H. No. 3748 / 52 OG No. 9, 4191 (August 16, 1956)

[ REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1515, June 16, 1956 ]

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A MORE AUTONOMOUS GOVERNMENT FOR MUNICIPAL DISTRICTS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE ARTICLE SIX, CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:SECTION 1. Article six, Chapter sixty-four of the Administrative Code is amended to read as follows:"ARTICLE VI.—Municipal Districts

"SEC. 2630. Special municipal governments.—In localities the majorities of the inhabitants whereof have not progressed sufficiently in civilization to make it practicable to bring them under municipal government as provided in existing legislation, and whenever non-Christian settlements are so small or remote that their organization as barrios of municipalities is impracticable, there shall be organized municipal district governments in accordance with the provisions of this article."SEC. 2630-A. Classification of municipal districts.—Municipal districts are divided into four classes, according to their receipts, as follows:"(a) Municipal districts of the first class be those the annual receipts of which averaged three thousand pesos or more but less than four thousand pesos during the last four fiscal years, and shall have six councilors;"(b) Municipal districts of the second class shall be those the annual receipts of which averaged two thousand pesos or more but less than three thousand pesos during the last four fiscal years, and shall have six councilors; "(c) Municipal districts of the third class shall be those the annual receipts of which averaged one thousand five hundred pesos or more but less than two thousand pesos during the last four fiscal years, and shall have four councilors; and"(d) Municipal districts of the fourth class shall be those the annual receipts of which averaged one thousand pesos or more but less than one thousand five hundred pesos during the last four fiscal years, and shall have four councilors."Any municipal district the average receipts of which are less than one thousand pesos shall be incorporated and merged with such adjacent municipal district as the provincial board concerned shall determine."Beginning with the fiscal year nineteen hundred fifty-seven and for each period of four consecutive fiscal years thereafter, the chief of local governments shall cause the classification of municipal districts in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraphs."SEC. 2630-B. Officials of the municipal districts.—The mayor, vice-mayor and councilors of each municipal district shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof during every selection for provincial and municipal officers in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Election Code. No person shall be eligible for the position of mayor, vice-mayor or councilors of a municipal district unless he has the corresponding qualifications prescribed by law for elective municipal officers."There shall also be in each municipal district a secretary, a treasurer and such other appointive officers and employees as the municipal district council shall deem necessary and provide for and the provincial board shall authorize."SEC. 2630-C. Salaries.—Notwithstanding the provisions of the minimum wage law, the municipal district officers shall receive the following annual compensation:"(a) In first class municipal districts—mayor, five hundred forty pesos; vice-mayor and councilors, a per diem of three pesos; treasurer, four hundred eighty pesos; and secretary, four hundred twenty pesos;"(b) In second class municipal districts—mayor, four hundred eighty pesos; vice-mayor and councilors, a per diem of two pesos and fifty centavos; treasurer, four hundred twenty pesos; and secretary, three hundred sixty pesos;"(c) In third class municipal districts—mayor, four hundred twenty pesos; vice-mayor and councilors, a per diem of two pesos; treasurer, three hundred sixty pesos; and secretary, three hundred pesos;"(d) In fourth class municipal districts—mayor, three hundred sixty pesos; vice-mayor and councilors, a per diem of one peso and fifty centavos; treasurer, three hundred pesos; and secretary, two hundred forty pesos."SEC. 2630-D. The mayor.—The mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the municipal district and shall have the following general powers and duties:"(a) Observance and enforcement of laws.—He shall take care that all laws, ordinances, regulations, and resolutions in force in the municipal district are duly observed and executed within its jurisdiction."(b) Authority over municipal district officers.—He shall see that all other officers of the municipal district faithfully discharge their respective duties, and to that end may, with the approval of the provincial governor, cause to be instituted any appropriate criminal action or take other proceedings to bring the attention of the proper superior officer to the derelictions of any municipal district official."(c) Recommendations to council.—He shall give to the municipal district council from time to time such information and recommend such measures as he shall deem advantageous to the municipal district."(d) Meetings of council.—He shall preside at all meetings of the municipal district council; shall have the right to vote on ordinances or other matters coming before the council only in the case of a tie vote; shall sign the secretary's record of the proceedings of each meeting of the council, at the same meeting at which the same is approved by the council; and shall sign all ordinances and resolutions."(e) Bonds, contracts, and so forth.—He shall sign all bonds, contracts, and obligations of the municipal district, pursuant to a resolution of the municipal district council, duly approved by the provincial board in each instance, unless otherwise herein provided."(f) Appointments.—He shall appoint, with the consent of the majority of all the members of the municipal district council, the municipal district secretary, and upon recommendation of the chief of office concerned, all non-elective municipal district officers and employees that may be provided for by law or by ordinance, with the exception of school teachers and the municipal district treasurer. "(g) Nominations.—He shall make all nominations at the first meeting of the municipal district council after assuming the duties of his office except for those offices and employments in which a vacancy may occur during his term. In case the council shall reject any of the nominations made by him, he shall be entitled to appeal to the provincial board, whose decision shall be final. In case a vacancy occurs in any of the above-named offices and employments during the term of office of the mayor, he shall submit a nomination to the municipal district council at the first regular meeting after the occurrence of the vacancy."(h) Public order, calamities, and so forth.—He shall issue orders relating to the police or to public safety, and orders for the purpose of avoiding conflagrations, floods, and the effects of storms or other public calamities."(i) Collection of taxes.—He shall assist the provincial treasurer and his deputies in the collection of taxes."(j) Judicial powers.—He shall act as ex-officio justice of the peace for the municipal district in the absence of the justice and auxiliary justice of the peace therein, subject to the provisions and limitations of general law. Fees collected by him while acting as justice of the peace shall be covered into the municipal district treasury."(k) Inspection of barrios.—He shall at least once every three months visit every barrio within the municipal district."(l) Annual report.—He shall, on or before the tenth day of January of each year, prepare and present to the provincial board an annual report covering the operations of the municipal district government during the preceding year."SEC. 2630-E. The vice-mayor.—The vice-mayor shall be a member of the municipal district council and shall during the temporary absence of the mayor from the municipal district or his disability for any reason, discharge the duties of his office and exercise all his powers; and in case of death, removal, or permanent disability of the mayor, the vice-mayor shall act as temporary mayor until a new mayor shall have been elected and shall have qualified."SEC. 2630-F. The municipal district treasurer.—The municipal district treasurer shall, until otherwise provided by law, be appointed by the provincial treasurer, subject to the approval of the provincial board, and shall perform the following general powers and duties:"(a) Receipts and accounts for moneys.—He shall receive all moneys paid to the municipal district from any source whatever, and shall account for the same in accordance with law and administrative regulations."(b) Account to provincial auditor.—He shall render such accounts as the provincial auditor may require of him."(c) Office keeping of money, and so forth.—He shall have his office in the municipal district building and he shall keep in the municipal district steel safe, which it shall be the duty of the municipal district council to provide all funds in his custody. Such money shall be kept separate and distinct from his own money, and he shall not be permitted to make profit out of public money or to lend or otherwise use it or to use the same in any method not authorized by law. "(d) Deposit of funds.—He shall deposit for safe keeping the provincial treasurer such sums of money as he deem necessary."(e) Custodian of municipal district property.—He shall be the custodian of all municipal district property and shall keep a complete record thereof."(f) Annual report.—He shall, during the first fifteen days of July of each year, prepare in duplicate itemized statements of the income and disbursements for the preceding fiscal year, one copy of which shall be transmitted to the provincial treasurer and the other to the municipal district council."(g) List of taxpayers.—He shall, within ten days after the passage of the ordinance by the council for the payment of licenses or privilege taxes, prepare a list of the names of the persons whose business, if continued, would render them liable to the license or tax, and he shall transmit such list at once to the provincial treasurer to enable them more readily to detect persons failing to pay the licenses and privilege taxes for which they shall have become liable."(h) Requisitions.—He shall make requisitions upon the provincial treasurer for necessary supplies or equipment, in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (h) of section two thousand six hundred and eleven hereof."(i) Civil register.—He shall keep a civil register as prescribed by Act Numbered Thirty-seven hundred fifty-three."SEC. 2630-G. The municipal district secretary.—The municipal district secretary shall have the following general powers and duties:"(a) Council meeting.—He shall act as secretary of the municipal district council, whose meetings it shall be his duty to attend."(b) Journal of proceedings.—He shall record all ordinances, finances passed by the municipal district council with the dates of the passage and publication of the same."(c) Seal.—He shall keep the corporate seal and affix the same with his signature to all ordinances and other official acts of the mayor or council."(d) Posting.—He shall cause each ordinance passed to be posted as herein provided."(e) Documents, and so forth.—He shall have charge of all records and documents of the municipal district for which provisions is not otherwise made, and shall, on demand, furnish certified copies of all municipal records and documents and collect and receive therefor a fee of ten centavos per one hundred words which shall accrue to the municipal district treasury."(f) Ordinances, resolutions, and so forth.—He shall, within thirty-six hours after any session of the council or the issuance of an order by the mayor, forward a correct and certified copy of each resolution and ordinance passed thereat, and of every order of the mayor, properly numbered, to the provincial board. He shall also, within the thirty-six hours aforesaid, forward to the provincial treasurer a copy of each resolution or ordinance authorizing or necessitating the collection of municipal district revenues. He shall translate or cause to be translated each ordinance into the dialect generally spoken in the municipal district and forward copies thereof to each municipal district councilor."The provincial board shall have the power to disapprove ordinances and resolutions of the municipal district on the same grounds as those provided for in the general law for regular municipalities. The decision made in pursuance of such power shall be final."(g) Other duties.—He shall perform such other duties as the mayor or council may direct."SEC. 2630-H. Councilors.—The councilors shall participate in the exercise of the powers vested in the municipal district council as a body and shall therein serve as t representative of the true interests of the people of the entire municipal district. As an individual officer, each councilor shall have the following general duties and powers:"(a) Information for barrios.—He shall keep the people of the barrio or barrios confided to his care by the council informed as to the acts of the council, or other governmental measures which directly concern them, by 'bandillo' or other methods of appropriate or effective publication."(b) Recommendation to the council.—He shall bring the special needs of the barrio or barrios under his care to the attention of the council and shall make such recommendations as he may deem necessary."(c) Important events.—He shall promptly inform the mayor of any unusual or untoward event occurring within said barrio or barrios."(d) Lieutenant of barrio.—He shall appoint not more than two lieutenants for the barrio or each of the barrios which come under his immediate supervision. A lieutenant of barrio shall serve without compensation, and shall report directly to the councilor appointing him. It shall be the duty of the lieutenant of barrio to assist the councilor in the performance of his ministerial duties in the barrio. The term of office of the lieutenant of barrio shall be that of the councilor appointing him."The qualifications for barrio lieutenant shall be the same as those required by law in regular municipalities. "(e) Substitute lieutenant of barrio.—He shall also appoint a substitute lieutenant of barrio, who shall take the place of the lieutenant of the barrio during the temporary absence or disability of the latter."SEC. 2631. The municipal district council.—The municipal district council shall be composed of the mayor, as the presiding officer, the vice-mayor and the number of councilors prescribed in section two thousand six hundred thirty-A hereof. The council shall have the power, by ordinance or resolution:"(a) Appropriations.—To make, subject to the approval of the provincial board, necessary appropriations for the expenses of government of the municipal district, and fix in said appropriations, without regard to the provisions of the minimum wage law, the salaries of municipal district officers and employees, except as herein provided."(b) Property.—To purchase, receive, hold real and personal property for the benefit of the municipal district and subject to the approval of the provincial board, to sell, lease, convey and dispose of real property."(c) Levy, collections and expenditures of taxes.—Subject to the approval of the provincial board, to provide for the levy and collection of taxes and other municipal district revenues, as provided by law, and apply the same to the payment of expenses of the municipal district in accordance with the appropriations."(d) Licenses and license fee.—Subject to the approval of the provincial board, to prescribe licenses fixing the amount of the license fee for the following: hawkers, peddlers, hucksters, not including hucksters or peddlers who sell only native vegetables, fruits or foods, personally carried by the huckster or peddler, auctioneers, plumbers, barbers, tailor shops, bakeries, manicuring establishments, massage parlors, embalmers, collecting agencies, mercantile agencies, transportation companies and agencies, advertising agents, tattooers, hotels, clubs, restaurants, lodging-houses, livery stables, boarding stables, laundries, cleaning and dyeing establishments, establishments for the storage of highly combustible or explosive materials, public warehouses, circus and other similar parades, public vehicles, bicycles, horse races, bowling alleys, pawnbrokers, dealers in second-hand merchandise, junk dealers, billiard tables, theaters, theatrical performances and all other performances and places of amusement, shooting galleries, and merry-go round; to regulate and license dance halls, and the selling, giving away, or disposing, in any manner, of any intoxicating, spirituous, vinous, or fermented liquors; and to regulate and license signs, signboards, and billboards, displayed or maintained in any place exposed to public view, except those displayed at the place or places where the profession or business advertised thereby is in whole or in part conducted, and fix the sum to be paid for such licenses."If after due investigation the mayor shall decide that any person licensed under the provisions of this subsection is abusing his license and privilege to the injury of the public morals or peace, or that any place so licensed has been or is conducted in a disorderly or unlawful manner, or a nuisance, or is permitted to be used as a resort for disorderly characters, criminals, or women of ill repute, he may by order summarily revoke such license, subject to appeal to the provincial board, whose action on the appeal shall be final. Such revocation shall operate to forfeit to the municipal district all sums which may have been paid for said license."(e) Regulations for conducting business.—To make regulations for the conduct of the business of the persons and places named in subsection (d) of this section; to regulate the business and fix the location of blacksmith shops, foundries, steam boilers, steam engines, lumber yards, sawmills, and other establishments likely to endanger the public safety by giving rise to conflagrations or explosions; to regulate the storage and sale of gunpowder, tar, pitch, resin, coal, oil, gasoline, benzine, turpentine, nitroglycerine, petroleum, or any of the products thereof and of all other highly combustible or explosive materials."(f) Public buildings.—Subject to the approval of the provincial board, to provide for the erection or rental of public buildings necessary for the use of the municipal district."(g) Scholarships.—To grant scholarships to male and female students in the municipal district, under such conditions as it may deem convenient to prescribe, subject to the approval of the provincial board and the chief of local governments."(h) Building regulations.—To establish fire limits, and prescribe the kind of buildings and structures that may be erected within said limits, and the manner of constructing and repairing the same."(i) To prepare and lay out plans for streets, sections for public and private buildings, markets, playgrounds, cemeteries, plazas and schools to be approved by the National Planning Commission."(j) Fire department.—To erect engine houses, and provide fire engines, hose carts, hooks and ladders, and other equipment for the prevention and extinguishment of fires, and to provide for the management and use of the same. Until further provision is made, the law for fire protection in municipalities having no paid department, except as to the number of authorized volunteer firemen, shall apply to all municipal districts."(k) Lights, fires, and fireworks.—To regulate the use of lights in stables, shops, and other buildings and placed, and to regulate or restrain the building of bonfires and the use of firecrackers, fireworks, torpedoes, and pyrotechnic displays."(l) Storms and calamities.—To make suitable provisions to insure the public safety from conflagrations, the effects of storms, and other public calamities, and to provide relief for persons suffering from the same."(m) Waterworks and water supply.—To maintain waterworks and artesian wells for the purpose of supplying water to the inhabitants of the municipal district, to purify the source of supply, and regulate the control and use of the water, and to fix and collect rents therefor; to regulate the construction, repair, and use of hydrants, pumps, cisterns, and reservoirs, and to prevent the waste of water."(n) Pounds—Stray animals.—To establish and maintain a municipal district pound and fix the fees for poundage; to regulate, restrict, or prohibit the running at large of domestic animals and fowls, and to provide for the distraining, impounding, and sale of the same for the penalty incurred and the cost of the proceedings, or for killing in the event of failure or sale; also to impose penalties upon the owners of said animals for the violation of any ordinance in relation thereto. Carabaos, horses, mules, asses, and all members of the bovine family shall, however, be disposed of in accordance with general law."(o) Burial of dead.—To prohibit the burial of the dead within the centers of population of the municipal district and provide for their burial in such proper place and in such manner as the council may determine, subject to the provisions of the general law regulating burial grounds and cemeteries and governing funerals and the disposal of the dead."(p) Slaughterhouses and markets.—Subject to the approval of the provincial board, to establish or authorize the establishment of slaughterhouses and markets, and inspect and regulate the use of the same; to provide for and regulate the keeping, preparation, and sale of meat, fruits, poultry, milk, fish, vegetables, and all other provisions or articles of fond offered for sale."(q) Enforcement of health laws and regulations.—To enforce health laws and regulations, and by ordinance to provide fines and penalties for violations of such regulations, subject to the approval of the provincial board; to adopt such other measures to prevent the introduction and spread of diseases as may, from time to time, be deemed desirable and necessary."(r) Nuisances.—To declare, prevent, and abate nuisances."(s) Cockfighting.—To regulate and license or prohibit cockfighting and to close cockpits subject to the provisions and restrictions of general law."(t) Police.—To establish, maintain, and regulate a police force."(u) Disorderly houses, and so forth.—To suppress houses of ill fame and other disorderly houses to prohibit the printing, sale, or exhibition of immoral pictures, books, or publications of any description."(v) Gambling, riots, and breaches of the peace.—To prevent and suppress riots, gambling, affrays, disturbances, and disorderly assemblies; to punish and prevent intoxication, fighting, quarreling, and all disorderly conduct; to make and enforce all necessary police ordinances, with the view to the confinement and reformation of vagrants, gamblers, disorderly persons, mendicants, and prostitutes, and persons convicted of violating any municipal district ordinance."(w) Penalties for violation of ordinances.—To fix, subject to the approval of the provincial board, penalties or violation of ordinances, but no single penalty shall proceed a fine of two hundred pesos or imprisonment for two months, or both; imprisonment shall be imposed in lieu of unpaid fines at the rate of one days imprisonment for every two pesos and fifty centavos of the fine. Person undergoing imprisonment for violation of ordinances may be required to labor for the period of imprisonment upon public works of the municipal district in such manner as may be directed by the municipal district council. Whenever a person is imprisoned for nonpayment of a fine he shall be released upon payment of such fine, less two pesos and fifty centavos per day for each day that he has been confined. Persons charged with violation of a municipal district ordinance who cannot be tried immediately after arrest shall be released by the chief of police or his authorized agents either upon personal recognizance or a cash bond not exceeding fifty per centum of the maximum fine provided in the ordinance."(x) General welfare clause.—To make such further ordinances and regulations, not repugnant to law, as may be necessary to carry into effect and discharge the powers and duties conferred herein, and such as shall seem necessary, and proper to provide for the health and safety, promote the prosperity, improve the morals, peace, good order, comfort, and convenience of the municipal district and the inhabitants thereof, and for the protection of property therein; and enforce obedience thereto with such lawful fines or penalties as the municipal district council may prescribe under the provisions of subsection (w) of this section."The ordinances and resolutions approved by the council shall take effect as provided for in the Administrative Code for regular municipalities."

SEC. 2. Any fifth class municipality, the annual receipts of which shall fail, to average four thousand pesos for four consecutive fiscal years shall ipso facto be classified as a first class municipal district and shall thereafter be governed by the provisions of Article six, Chapter sixty-four of the Administrative Code, as hereinabove amended. Similarly, any first class municipal district the annual receipts of which shall average more than four thousand pesos for four consecutive fiscal years shall ipso facto be classified as a fifth class municipality and shall thereafter governed by the provisions of Articles one to five, Chapter sixty-four of the same Code.SEC. 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval. Approved, June 16, 1956.

Source: Supreme Court E-Library