 provides that the court first taking jurisdiction retains exclusive jurisdiction thereafter.
Section 8 provides that any license issued within the affected zone/area/space is granted by the proper authorities of the province or municipality concerned, and corresponding fees accrue to the treasury of the province or municipality.

Provincial officials and appointments

Section 9 establishes the provincial government structure, including: provincial governor, vice governor, sangguniang panlalawigan members, sangguniang secretary, provincial treasurer, provincial assessor, provincial accountant, provincial engineer, provincial budget officer, provincial planning and development coordinator, provincial legal officer, provincial administrator, provincial health officer, provincial civil registrar, provincial social welfare and development officer, provincial general services officer, provincial agriculturist, provincial veterinarian, provincial environment and natural resources officer, provincial cooperatives officer and provincial architect.
Section 9 authorizes the provincial governor to appoint a provincial population officer and a provincial information officer in addition to the listed offices.
Section 9 requires the province to establish a provincial fire station headed by a provincial fire marshal, a provincial jail headed by a provincial jail warden, and a provincial schools division headed by a provincial schools division superintendent.
Section 9 allows the province to establish and maintain offices not mentioned, create necessary offices, or consolidate functions of any office with another for efficiency and economy.
Section 9 provides that heads of departments and offices are appointed by the provincial governor with concurrence of the majority of sangguniang panlalawigan members, subject to civil service rules; the sangguniang panlalawigan must act within fifteen (15) days from submission, otherwise the appointment is deemed confirmed.
Section 10 requires the provincial governor’s official residence and office to be in the designated capital during incumbency.
Section 10 requires all elective and appointive provincial officials to hold office in the provincial capital, except that, upon sangguniang panlalawigan resolution, officials may hold office in any component city/municipality for a period not exceeding seven days per month.

Governor: powers, duties, and compensation

Section 11 makes the provincial governor the chief executive and requires exercise of powers and performance of duties under the Local Government Code of 1991 and other laws.
Section 11 requires the governor to exercise general supervision and control over provincial programs, projects, services and activities, including responsibility to sangguniang panlalawigan for the government program and directing formulation of the provincial development plan with council assistance and approval by the sangguniang panlalawigan.
Section 11 requires the governor to present the program of government and propose policies/projects at the opening of the regular session every calendar year and as needed.
Section 11 grants authority to: appoint officials/employees whose salaries/wages are wholly or mainly paid out of provincial funds and whose appointments are not otherwise provided, represent the province in transactions and sign bonds/contracts/obligations and other documents with authority, carry out emergency measures during/after disasters, determine time/manner/place of paying salaries/wages, allocate office space, ensure faithful discharge of duties and institute proceedings against offending officials/employees, and examine provincial books/records/documents and require availability of certain national records in aid of executive powers.
Section 11 requires the governor to furnish executive orders to the Office of the President within seventy-two (72) hours after issuance.
Section 11 requires at least two visits per six months to component cities/municipalities for governance improvement, counsel, information on general laws/ordinances of concern, and inspections.
Section 11 authorizes the governor to institute and maximize resources and revenues for development plans, including requiring office heads to submit estimates of appropriations for the ensuing calendar year under the budget process under Title V, Book II of the Local Government Code of 1991; and to prepare and submit executive and supplemental budgets for approval by sangguniang panlalawigan under Title V, Book II.
Section 11 mandates enforcement of provincial laws and ordinances and approved policies/programs/projects/services/activities, ensures acts of component LGUs remain within their powers, and empowers convening conventions/conferences/seminars/meetings for general welfare.
Section 11 grants the governor authority to carry a necessary firearm within territorial jurisdiction and requires coordination in formulating the peace and order plan in accordance with Republic Act No. 6975 and implementation upon approval.
Section 11 authorizes calling on national law enforcement agencies to suppress disorder/riot/lawless violence/rebellion/sedition or apprehend violators when public interest requires and local police forces are inadequate.
Section 11 requires safeguarding/conserving land, mineral, marine, forest and other provincial resources in coordination with mayors, efficient property/supply management, and protection of provincial funds/credits/rights/properties.
Section 11 directs the governor to ensure delivery of basic services and adequate facilities under Section 17 of the Local Government Code of 1991 and includes specified coordination for roads/highways, technical services and infrastructure implementation.
Section 11 requires the governor to enforce delivery of governance measures and to exercise other powers/duties prescribed by law or ordinance.
Section 11 sets the governor’s minimum monthly compensation to correspond to Salary Grade Thirty (30) under Republic Act No. 6758 and implementing guidelines.

Vice governor and sangguniang panlalawigan

Section 12 provides that the vice governor presides over the sangguniang panlalawigan and signs warrants drawn on the provincial treasury for expenditures appropriated for the sangguniang panlalawigan operations.
Section 12 provides that subject to civil service law, the vice governor appoints officials/employees including the secretary of the sangguniang panlalawigan and employees of individual members of the sangguniang panlalawigan, except those whose appointment is specifically provided for by existing laws.
Section 12 provides that the vice governor assumes the governor’s unexpired term in permanent vacancy under Section 44, Book I of the Local Government Code of 1991, and performs governor functions in temporary vacancy under Section 46, Book I of the Local Government Code of 1991.
Section 12 provides that the vice governor performs other powers/duties prescribed by law or ordinance.
Section 12 sets the vice governor’s monthly compensation corresponding to Salary Grade Twenty-eight (28) under Republic Act No. 6758 and implementing guidelines.

Composition, powers, and legislative functions

Section 13 provides that the sangguniang panlalawigan includes: the vice governor as presiding officer, regular sangguniang panlalawigan members, presidents of specified provincial leagues/organizations (liga ng mga barangay chapter; panlalawigang pederasyon ng mga sangguniang kabataan; federation of sanggunian members), and sectoral representatives.
Section 13 requires three sectoral representatives: one from women, one from the agricultural, fisherfolks or industrial workers, and one from other sectors including urban poor, indigenous cultural communities or disabled persons determined by the sanggunian concerned within ninety (90) days prior to local elections.
Section 13 provides that regular members and sectoral representatives are elected under law and receive monthly compensation corresponding to Salary Grade Twenty-seven (27) under Republic Act No. 6758 and implementing guidelines.
Section 14 provides that the sangguniang panlalawigan enacts ordinances, approves resolutions, and appropriates funds for general welfare under Section 16 of the Local Government Code of 1991 and in proper exercise of provincial corporate powers under Section 22 of that Code.
Section 14 requires the sangguniang panlalawigan to: approve ordinances and resolutions necessary for an efficient provincial government; review ordinances of component cities and municipalities and executive orders of mayors for conformity with prescribed powers; maintain peace and order by preventing/suppressing lawlessness/disorder/riot/violence/rebellion/sedition and imposing penalties for ordinance violations.
Section 14 authorizes 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 provincial ordinance.
Section 14 directs the sangguniang panlalawigan to enact broad ordinances for disaster mitigation and relief, and to enact ordinances to prevent, suppress and impose penalties for enumerated public welfare and morals-related offenses and prohibited activities, including habitual drunkenness, vagrancy, mendicancy, prostitutions, houses of ill-repute, gambling and other prohibited games of chance, fraudulent devices/ways to obtain money or property, drug addiction and related offenses, drug dens, drug pushing, juvenile delinquency, and the printing/distribution/exhibition of obscene or pornographic materials or publications.
Section 14 empowers protection of the environment by setting aside at least ten percent (10%) of development funds for maintaining and enhancing ecological balance, and allowing penalties for acts such as dynamite fishing and destructive fishing, illegal logging, smuggling of logs and natural resources products and endangered species, slash-and-burn farming, and activities resulting in pollution, acceleration of eutrophication, or ecological imbalance.
Section 14 authorizes sangguniang panlalawigan to determine powers and duties of provincial officials/employees, determine positions and compensation for those paid wholly or mainly from provincial funds, and to adopt mechanisms and funding for safety of provincial government property and public documents/records.
Section 14 allows the sangguniang panlalawigan, when finances allow, to provide additional allowances to judges, prosecutors, public elementary and high school teachers, and other national officials stationed/assigned in the province; to provide legal assistance to provincial and municipal officials and provincial police members involved in initiating or defending judicial proceedings; and to authorize engagement of private counsel at the governor’s authorization.
Section 14 enables group insurance or additional insurance coverage for officials including members of barangay tanod brigades and other service units when provincial finances allow.
Section 14 mandates resource-generation measures for development and provides multiple enumerated powers for taxation, borrowing, bonds, public building financing/lease, property use restraints, comprehensive provincial land-use planning, land reclassification, agrarian reform implementation support, integrated zoning and fire zones, subdivision plan processing and required fees accruing to the province (with a national agency approval deemed not withheld beyond thirty (30) days), fish corrals/pens privilege, and with at least two-thirds (2/3) of all members, tax exemptions/incentives for community growth-inducing industries.
Section 14 further grants extensive authority to: grant loans/grants to other LGUs and charitable/educational institutions in the province; regulate numbering and inspection/weighing/measuring of articles of commerce; grant franchises and permits/licenses and enact ordinances with reasonable fees; regulate business and professions, public utilities operation and leasing (preferably cooperatives), signs and billboards, and cockpits/cockfighting and gamecock breeding, while preserving existing rights.
Section 14 allows regulation and franchising for tricycles consistent with Department of Transportation and Communications guidelines; grants franchises to persons/partnerships/corporations/cooperatives for business and for establishment/operation/maintenance of ferries, wharves, markets or slaughterhouses as allowed by existing laws; regulates nuisances; and with concurrence of a majority of members present and quorum, can deny entry of legalized gambling by ordinance into any part of the province or regulate its location.
Section 14 authorizes sanitary regulation measures including penalties and compulsory work at the owner/administrator/tenant’s expense, and requires specified land/premises grading for sanitation compliance.
Section 14 authorizes wide regulatory powers over waste disposal, food and public consumption, alcoholic malt/vino/mixed or fermented liquors at provincial retail outlets, steam boilers and heating devices, inflammable and highly combustible materials, entertainment/amusement facilities and related public disturbances, funeral parlors and burial/cremation, gyms/sports/health facilities, impounding and animal-keeping rules and slaughter/sale/disposition rules, cruelty prevention and penalties.
Section 14 mandates ordinances ensuring efficient and effective delivery of basic services and facilities under Section 17 of the Local Government Code of 1991 and includes authority for communal forests and watersheds, markets/slaughterhouses/animal corrals and regulating private equivalents, ferries/wharves to accelerate marine/offshore productivity, preparation and sale of foods for public consumption, regulation of streets/public places, traffic regulation on streets/bridges, prohibition/removal of encroachments/illegal settlement structures in the interest of public welfare, and lighting/cleaning/sprinkling.
Section 14 authorizes establishment and maintenance of waterworks systems (subject to existing laws and availability of funds), regulation of hydrants/pumps/cisterns/reservoirs, extension of water-protection ordinances to drainage and within one hundred meters (100 m.), and regulation of water consumption and charges.
Section 14 authorizes regulation of ground drilling/excavation for water sources and laying of pipes, public drainage/sewers/tunnels and similar structures; regulation of poles and crosswalks/curbs/gutters; public safety measures against open canals/manholes/live wires and hazards; and regulation of private water closets/privies and similar structures.
Section 14 authorizes regulation of gas mains, electric telegraph and telephone wires/cables, conduits, meters, support structures and related apparatus, including correction/condemnation/removal when dangerous.
Section 14 authorizes establishment and operation of vocational/technical schools subject to availability of funds and existing laws; with DepEd approval, fixing reasonable tuition fees and other school charges in educational institutions supported by the province.
Section 14 authorizes an education and training scholarship fund for poor but deserving constituents in schools located within its jurisdiction, or students residing within the province.
Section 14 authorizes quarantine regulations, care and support measures for vulnerable persons and categories including paupers, aged, sick, persons of unsound mind, abandoned minors, abused children, disabled persons, juvenile delinquents, drug dependents, and needy/disadvantaged children/youth below eighteen (18) years.
Section 14 authorizes establishment and maintenance of jails and detention centers and a sound jail management program and funding for subsistence of detainees and convicted prisoners.
Section 14 authorizes establishment of a provincial council for culture and the arts and a provincial council for the elderly and veterans, including policy formulation and measures beneficial to elderly and the province and incentives/support for programs, subject to availability of funds.
Section 14 provides that the sangguniang panlalawigan may exercise other powers and perform duties under the Local Government Code of 1991 and as prescribed by law or ordinance.

Sangguniang panlalawigan procedure and voting

Section 15 requires adoption of internal rules of procedure on the first regular session after election and within ninety (90) days thereafter.
Section 15 requires rules to include: organization of the sanggunian, election of officers, creation of standing committees (including specified committees such as appropriations, revenues, engineering and public works, education and health, women and family, human rights, youth and sports development, environment protection, peace and order and traffic, and cooperatives), general jurisdiction, and election of committee chairmen and members.
Section 15 requires rules on order/calendar of business; legislative process; parliamentary procedures including conduct of members; and discipline for disorderly behavior and absences without justifiable cause for four consecutive sessions (censure/reprimand/exclusion, suspension up to sixty (60) days, or expulsion).
Section 15 requires expulsion or suspension of more serious penalties to require concurrence of at least two-thirds (2(3)) of all the sanggunian members.
Section 15 provides that a member convicted by final judgment to imprisonment of at least one year for any crime involving moral turpitude is automatically expelled.
Section 16 requires each sangguniang panlalawigan member, upon assumption to office, to make full disclosure in writing of business/financial interests and potential conflicts of interest involving ordinances or resolutions under consideration, including specified relationships up to the fourth civil degree by affinity or consanguinity.
Section 16 requires disclosure to be submitted to the secretary of the sanggunian or the secretary of the committee and to form part of the record of proceedings.
Section 16 requires disclosure before participation in deliberations; if the member did not participate, disclosure must be made before voting on second and third readings; disclosure must also be made when the member takes a position or makes a privilege speech affecting the disclosed business/financial/professional connections.
Section 17 requires the sangguniang panlalawigan to fix day/time/place of regular sessions by resolution on the first day of session after election, with a minimum of once a week regular sessions.
Section 17 authorizes special sessions when public interest demands, called by the provincial governor or by a majority of the sanggunian.
Section 17 requires sessions to be open to the public unless closed-door is ordered by affirmative vote of a majority of members present with quorum in the public interest or for reasons of security, decency or morality; also prohibits holding two sessions on the same day.
Section 17 requires for special sessions that written notice be served personally at members’ usual place of residence at least twenty-four (24) hours before the special session.
Section 17 limits special-session consideration to matters stated in the notice unless a two-thirds (2/3) vote of members present concurs otherwise.
Section 17 requires the sanggunian to keep a journal and record of proceedings which may be published by sangguniang panlalawigan resolution.
Section 18 establishes quorum as a majority of all elected and qualified sanggunian members; requires roll-calling immediately upon any quorum question and announcement of result.
Section 18 provides for recess if quorum is lacking, or adjournment from day to day by majority present with ability to compel attendance of absent members by police assistance for arrest and presentation.
Section 18 provides that if quorum is still not achieved after enforcement, no business is transacted and the presiding officer declares the session adjourned for lack of quorum.

Ordinance approval and veto limits

Section 19 provides that every ordinance enacted by the sangguniang panlalawigan must be presented to the provincial governor.
Section 19 requires that if the governor approves, he affixes his signature on each and every page; otherwise he vetoes and returns the ordinance with written objections.
Section 19 allows reconsideration by the sangguniang panlalawigan; the sanggunian may override a veto by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all its members, making the ordinance effective.
Section 19 provides that the veto must be communicated within fifteen (15) days; otherwise the ordinance is deemed approved as if signed.
Section 20 grants the governor veto power on ground of prejudice to public welfare, requiring written reasons.
Section 20 authorizes itemized veto: the governor may veto particular items of an appropriations ordinance, an ordinance or resolution adopting a local development plan and public investment program, or an ordinance directing payment of money or creating liability; vetoed items do not take effect unless overridden, while non-objected items take effect.
Section 20 provides that if vetoed appropriations items are not overridden, the corresponding items in the previous year appropriations ordinance are deemed reenacted.
Section 20 limits the governor’s veto authority such that he may veto an ordinance or resolution only once; the sanggunian may override by two-thirds (2/3) vote of all its members to make the ordinance effective without approval.

Disqualification and succession rules

Section 21 disqualifies the following from running for any elective position in the province: those sentenced by final judgment for an offense involving moral turpitude or punishable by one year or more of imprisonment within two years after serving sentence; those removed from office due to an administrative case; those convicted by final judgment for violating the oath of allegiance to the Republic; those with dual citizenship; fugitives from justice in criminal or nonpolitical cases here or abroad; permanent residents in a foreign country or those who acquired the right to reside abroad and continue to avail of that right after the effectivity of the Local Government Code of 1991; and the insane or feeble-minded.
Section 22 provides that when a permanent vacancy occurs in the office of provincial governor, the concerned provincial vice governor becomes governor; if the vice governor refuses, the highest ranking sangguniang panlalawigan member becomes governor.
Section 22 provides that a permanent vacancy in the office of provincial vice governor is filled by the highest ranking sangguniang panlalawigan member or, in case of permanent incapacity, the second highest ranking member becomes governor or vice governor accordingly.
Section 22 requires subsequent vacancies to be filled automatically by other sangguniang panlalawigan members according to their ranking as defined in the Act.
Section 22 resolves tie among highest ranking sangguniang panlalawigan members by drawing of lots.
Section 22 provides that successors serve only the unexpired terms of predecessors.
Section 22 defines permanent vacancy to include situations when an elective local official fills in a higher vacant office, refuses to assume office, fails to qualify, dies, is removed from office, voluntarily resigns, or is otherwise permanently incapacitated to discharge functions.
Section 22 defines ranking in the sangguniang panlalawigan based on the proportion of votes obtained by each winning candidate to the total number of registered voters in the province immediately preceding local elections.
Section 23 provides that permanent vacancies in the sangguniang panlalawigan where automatic succession does not apply are filled by presidential appointment through the Executive Secretary.
Section 23 mandates that only the nominee of the political party under which the concerned sanggunian member was elected shall be appointed; the appointee must come from that political party and serve the unexpired term.
Section 23 requires nomination and certificate of membership from the highest official of the political party as conditions sine qua non; any appointment without these is null and void ab initio and is a ground for administrative action against the responsible official.
Section 23 provides that if a vacancy is caused by a sanggunian member not belonging to any political party, the provincial governor appoints a qualified person upon recommendation of the sangguniang panlalawigan.
Section 23 provides that vacancies in representation of the sangguniang kabataan, the sangguniang barangay, and the provincial league of councilors in the sangguniang panlalawigan are filled automatically by the next in rank of the organization concerned.
Section 24 provides that when the provincial governor is temporarily incapacitated for physical or legal reasons, the vice governor automatically exercises the powers and performs