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 from the provincial treasury (Section 7).

Treasurer: taxation administration, collections, bonds, deposits

The provincial treasurer is the province’s chief financial officer (Section 9).
The provincial treasurer must supervise appraisement and assessment of real property in municipalities following the Municipal Code (Section 9).
Unless otherwise specially provided, the treasurer collects taxes imposed on property or persons by municipalities, the provincial government, or the central government, through himself or deputies (Section 9).
The treasurer must procure and file certified tax assessment lists from each municipality, and create an alphabetical index, which is a public record (Section 9).
The treasurer may appoint deputies and clerks as necessary with approval of the provincial board and the Treasurer of the Philippine Islands (Section 9).
Deputies and clerks must be selected under the Civil Service Act (Section 9).
The treasurer may require each deputy to post a bond equal to the largest public funds of every kind likely to be in the deputy’s custody at any time (Section 9).
The treasurer acts as collector of internal revenue for the province and reports to the Collector of Internal Revenue for the Islands, making settlements and deposits required by law (Section 9).
The treasurer keeps custody of provincial funds and pays out only upon warrants drawn according to law (Section 9).
A warrant must be duly endorsed by the payee named therein and constitutes the treasurer’s voucher for payment (Section 9).
The treasurer must render an account before the fifth day of each month to the provincial board covering the preceding month’s transactions, including opening cash, receipts by source, payments by account, and closing cash (Section 9).
The provincial board examines the account; if correct, it certifies correctness on the face of the account, and the treasurer forwards copies to the Insular Treasurer and the Auditor of the Islands (Section 9).
For each fiscal year ending June 30, the treasurer must prepare and forward to the Insular Treasurer by August 1 detailed receipts and expenditures reports and provide copies to the provincial board and the Auditor of the Islands (Section 9).
The Insular Treasurer must examine the treasurer’s books, papers, vouchers, and cash at least once every quarter, and the examining report is made in duplicate, with one filed with the Insular Treasurer and one sent to the provincial board (Section 9).
Funds collected for the Insular government must be deposited with the Insular Treasurer within 30 days after collection (Section 9).

Provincial supervisor: roads, buildings, contracts

The provincial supervisor supervises construction, repair, and maintenance of roads, bridges, and ferries of the province, except those within inhabited portions of pueblos and barrios (Section 10).
The supervisor must fix, by agreement with each municipal president under the arrangement in Section 10, the territory for which repairs/construction/maintenance are assigned to the municipal government and to the provincial government (Section 10).
If there is disagreement, the issue is resolved by the provincial board constituted under Act No. 83, whose decision is final (Section 10).
The supervisor has charge of construction and repair of provincial public buildings and offices and serves as custodian under direction of the provincial board (Section 10).
Contracts for construction, repair, or maintenance of buildings, roads, bridges, and ferries are let by the supervisor with provincial board approval (Section 10).
No payment, partial or final, is made on any contract without the supervisor’s certificate that the payment is due (Section 10).
Before letting a contract, the supervisor must prepare plans and specifications and make an estimate of cost, submitting them to the provincial board (Section 10).
The supervisor must make monthly reports to the provincial board on the condition of roads, bridges, and public buildings and recommend needed repairs or new construction (Section 10).
The supervisor may appoint permanent assistants, clerks, and employees subject to the Civil Service Act and provincial board approval (Section 10).
The number and salaries of those employees must be reported to the Insular Treasurer, who can abolish offices and reduce salaries similarly to the governor’s subordinates (Section 10, Section 7).
The supervisor must ensure roads, bridges, and public buildings are kept in proper repair (Section 10).
Stationery and office supplies for provincial officers, the Court of First Instance, and its officers are purchased by the supervisor on orders of the provincial board (Section 10).
The supervisor must maintain a property account charging provincial officers with furniture or other personal property delivered for public purposes and must take receipts for deliveries (Section 10).

Provincial fiscal: legal adviser and prosecution roles

The provincial fiscal serves as the attorney and legal adviser of the provincial government and its officers when called upon, and officers may request written opinions (Section 11).
The provincial fiscal represents the provincial government in suits brought for or against it in courts of the province or other provinces (Section 11).
The provincial fiscal is the legal adviser of the council and president of each municipality and submits written views upon request on questions arising in their public duties (Section 11).
The provincial fiscal represents the public in criminal cases in the courts of the province and performs duties required for criminal prosecutions under the Code of Criminal Procedure (Section 11).
If interests of a municipality conflict with those of the provincial government, the provincial fiscal acts for the provincial government and the municipality must hire special counsel (Section 11).
The Attorney-General represents the provincial government in suits for or against it that reach the Supreme Court, unless the Attorney-General authorizes the provincial fiscal to assist in the Supreme Court hearing (Section 11).
When one province sues another province, the Attorney-General does not participate; the provinces are represented in the Supreme Court by their respective provincial fiscals (Section 11).
If a criminal case is appealed to the Supreme Court, the provincial fiscal must immediately report to the Attorney-General the questions of law and fact and the court’s conclusions, and if directed, appear in the Supreme Court on appeal (Section 11).
The Attorney-General has general supervision over provincial fiscals, prepares rules for their guidance, may require reports, and issues an annual report through the Military Governor to the Commission on conditions of public business in litigation throughout the Islands (Section 11).

Provincial board powers and warrant controls

The provincial board consists of the governor, treasurer, and supervisor (Section 12).
The governor is the presiding officer of the provincial board (Section 12).
The provincial secretary is the board secretary who keeps minutes but is not a member (Section 12).
The provincial board must fix the rate per centum of ad valorem taxation on real estate for provincial purposes within limits prescribed by Act No. 83 (Section 13(a)).
The provincial board must provide provincial offices, a courthouse with suitable rooms for court and officers, and a provincial jail in the municipality fixed by law as the capital of the province (Section 13(b)).
The provincial board must provide a suitable vault or safe for the provincial treasurer to keep provincial and other public funds, with exceptions stated in Section 13(c) (Section 13(c)).
The provincial board orders construction/repair/maintenance of roads, bridges, and ferries under its control (as fixed under Section 10) on the recommendation of the supervisor, and approves or rejects contracts for those works and for provincial buildings let by the supervisor (Section 13(d)).
The provincial board coordinates joint control on boundary roads and boundary-crossing bridges and ferries with an adjoining province through an agreed recommendation with that province’s provincial board within limits of law (Section 13(e)).
The provincial board directs bringing or defense of suits for the provincial government and may compromise them on recommendation of the provincial fiscal and approval of the Judge of First Instance for the province (Section 13(f)).
The provincial board orders monthly salary payments and payment of lawfully contracted indebtedness by directing the issuance of warrants on the provincial treasurer (Section 13(g)).
Every warrant must be drawn by the governor and countersigned by the provincial secretary, and must state:
- cause and purpose of the drawing,
- the date of the board resolution authorizing it, and
- the page of the minutes where recorded (Section 13(g)).
If the provincial treasurer deems any warrant unlawful or unwarranted, he may suspend payment and refer the matter to the Treasurer of the Islands, whose decision is mandatory (Section 13(g)).
The board may authorize the provincial treasurer to deposit provincial funds not needed for near-future public use in a bank of deposit of approved standing in the Islands, and interest inures to the provincial treasury (Section 13(h)).
No deposit is made unless a board resolution has been spread on the minutes approving exact contract terms of the deposit (Section 13(h)).
The bank must certify weekly balances to the provincial governor and the Treasurer of the Islands (Section 13(h)).
The board may levy an annual tax on real estate for provincial purposes not exceeding three-eighths of one per cent on assessed value under the Municipal Code (Section 13(i)).
The board must allocate one-eighth of one per cent of the permitted tax for construction and repair of roads and bridges, and even if the board fails to levy that portion, the treasurer must collect it; collected funds must be used only for that road/bridge purpose (Section 13(i)).
The remaining two-eighths of one per cent or any part thereof may be levied in the board’s discretion and applied to purposes authorized by Act No. 83 (Section 13(i)).
The board holds regular weekly meetings on a day fixed by the board and special meetings upon call of the governor, and board meetings are open to the public (Section 13(j)).
The board may appoint other subordinate employees under provincial offices and fix their salaries, but such orders become effective only after notice to the Treasurer of the Islands and that office’s approval (Section 13(k)).
The board adopts rules regulating hours of employment of subordinates in provincial offices (Section 13(l)).
The board provides a seal for the province (Section 13(m)).

Contracting controls for public works

No contract for construction of a road, bridge, or public building may be entered until the provincial treasurer certifies that sufficient sums exist in the provincial treasury to meet the estimated lawful cost (Section 14).
After the certification is made and filed and the contract is entered, the treasurer treats the certified sum as not subject to warrant except to meet obligations under the contract (Section 14).
Repair, construction, or equipment work involving more than five hundred dollars in United States money must be let to the lowest responsible bidder (Section 15).
That letting requires ten days of public notice through advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the province, or if there is no such paper, by a notice posted for ten days at the main entrance to the supervisor’s office in the provincial capital (Section 15).
If the provincial board deems the work sufficiently large, it may authorize additional bid advertisement in a newspaper published in the city of Manila (Section 15).
The supervisor may reject any or all bids (Section 15).
If bids are too high, the supervisor may recommend to the board that the province purchase materials, hire labor, and have the supervisor supervise the work, subject to board authorization (Section 15).

Financial supervision by Insular Treasurer; auditing

The Insular Treasurer must prepare printed rules for provincial treasurers, including methods for books, forms of receipts for taxes and other money, and forms for monthly, annual, and other reports (Section 16).
Provincial treasurers’ books, accounts, papers, and cash are open at all times to inspection of the Insular Treasurer or the Auditor of the Islands or a duly authorized agent (Section 16).
The accounts and offices of each provincial treasurer are audited at least once a year by the Auditor for the Islands or duly authorized agent (Section 16).
If an examination discloses a defalcation by a provincial treasurer, it is the duty of the examining officer other than the Insular Treasurer to notify the Insular Treasurer at once (Section 16).
Upon notification, the Insular Treasurer must seize the provincial treasurer’s office, including books, papers, vouchers, and cash, until the amount due is exactly determined and a correct account stated (Section 16).
After seizure, the Insular Treasurer must notify the defaulting officer’s sureties at once (Section 16).
The provincial fiscal must immediately file suit to recover amounts due on the official bond of the defaulting officer, using the Insular Treasurer’s stated account as prima facie evidence of the bond indebtedness (Section 16).
Criminal proceedings must also be instituted immediately against the defaulting officer (Section 16).

Provincial taxes: collection, assessments, appeals

Taxes levied by order of the provincial board are collected at the same time and in the same manner as municipal taxes under the Municipal Code (Section 17).
A taxpayer disputing the legality of provincial taxes may use the same appeal procedure for assessments from the municipal board of assessment to the board of tax appeals that the Municipal Code provides for municipal taxes (Section 17).
The Municipal Code provisions on valuation, enforcement of collection, sale of property for delinquent taxes, redemption, remedies for alleged unjust taxes, and provisions for penalties apply to provincial taxes (Section 17).
Municipal and provincial taxes may be collected in one legal proceeding in the name of the provincial treasurer for the use of the municipality and the province (Section 17).

Revenue sharing (transitory) and road allocations

Until March 1, 1902, one-fourth of taxes collected under existing internal revenue and forestry laws by the Internal Revenue Collector and deputies in the province after January 1, 1901 must be paid into the provincial treasury for provincial purposes (Section 18).
Of each one-fourth under this rule, at least one-third must be devoted to the repair and construction of roads in the province (Section 18).
Collections derived from persons cutting timber on government land under forestry laws are treated as collected in the province where the timber is cut even if collected at Manila or another place (Section 18).
The amount due to any province under Section 18 is fixed by the Collector of Internal Revenue of the Islands after examination of the records of his office and those of the Bureau of Forestry (Section 18).
The Collector certifies the fixed amount to the Insular Treasurer, to the proper provincial treasurer, and—if money is paid into the Insular Treasury through the Military Governor—to the Commission for necessary appropriation (Section 18).
If the money has not been paid into the Insular Treasury and remains with the provincial treasurer as provincial collector of Internal Revenue, it must be paid into the provincial treasury as provincial funds (Section 18).

Discipline for disloyalty and misconduct

If the military governor has reason to believe a provincial officer is guilty of disloyalty, dishonesty, oppression, or misconduct in office, he may suspend the officer from discharging duties (Section 19).
The military governor must report the suspension and grounds to the Commission (Section 19).
After due notice to the suspended officer, the Commission investigates and either removes the officer or reinstates him based on the circumstances (Section 19).
Suspension or removal does not prevent institution of criminal proceedings under the Criminal Code (Section 19).
Every provincial officer is