Provincial Government Act 1901

Provincial government as corporate body

Every provincial government established under Act No. 83 is a body corporate with power to sue and be sued (Section 2).
Every provincial government may have and use a corporate seal (Section 2).
Every provincial government may hold property, real and personal (Section 2).
Every provincial government may make contracts for labor and material needed in duly authorized public works (Section 2).
Every provincial government may incur only those other obligations that are expressly authorized by law (Section 2).

Key provincial offices and eligibility limits

Every provincial government includes these officers: provincial governor, provincial secretary, provincial treasurer, provincial supervisor, and provincial fiscal (Section 3).
Eligibility for these offices is limited to persons who are either:
- citizens of the United States, or
- natives of the Philippine Islands, or
- a person who acquired the political rights of a native of the islands under and by virtue of the Treaty of Paris, or
- persons who took an oath of allegiance to the United States but did not violate it, and who are not in prohibited status described by Section 3 (Section 3).
A person is ineligible if he violates the oath of allegiance or is in arms against the United States after April 1, 1901, or gives aid and comfort to persons so in arms after that date (Section 3).
Nonresidence in the province does not bar eligibility for election or appointment (Section 3).
During incumbency, the person elected or appointed to a provincial office must reside at the capital of the province (Section 3).
Annual salaries of the named provincial officers are fixed in the act extending Act No. 83 to the province (Section 3).

Governor: selection, confirmation, term, replacement

The provincial governor is selected through a joint convention of councilors of every duly organized municipality in the province (Section 4).
The joint convention meets at the capital of the province on the first Monday in February of 1902 and every second year thereafter (Section 4).
The convention selects a presiding officer and secretary before voting (Section 4).
The convention chooses the governor by secret ballot (Section 4).
A majority of those present and entitled to vote is required to elect (Section 4).
The convention’s action is forwarded to the Commission by the secretary of the convention, duly certified by the presiding officer and the secretary (Section 4).
The Commission must confirm the named person unless the Commission finds any of the following:
- the candidate was unfairly elected,
- the candidate is ineligible, or
- there is reasonable ground to suspect loyalty (Section 4).
If the Commission declines confirmation, the convention is reconvened at a time fixed by the Commission and a second election is held (Section 4).
If confirmation fails in the second election, the Commission appoints the governor (Section 4).
The term of the governor elected or appointed begins on the first Monday in March and continues for two years, and until a successor is duly selected and qualified (Section 4).
If a provincial government is established before the scheduled election date, the Commission appoints a governor to hold office until his successor is selected and qualified under Section 4 (Section 4).

Appointments, civil service rules, language, bonds

The provincial secretary, provincial treasurer, provincial supervisor, and provincial fiscal are appointed by the Commission to hold office during its pleasure (Section 5).
Except for the provincial fiscal, those officers selected after March 1, 1902 follow the Civil Service Act restrictions and provisions (Section 5).
The provincial secretary must be able to speak and write Spanish, and after January 1, 1906, also English (Section 5).
The provincial supervisor must be a competent civil engineer and surveyor (Section 5).
The provincial fiscal must be a regularly admitted member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the Islands and must speak and write Spanish, and after January 1, 1906, also English (Section 5).
Before qualifying, the provincial treasurer must give a bond to the Insular Government for the benefit of those interested, with surety sufficient to cover the greatest amount of public funds from all sources likely to be in his custody at any one time (Section 5).
The Commission fixes the bond amount and approves the sufficiency of surety or sureties (Section 5).
The bond must be conditioned to secure:
- faithful performance of official duties as prescribed by law, and
- accounting for all public funds coming into the treasurer’s hands or those of authorized deputies during incumbency, and
- in case of death or removal, accounting until statements of accounts by the Insular Treasurer (Section 5).
The Insular Treasurer supervises provincial treasurers’ bonds and may require a new or additional bond if the existing bond is too small or insufficient (Section 5).
After Commission approval, provincial treasurer bonds are filed with the Insular Treasurer, who records them and safely keeps them (Section 5).

Oaths, attestations, and recordkeeping

All provincial officers must, before assuming office, take and subscribe the required oath or affirmation described in Section 6 (Section 6).
The oath requires faithful performance of duties, faithful accounting for moneys handled, true faith and allegiance to the Government of the United States, and that the oath is taken without any mental reservation (Section 6).
For an affirmation, the last four words “So held me God” are omitted (Section 6).
Oaths must be filed in the office of the provincial secretary (Section 6).
The provincial governor is the chief executive officer of the province (Section 7).
The provincial secretary attests the governor’s official acts under the seal of the province and records governor acts required by law to be recorded (Section 8).
The provincial secretary is custodian of the provincial seal and is custodian of provincial records and documents (Section 8).
The provincial secretary files reports received from the governor, indexes them, and furnishes certified copies upon demand for personal compensation of ten cents (Mexican) per one hundred words, including the certificate (Section 8).
If the governor’s office becomes vacant or the governor is absent from the province, the provincial secretary discharges the governor’s duties during the vacancy or absence or until a successor is filled (Section 8).

Governor’s executive powers and discipline

The governor must report to the chief executive officer of the Insular Government (Section 7).
The governor must ensure that laws are faithfully executed by all provincial officers (Section 7).
The governor must receive the Judge of First Instance when entering the province, and must provide for protection and entertainment, charging reasonable expenses to the provincial treasury not to exceed three dollars a day (Section 7).
Expenses of entertainment are not allowed when the Judge of First Instance has his usual place of residence in the capital of the province where the court is held (Section 7).
The governor must attend the Court of First Instance when in session, by himself or deputy as chief executive officer of the court and province, and must execute processes required by law (Section 7).
The governor has control of the local constabulary or police of municipalities in the province, subject to other provisions of law (Section 7).
When public interests require, the governor may temporarily withdraw a part of the police/constabulary from one municipality for use in other pueblos in the province (Section 7).
Upon filing of charges or receiving authentic information of maladministration by a municipal officer, the governor may suspend the officer and immediately forward to the Commission, through the Chief Executive of the Islands, a written statement of grounds and evidence, with notice to the suspended official (Section 7).
After hearing and investigation, the Commission must either remove the suspended officer or reinstate him (Section 7).
The governor presides at meetings of the provincial board (Section 7, Section 12).
The governor must visit every municipality at least once every six months (Section 7).
While visiting a municipality, the governor hears complaints against executive officers of that municipality and acts by dismissing, suspending and transmitting charges to the Commission, or directing the provincial fiscal to bring criminal or civil suit in the public interest where the complaint involves civil or criminal liability (Section 7).
Between January 1 and January 15 of each year, the governor must submit to the chief executive officer of the Insular Government a report on the province’s condition for the year ending December 31, with recommended measures for improvement (Section 7).
When lawless violence or seditious conspiracy and disturbance of the public peace is so formidable that it is beyond local police power to suppress, the governor must call upon the chief executive of the Insular Government or the military officer commanding the district to send troops (Section 7).
The governor has custody of prisoners awaiting trial or duly sentenced to the provincial jail, through a jailer and guards appointed by the governor (Section 7).
The governor may employ deputies and assistants necessary for duties, subject to board approval, and their salaries are fixed by the governor with the same approval (Section 7).
The governor must report the number and salaries of such employees to the Insular Treasurer at the close of each month, and the Insular Treasurer may abolish subordinate offices or reduce salaries to secure economy and uniformity; increases are prohibited after a reduction until approval is obtained (Section 7).
Salaries of these employees are paid fro