[ REPUBLIC ACT NO. 276, June 15, 1948 ]

AN ACT TO AMEND CERTAIN SECTIONS OF COMMONWEALTH ACT NUMBERED ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHT, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF ILOILO.



Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Sections eight and twelve of Commonwealth Act Numbered One hundred and fifty-eight are hereby amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 8. Appointment and compensation.—The Mayor shall be the chief executive of the City.
"He shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments. He shall be appointed solely on the basis of his executive and administrative qualifications. The selection shall not be limited to inhabitants of Iloilo.  He shall hold office for six years unless removed, and shall receive a salary of seven thousand two hundred pesos per annum.  A discretionary fund of three thousand pesos a year shall be appropriated out of the funds of the City to be placed at the disposal of the Mayor.

"SEC. 12. Secretary of the City.—The Mayor shall ap-point a secretary of the City, who shall receive an annual compensation of three thousand six hundred pesos and shall be considered as chief of a department of the City. Said Secretary shall be local civil registrar of the City of Iloilo and shall have charge and custody of all records and documents of the City and of any office or department thereof for which provision is not otherwise made; shall keep the corporate seal of the City and affix the same with his signature to all ordinances and resolutions signed by the Mayor and to all other official documents and papers of the government of the City as may be required by custom, in the discretion of the Mayor; shall attest all executive orders, proclamations, ordinances and resolutions signed by the Mayor and shall perform such other duties as the Mayor may require of him or as may be required of him by law or ordinance; shall, on demand, furnish certified copies of all records and documents in his charge which arc not of a confidential character and shall collect twenty centavos for each one hundred words including the certificate, and all receipts shall be paid into the city treasury. He shall likewise perform all the duties imposed on chiefs of departments of the city government by section twenty-four hereof."
SEC. 2. Section fourteen of the same Act as amended by Republic Act Numbered One hundred sixty-eight, is further amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 14. Constitution and organization of the Municipal Board.—The Municipal Board shall be the legislative body of the City and shall consist of the City Mayor and ten councilors, five of them to be appointed by the President of the Philippines, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, and the other five to be elected by popular vote.  The City Mayor shall act as Chairman of the Board.  The Chairman of the Board shall preside over all sessions thereof at which he is present and shall have the right to vote on all matters submitted to the Board. In his absence, the members present shall elect one to preside at the session of the Board as temporary chairman.  The Chairman of the Board shall sign all ordinances and resolutions and motions directing the payment of money or creating liability. In case of sickness or absence of any member of the Board, or if it becomes necessary to maintain a quorum, the President of the Philippines shall appoint a temporary substitute who shall hold office, possess all the rights, receive the emoluments and discharge all the duties in connection therewith until the return to duty of the sick or absent member.
"The President of the Philippines, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, shall fill for the rest of the term of the permanent vacancies taking place in the Municipal Board.
"The City Mayor shall discharge his duties in the Board without additional compensation.  The other members shall each receive a per diem of twenty pesos for each day of attendance at the session of the Board."
SEC. 3. Section sixteen of the same Act as amended by Commonwealth Act Numbered Six hundred and four is further amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 16. Appointment and duties of secretary of Board.—The Board shall have a secretary, who shall be appointed by its Chairman to serve during the term of office of said Chairman.  The vacancy in the office of secretary shall be filled temporarily or for the unexpired portion of the term in like manner.  The secretary shall be in charge of the records of the Municipal Board.  He shall keep a full record of the proceedings of the Board and file all documents relating thereto; and shall record in a book kept for the purpose, all ordinances and all resolutions and motions directing the payment of money or creating liability with the dates of approval of the same, and of the publications of the ordinances; shall keep a seal, circular in form with the inscriptions ‘Municipal Board—City of Iloilo’ and affix the same, with his signature, to all ordinances and all official acts of the Board, which he shall present for signature to the Chairman.  He shall cause each ordinance passed to be published. He shall furnish on demand, certified copies of all records of public character in his charge, and collect and receive therefor such fees as be prescribed by ordinance or resolution of the Board; and shall keep his office and all records therein which are not of a confidential character open to public inspection during the usual business hours.    His compensation as secretary shall be fixed by the Board at not exceeding three thousand six hundred pesos a year."
SEC. 4. Paragraph (bb) of section twenty-one of the same Act is amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 21. General powers and duties of the Board.—Except as otherwise provided by law, and subject to the conditions and limitations thereof, the Municipal Board shall have the following powers:
"(bb) To tax and regulate the sale, distribution, trading in, or disposal of alcoholic or malt beverages, wines, mixed or fermented liquors, cigars and cigarettes for sale or distribution and fix the license fees therefor."
SEC. 5. Section twenty-three of the same Act as amended by Commonwealth Act Numbered Five hundred and sixty-eight, and further amended by Republic Act Numbered One hundred sixty-eight is further amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 23. City Departments.—There shall be the following city departments over which the Mayor shall have general supervisory control:
    "1. Department of Finance and Assessment
    "2. Department of Engineering and Public Works
    "3. Legal Department
    "4. Police and Fire Department
"The Board may from time to time make such readjustments of the duties of the several departments as the public interest may demand.
"The chiefs of departments shall receive the following annual salaries: five thousand one hundred pesos for the city treasurer and assessor, and an amount not in excess of the salary paid to ex-officio assessor of a province in the same category, as ex-officio city assessor; four thousand eight hundred pesos for the city engineer; five thousand pesos for each of the municipal judges; four thousand eight hundred pesos for the city fiscal; and four thousand eight hundred pesos for the chief of police and fire department.
"The City fiscal shall have two assistants who shall receive compensation in accordance with the following1 scale: (a) The first assistant city fiscal shall receive three thousand six hundred pesos per annum; (b) the second assistant city fiscal shall receive three thousand pesos per annum.  The city fiscal and his assistants shall be appointed by the president of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments."
SEC. 6. The first paragraph of section fifty-six of the same Act as amended by Republic Act Numbered One hundred sixty-eight is further amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 56. Municipal Court—Its jurisdiction.—There shall be a Municipal Court for the City of Iloilo for which there shall be appointed two municipal judges who shall receive a salary of five thousand pesos each. The municipal judges shall have as a general rule the same powers and duties as justices of the peace, including authority to solemnize marriages. They shall be entitled to thirty days vacation with pay each year."
SEC. 7. Section seventy-eight of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 78. Bureau of Audits.—Exercising general supervision over the auditing of the accounts of the City, the Auditor-General shall appoint an auditor for the City of Iloilo who shall rank as chief of a department of the City and shall receive a salary of four thousand eight hundred pesos per annum, payable from the funds of the City.  The city auditor so appointed shall receive and audit all accounts of the City, in accordance with the provisions of law relating to government accounts and accounting."
SEC. 8. Section eighty of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 80. Bureau of Education.—The Director of Education shall exercise the same jurisdiction and powers in the City as elsewhere in the Philippines.
"The city superintendent of schools shall receive a compensation of four thousand pesos per annum."
SEC. 9. Section eighty-one of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 81. The City Health Officer.—There shall be a city health officer who shall have the following general powers and duties:
"(a) He shall have a general supervision over the health and sanitary condition of the City.
"(b) He shall execute and enforce all laws, ordinances, and regulations relating to the public health.
"(c) He shall recommend to the Municipal Board the passage of such ordinance as he may deem necessary for the preservation of the public health.
"(d) He shall cause to be prosecuted all violations of sanitary laws, ordinances, or regulations.
"(e) He shall make sanitary inspections and may be aided therein by such members of the police force of the City or of the Philippine Army as shall be designated as sanitary police by the Chief of Police or proper Army Officer and by such sanitary inspectors as may be authorized by law.
"(f) He shall perform such other duties, not repugnant to law or ordinance, with reference to the health and sanitation of the City as the Director of Health shall direct.
"The health officer shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments and shall receive a salary of four thousand eight hundred pesos per annum."
SEC. 10. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, June 15, 1948.