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REPUBLIC ACT NO. 288 - AN
ACT CREATING THE CITY OF BASILAN |
ARTICLE I Section 1. Creating of City. — The territory consisting of the whole island of Basilan and adjacent islands, in which are comprised the former municipality of Isabela and the municipal districts of Lamitan and Maluso, is segregated from the City of Zamboanga and organized as city which shall be known as the City of Basilan. Sec. 2. Corporate character. — Said city constitutes a political body corporate endowed with the attribute of perpetual succession and possessed of the powers which pertain to a municipal corporation to be exercised in conformity with the provisions of this Act. Sec. 3. Seal and general powers. — Said city shall
have a seal and may alter the same at pleasure. Sec. 4. The city is not liable for damages. — The city shall not be liable for damages or injuries to persons or property arising from the failure of the mayor, city council or any other city officer, to enforce the provisions of this Act, or any other law or ordinance or from the negligence of said mayor, city council or any other city officer while enforcing or attempting to enforce said provisions. Sec. 5. Police jurisdiction of the city. — The
jurisdiction of said city exclusively for police purposes shall extend
three miles from the shore into the sea. ARTICLE II Sec. 6. Appointment and compensation. — The City of Basilan shall have a mayor who shall be its chief executive and who shall reside therein. He shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, and shall hold office at the pleasure of the President. The mayor shall receive a salary of not to exceed four thousand pesos per annum, the amount to be fixed by the council on the basis of the income of the city. Sec. 7. The acting mayor. — In the event of inability or absence of the mayor, or in the event of a definite vacancy in the position, the engineer of the city shall temporarily perform the duties of the mayor until the position is filled in accordance with law. In the event of inability of the city engineer to perform the duties of the mayor, the President shall appoint one for the position. The acting mayor shall have the same powers and duties as the mayor and if the person appointed is not an officer of the Government, he shall receive the same compensation. Sec. 8. General powers and special duties of the
mayor. — As the chief executive of the city, the mayor shall have
immediate control of the executive and administrative functions of the
different departments, subject to the supervision of the Secretary of
the Interior, and shall be responsible for the proper administration of
the affairs of the city. He shall have the following powers and duties:
Sec. 9. Secretary to the mayor. — The mayor shall
appoint one secretary, with the approval of the city council, who shall
have the following duties: ARTICLE III Section 10. Establishment and organization of the council. — There shall be a council which shall be the legislative body of the City of Basilan. It shall be composed of six members, four of whom shall be elected at large by popular vote during every election held for provincial and municipal officers in conformity with the Revised Election Code, and two, appointed by the President of the Philippines for the same term of office as that of the elective members. The members of the council shall elect from among their number a chairman who shall preside at all sessions of the council in which he is present and shall have the right to vote in all matters submitted to it. In his absence, the member designated by him shall preside at the sessions of the council as acting chairman. The chairman of the council shall sign the ordinances, resolutions and motions directing the payment of money or creating liability. In case of absence or illness of any member of the council, or if, for any reason, it shall become necessary to have a quorum, the President of the Philippines shall appoint temporarily a substitute, who shall hold the office, have the rights, receive the compensation and emoluments and discharge all the duties of a member of the council until such absent or sick member returns to duty. The members of the council shall each receive a per diem not to exceed ten pesos for each day of attendance at the sessions of the council, which per diem shall be fixed by the council with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. Should the Secretary of the Interior disapprove the per diem fixed by the council, he shall fix a per diem which he may deem just or reasonable, but in no case shall it be less than five pesos: Provided, That the chairman of the council shall receive fifty per cent more than the per diem fixed for each member. Section 11. Method of transacting business by
council. — The council shall fix the time and place for its regular
meetings, which shall be held once a week, and shall hold special
meetings not exceeding ten during any one year when called by the
mayor. Any meeting, regular or special, may, in case the amount of
business shall require, be adjourned from day to day until the business
is completed. Section 12. Duties of the secretary of the council. — The secretary of the council shall take charge of the records of the council. He shall keep a complete record of the proceedings of the council and file all the documents regarding the same, and shall record in a book kept for the purpose, all the ordinances and all the resolutions and motions directing the payment of money or creating liability, with the dates of their approval and the publication of the ordinances; shall keep a seal, circular in form, with the inscription: "Council of the City of Basilan," and shall affix the same with his signature to all ordinances and other official resolutions of the council and shall present the same to the chairman for his signature; shall furnish, upon request, certified copies of any record of public character which he may have under his custody, and shall collect and receive for the same the fees which the council may, by resolution, prescribe; and shall have his office and all records thereof, except those of confidential character, open to public inspection during ordinary office hours. Section 13. Appropriation by the council. — The
council shall make all the appropriations for the expenses of the local
government, based on the budget submitted by the mayor on or before May
thirty-one, of the current year. It shall fix the salaries of the city
officers and employees, except those of public school teachers.
Whenever the council fails to approve an appropriation ordinance for
any fiscal year, the appropriation ordinance for the previous fiscal
year, shall be considered reenacted, and shall take effect on the first
day of July of the current year as appropriation ordinance until a new
appropriation ordinance is duly enacted. Section 14. General powers and duties of the council.
— Except as otherwise provided by law, and subject to the conditions
and limitations thereof, the council shall have the following
legislative powers: Section 15. Restrictive provisions. — No commercial
sign, signboard or billboard shall be erected or displayed on public
lands, premises or buildings. If after due investigation and having
given the owners an opportunity to be heard, the mayor shall decide
that any sign, signboard or billboard displayed or exposed to the
public view is offensive to the sight or is otherwise a nuisance, he
may order the removal of such sign, signboard or billboard, and if same
is not removed within ten days after he has given such order, he may
himself cause its removal, and the sign, signboard or billboard shall
thereupon be forfeited to the city, and the expenses incident to the
removal thereof shall become a lawful charge against any person or
property liable for the erection or display thereof. ARTICLE IV Section 16. Departments. — There shall be a city engineer in charge of the engineering department; a city treasurer- assessor in charge of the finance department who shall appoint his deputy treasurers and other subordinate personnel; a city attorney in charge of the law department; and a chief of police in charge of the police department; as well as other officers as heads or other departments which may be established from time to time by ordinance duly enacted and approved by the Secretary of the Interior. Section 17. Appointment and removal of officers and
employees — Compensation. — The President shall appoint with the
consent of the Commission on Appointments, the municipal judge and
auxiliary municipal judge, the city engineer, the city
treasurer-assessor, the city attorney, the chief of police and the
other chiefs of departments of the city which may be created from time
to time, and the President may remove at his discretion any of said
appointive officers with the exception of the municipal judge, who may
be removed only according to law. Section 18. The officers shall not engage in certain
transactions nor receive favors or benefits. — It shall be unlawful for
any officer of the city directly or indirectly, individually or as a
member of a firm, to engage in any business transaction with the city
or with any of its authorized officers, boards, agents or attorneys,
whereby money is to be paid, directly or indirectly out of the
resources of the city to such person or firm; or to purchase any real
estate or other property belonging to the city, or which shall be sold
for taxes or assessment or by virtue of legal process at the suit of
the city, or to be surety for any person having a contract with the
city. ARTICLE V Section 19. Powers and duties of the engineer of the city. — The city engineer shall have charge of all the surveying and engineering work of the city and shall perform such services in connection with the national and city public improvements therein, or in connection with any work entered upon or projected by the city, or any department thereof, as may require the skill and experience of a civil engineer. He shall ascertain, record, and establish the monuments for the survey of the city, and from these as starting point he shall establish the boundaries and survey all the property of the city and also private property abutting on the same, whenever directed by the mayor; shall prepare and submit plans, maps, specifications and estimates for buildings, streets, bridges, docks and other public works, and supervise the construction and repair of the same; shall make such tests and inspection of engineering materials used in the construction and repair, as may be necessary to protect the city from the use of materials of a poor or dangerous quality; shall inspect and report upon the condition of public property and public works, whenever required by the mayor; shall have the care and custody of all public buildings when erected, including markets and slaughterhouses and all buildings rented for the use of the city, and of any system now or hereafter established for lighting the streets, public places and public buildings of the city; shall prevent the encroachment of private buildings and fences on the streets and public places of the city; shall inspect and supervise the construction, repair, removal and safety of private buildings, and regulate and enforce the numbering of houses in accordance with the ordinance of the city; shall have the care of all public streets, parks and bridges; their maintenance, cleaning and sprinkling, and regulate the use of the same for all purposes as provided by ordinance; shall collect and dispose of all garbage refuse, the contents of closets, vaults and cesspools and all other offensive and dangerous substances within the city; shall have the care and custody of all public docks, wharves, piers, levees and landing places when erected; shall have general supervision and inspection of all private docks, wharves, piers, levees and landing places and other property bordering on the harbor, river, creeks and waterways of the city, and shall issue permits for the construction, repair and removal of the same and enforce all ordinances relating thereto; shall have the care and custody of the public system of waterworks; sewers and all sources of water supply of the city, and shall maintain and regulate the use of the same in accordance with the ordinances relating thereto; shall inspect and regulate, subject to the approval of the mayor, the use of all private systems for supplying water to the city and its inhabitants, and all private sewers and their connections with the public sewer system. He shall file and preserve all maps, plans, notes of surveys and other papers and documents pertaining to his office. He shall have power, subject to the approval of the mayor, to cause buildings dangerous to the public to be made secure or torn down, and shall supervise and regulate the location and use of engines, boilers, forges and other manufacturing and heating appliances in accordance with the law and ordinance relating thereto. He is authorized to charge at rates to be fixed by the council, with the approval of the department head, for sanitation and transportation services and supplies furnished by his department. With the previous approval of the mayor in each case, he may order the removal of buildings and structures erected in violation of the ordinances, or the removal of the materials employed in the construction or repair of any building or structure made in violation of said ordinances. He shall supervise and direct for the account of the National Government the maintenance and repair works of the national roads and the construction of other new roads. Sec. 20. Execution of authorized public works and
improvement. — All repair or construction of any work or public
improvement, except parks, boulevards, streets or alleys, involving an
estimated cost of three thousand pesos or more shall be awarded to the
lowest responsible bidder after public advertisement in the Official
Gazette for not less than ten days, by the mayor upon the
recommendation of the city engineer: Provided, however, That the city
engineer may, with the approval of the President of the Philippines
upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Public Works and
Communications, execute by administration any such public works costing
three thousand pesos or more. ARTICLE VI Sec. 21. Powers and duties of the city treasurer-assessor. — The city treasurer-assessor of the city shall have the following powers and duties: (a) He shall collect all taxes due the city, all licenses authorized by law or ordinances, all rents for lands, markets and other property owned by the city, all further charges of whatever nature fixed by law or ordinance, and shall receive for the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and issue receipts for all fines, forfeitures, fees and costs imposed by the Municipal Court. (b) He shall receive and safely keep all moneys derived from the revenues of the city and shall expend and disburse the same upon lawful warrants. (c) He shall perform in the city the duties prescribed by the National Internal Revenue Code and such further duties prescribed by law for provincial treasurers as are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act. (d) He shall discharge his duties in accordance with the provisions of law relating to Government accounts and accounting. (e) He shall render his accounts in such manner as the Auditor General may prescribe. (f) He shall annually assess and value for taxation the real estate of the city in accordance with Act Numbered Four hundred seventy of the Commonwealth, known as the Assessment Law, and shall exercise and perform the powers and duties conferred by said law upon provincial assessors and municipal treasurers. Sec. 22. Deputy treasurers. — There shall be a deputy treasurer in each of the former municipal districts of Lamitan and Maluso who shall exercise and perform the powers and duties that may be assigned to them by the treasurer-assessor. Sec. 23. The board of tax appeals. — There shall be a board of tax appeals to be composed of the members of the city council, with the mayor as its chairman. Sec. 24. Taxes on real estate. — A tax shall be
levied annually on the assessed value of all the real estate in the
city subject to the provisions of Commonwealth Act Numbered Four
hundred seventy, known as the Assessment Law, and other existing laws
on the subject and the same shall be collected in the same form and
manner prescribed in such laws. The powers and other functions as well
as the duties imposed by the said Act Numbered Four hundred seventy
upon provincial boards, shall be vested in and performed by the city
council. ARTICLE VII Sec. 25. The city attorney — His powers and duties. — The city attorney shall be the chief legal adviser of the city. He shall have the following powers and duties: (a) He shall represent the city in all cases wherein the city or any officer thereof, in his official capacity, is a party. (b) He shall, when directed by the mayor, institute and prosecute in the city's interest a suit on any bond, lease, or other contract and upon any breach or violation thereof. (c) He shall, when requested, attend meetings of the Board, draw ordinances, contracts, bonds, leases, and other instruments involving any interest of the city, and inspect and pass upon any such instruments already drawn. (d) He shall give his opinion in writing, when requested by the mayor or the city council or any of the heads of the city departments, upon any question relating to the city or the rights or duties of any chief officer thereof. (e) He shall, whenever it is brought to his knowledge that any person, firm or corporation holding or exercising any franchise or public privilege from the city, has failed to comply with any condition, or to pay any consideration mentioned in the grant of such franchise or privilege, investigate or cause to be investigated the same and report to the mayor. (f) He shall investigate all charges of crimes, misdemeanors, and violations of laws and city ordinances and prepare the necessary informations or make the necessary complaints against the person accused. He may conduct such investigations by taking oral evidence of reputed witnesses and for this purpose may, by subpoena, summon witnesses to appear and testify under oath before him, and the attendance or evidence of an absent or recalcitrant witness may be enforced by application to the municipal court or the Court of First Instance. (g) He shall have charge of the prosecution of all crimes, misdemeanors and violations of laws and city ordinances triable in the Court of First Instance of Zamboanga, and the municipal court of the city, and shall discharge all the duties in respect to criminal prosecutions enjoined by law upon provincial fiscals. (h) He shall cause to be investigated the causes of sudden deaths which have not been satisfactorily explained and when there is suspicion that the cause arose from unlawful acts or omission of other persons or from foul play. For that purpose he may cause autopsies to be made in case it is deemed necessary and shall be entitled to demand and receive for the purpose of such investigations or autopsies thed of the city health officer. (i) He shall at all times render such professional services as the mayor or city council may require, and shall have such powers and perform such duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. (j) He shall perform the duties prescribed by law for register of deeds. ARTICLE VIII Sec. 26. Powers and duties of the chief of police. — The chief of police of the city shall have the following powers and duties: (a) He shall have charge of the organization, government, discipline and command of the police force and that of the detective, if any. (b) He shall quell riots, disorders, disturbances of the peace, and shall arrest and prosecute violators of any law or ordinance; shall exercise police supervision over all land and water within the jurisdiction of the city; shall have charge of the protection of the rights of persons and property wherever found within the jurisdiction of the city, and shall arrest when necessary to prevent the escape of the offender, violators of any law or ordinance, and all who obstruct or interfere with him in the discharge of his duty; shall have charge of the prison of the city, and be responsible for the safekeeping of all prisoners until they are released from custody in accordance with law, or delivered to the warden of the proper prison. (c) He may take good and sufficient bail for the appearance before the municipal court of any person arrested for the violation of any city ordinance. (d) He shall have authority within the limits of the city to serve and execute criminal processes of any court; and shall, promptly and faithfully, execute all orders of the mayor and writs and processes of the Municipal Court when placed in his hands for that purpose. Sec. 27. Assistant chief of police. — There shall be an assistant chief of police in each of the former municipal districts of Lamitan and Maluso who shall exercise and perform the powers and duties that may be assigned to them by the chief of police. Sec. 28. Peace officers. — The chief of police,
the assistant chiefs of police and all the members of the police force
shall be peace officers and as such all are authorized to serve and
execute all processes of court to whomsoever directed within the
jurisdiction or police limits of the city; and within the same
territory, they may pursue and arrest any person found in suspicious
places or under suspicious circumstances reasonably tending to show
that such person has committed, or is about to commit, any crime or
breach of peace; may arrest or cause to be arrested any offender when
the offense is committed in the presence of a peace officer or within
his view, and, in such pursuit or arrest, may enter any building or
take into custody any person therein suspected of being concerned in
such crime or breach of the peace, and any property suspected of having
been stolen; they shall detain such person only until he can be brought
before the proper court, and shall have such other powers and perform
such other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. ARTICLE IX Sec. 29. Regular, auxiliary and acting judges of municipal courts. — There shall be a municipal court for the City of Basilan for which there shall be appointed a municipal judge and auxiliary municipal judge. The municipal judge may, upon proper application, be allowed a vacation of not more than thirty days every year with salary. The auxiliary municipal judge shall discharge the duties in case of absence, incapacity or inability of the municipal judge until he assumes his post, or until a new judge shall have been appointed. During his incumbency the auxiliary municipal judge shall enjoy the powers, emoluments and privileges of the municipal judge who shall not receive any remuneration therefor except the salary to which he is entitled by reason of his vacation provided for in this Act. In case of absence, incapacity or inability, of both the municipal judge and the auxiliary municipal judge, the Secretary of Justice shall designate the justice of the peace of any of the adjoining municipalities to preside over the municipal court, and he shall hold the office temporarily until the regular incumbent or the auxiliary judge thereof shall have resumed office, or until another judge shall have been appointed in accordance with the provisions of this Act. The justice of the peace so designated shall receive his salary as justice of the peace, plus seventy per cent of the salary of the municipal judge whose office he has temporarily assumed. The municipal judge shall receive a salary of not exceeding three thousand six hundred pesos per annum. Sec. 30. Clerk and employees of the municipal
court. — There shall be a clerk of the municipal court who shall be
appointed by the mayor in accordance with Civil Service Law, rules and
regulations, and who shall receive a compensation, to be fixed by
ordinance approved by the Secretary of the Interior, at not exceeding
one thousand two hundred pesos per annum. He shall keep the seal of the
court and affix it to all orders, judgments, certificates, records, and
other documents issued by the court. He shall keep a docket of the
trials in the court, in which he shall record in a summary manner the
names of the parties and the various proceedings in civil cases, and in
criminal cases, the name of the defendant, the charge against him, the
names of the witnesses, the date of the arrest, the appearance of the
defendant, together with the fines and costs adjudged or collected in
accordance with the judgment. He shall have the power to administer
oath. Sec. 31. Jurisdiction of municipal court. — The municipal court shall have like jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases and the same incidental powers as at present conferred by law upon municipal courts and justice of the peace courts in general. It shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of First Instance over all criminal cases arising under the laws relating to gambling and management of lotteries, to assaults where the intent to kill is not charged or evident upon the trial, to larceny, embezzlement and estafa where the amount of money or property stolen, embezzled or otherwise involved does not exceed the sum or value of two hundred pesos, to the sale of intoxicating liquors, to falsely impersonating an officer, to malicious mischief, to trespass on government or private property, and to threatening to take human life. It may also conduct preliminary investigation for any offense, without regard to the limits of punishment, and may release, or commit and bind over any person charged with such offense to secure his appearance before the proper court. Sec. 32. Procedure in municipal court in prosecutions for violations of law and ordinances. — In a prosecution for the violation of any ordinance, the first process shall be a summon; except that a warrant for the arrest of the offender may be issued in the first instance upon the affidavit of any person that such ordinance has been violated, and that the person making the complaint has reasonable grounds to believe that the party charged is guilty thereof, which warrant shall conclude: "Against the ordinances of the city in such cases made and provided." All proceedings and prosecutions for offenses against the laws of the Philippines shall conform to the rules relating to the process, pleadings, practice, and procedure for the judiciary of the Philippines, and such rules shall govern the municipal court and its officers in all cases insofar as the same may be applicable. Sec. 33. Costs, fees, fines and forfeitures in municipal court. — There shall be taxed against and collected from the defendant, in case of his conviction in the municipal court, such costs and fees as may be prescribed by law in criminal cases in justice of the peace courts. All costs, fees, fines, and forfeitures shall be collected by the clerk of court, who shall keep a docket of those imposed and of those collected, and shall pay collections of the same to the city treasurer, for the benefit of the city, on the next business day after the same are collected, and take receipts therefor. The municipal judge shall examine said docket each day, compare the same with the amount receipted for by the city treasurer and satisfy himself that all such costs, fees, fines, and forfeitures have been duly accounted for. Sec. 34. No person sentenced by municipal court to
be confined without commitment. — No person shall be confined in the
prison by sentence of the municipal court until the warden or officer
in charge of the prison shall receive a written commitment showing the
offense for which the prisoner was tried, the date of the trial, the
exact terms of the judgment or sentence, and the date of the order of
the commitment. The clerk shall, under seal of the court, issue such a
commitment in each case of sentence to imprisonment. ARTICLE X Sec. 35. Auditor General's office. — The Auditor General shall receive and audit all accounts of the city, in accordance with the provisions of law relating to the Government's accounts and accounting. Sec. 36. The Bureau of Public Schools. — The
Director of Public Schools shall exercise the same jurisdiction and
powers in the city as elsewhere in the Philippines, and the division
superintendent of schools for the City of Zamboanga shall have all the
powers and duties in respect to the schools of the city as are vested
in division superintendents in respect to the schools of their
divisions. Sec. 37. Reports to the mayor concerning schools — Construction and custody of school buildings. — The division superintendent of schools shall make an annual report of the condition of the schools and school buildings of the city of the mayor, and shall make such recommendations as may seem to him wise in respect to the number of teachers, their salaries, new buildings to be erected and all other similar matters, together with the amount of city revenues which should be expended in paying teachers, and improving the schools or school buildings of the city. Sec. 38. The city health officer. — There shall be
a city health officer, who shall have the following general powers and
duties: ARTICLE XI Sec. 39. Allotments of internal revenue and other taxes. — Of the internal revenue accruing to the National Treasury under the National Internal Revenue Code, and other taxes collected by the National Government, and allotted to the various provinces and municipalities, as well as the Nationald for schools, the City of Basilan shall receive a share equal to what it would receive if it were a regularly organized province. ARTICLE XII Sec. 40. Establishment of city government. — The city government provided for in this charter shall be organized immediately after the appointment and qualification of the City Mayor and a majority of the members of the city council. Pending the next general elections for provincial and municipal officials, the offices of the elective members of the city council shall be filled by appointment of the President of the Philippines, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments. Sec. 41. Distribution of funds and obligations between the City of Zamboanga and the City of Basilan. — The funds and obligations to be assigned to the City of Zamboanga and the City of Basilan upon the establishment of the letter city shall be distributed equitably between the two cities, in such manner as the Auditor General may recommend and the President of the Philippines approve. Sec. 42. Representative district — Voters of city.
— Until otherwise provided by law, the City of Basilan shall continue
as part of the Representative District for the city and Province of
Zamboanga. Sec. 43. Seat of government of the city. — The seat of government of the City of Basilan shall be the former municipality of Isabela. Sec. 44. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect
upon its approval. Approved: June 16, 1948 |
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