[ Act No. 2991, February 26, 1921 ]

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF MANILA, AS FOUND IN CHAPTER SIXTY OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Legislature assembled and by the authority of the same:

SECTION 1. The charter of the City of Manila, as found in chapter sixty of Act Numbered Twenty-seven hundred and eleven, known as the Administrative Code, is hereby amended so that the sections thereof hereinafter set out shall read as follows:
"SEC. 2445. City departments.-There shall be the following city departments over which the mayor shall have general supervisory control:

"1. Department of engineering and public works.
"2. Police department.
"3. Law department.
"4. Fire department.
"5. Department of finance.
"6. Department of assessment.

"The Board may from time to time make such readjustment of the duties of the several departments as the public interest may demand. The Secretary of the Interior shall have the power to consolidate any department, division or office of the city with any other department, division or office upon the recommendation of the mayor.

"SEC. 2447. Appointment and removal of officials and employees.-With the consent of the Philippine Senate, the Governor-General shall appoint the fiscal of the city and his assistants, the judge and the clerk of the municipal court and, in case of a temporary vacancy on such court, an acting judge therefor, the justice and auxilliary justice of the peace, the city engineer and his assistants, the chief of police and his assistant, the chief of the fire department, the city treasurer, the city assessor, and the city superintendent of schools. Subject to the provisions of the Civil Service Law, the mayor shall appoint all other officers and employees of the city whose appointment is not otherwise provided for by law. The mayor may suspend, and remove, any appointive city officer or employee not appointed by the Governor-General, and may recommend to the Governor-General the suspension or removal of any city officer or employee appointed by him. Any such suspension or removal by the mayor shall be appealable to the Department Head, whose determination of the matter shall be final.

"SEC. 2452. The Bureau of Internal Revenue.-The functions of the city assessor of the city of Manila, heretofore exercised by the Collector of Internal Revenue of the Philippine Islands ex officio, shall hereafter devolve upon and be performed by the city assessor, as said office is created and its duties defined hereinafter in the article pertaining to the department of assessment, and all functions as city collector heretofore exercised by said officer shall devolve on the city treasurer, as hereinafter constituted.

"ARTICLE X.-DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE.

"SEC. 2480. Powers and duties of the city treasurer:
"(a) There shall be a city treasurer, who shall have charge of the department of finance and shall act as chief fiscal officer and financial adviser of the city and custodian of its funds.
"(b) The city treasurer shall exercise the function of municipal collector of taxes and assessments due the city, all licenses authorized by law or ordinance, and all rents due for lands, markets and other property owned by the city, and shall receive and receipt for all costs, fees, fines, and forfeitures imposed by the municipal court, from the clerk thereof, and the fees collected by the sheriff or his deputies, or by the justice of the peace.
"(c) He shall collect all iscellaneous charges made by the department of engineering and public works and by other departments of the city government, and all charges made by the city engineer for inspections, permits, licenses, and the installation, maintenance, and services rendered in the operation of the private privy system.
"(d) He shall collect, by himself, or deputy, all taxes imposed by the Insular Government upon property or persons in the city of manila, depositing all such collections in a government depository.
"(e) Unless otherwise specifically provided by law or regulations, he shall perform in and for the city the duties imposed by law or regulation upon provincial treasurers generally, as well as the other duties imposed upon him by the succeeding sections of this chapter.
"(f) He shall purchase and issue all supplies, equipment or other property required by the city, through the Purchasing Agent, or otherwise, as may be authorized, subject to the general provisions of law relating thereto.
"(g) He shall be accountable for all funds and property of the city and shall render such accounts in connection therewith as may be prescribed by the Insular Auditor.
"(h) He shall daily deposit all municipal collections and funds in a government depository.
"(i) On or before the first day of September of each year, the city treasurer shall present to the mayor a certified detailed statement by departments of all receipts and expenditures of the city pertaining to the preceding fiscal year, and to the current fiscal year to and including July thirty-first, together with an estimate of the receipts and expenditures for the remainder of the current fiscal year; and he shall submit with this statement a detailed estimate of the revenues and receipts of the city from all sources for the ensuing fiscal year. Upon receipts of this statement and estimate and the estimates of department heads as required by section twenty-four hundred and forty-six hereof, the mayor shall formulate, and submit to the Municipal Board before the sixteenth day of October next following, a detailed budget covering the estimated necessary expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year; and the Municipal Board shall thereupon make detailed appropriations covering such estimated expenditures: Provided, however,That in no case shall the aggregate amount of such appropriations exceed the estimate of revenues and receipts submitted by the city treasurer as provided above. Supplemental budgets, formulated in the same manner, may be adopted when special or unforeseen circumstances make such action necessary. Without further action by the Municipal board, disbursements of municipal funds maybe made by the city treasurer, out of the authorized appropriations, upon properly executed vouchers bearing the approval of the chiefs of the departments concerned, and on or before the twenty-fifth day of each month said city treasurer shall furnish the mayor and the Municipal Board for their administrative information a statement of the appropriations, expenditures and balances of all funds and accounts as of the last day of the month preceding.

"The officve of disbursing and supply officer of the city is hereby discontinued and abolished, and all the duties and powers heretofore devolving upon such officer shall hereafter be performed and exercised by the city treasurer, in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

"Whenever the words 'city assessor and collector' occur in this Act in relation to matters of city finance as herein above defined the same shall be taken to mean the city treasurer and all the duties and powers heretofore devolving upon said officer shall be performed and exercised by the city treasurer.

"ARTICLE XI.-DEPARTMENT OF ASSESSMENT.

"SEC. 2481.Powers and duties of the city assessor.-There shall be a city assesor, who shall have charge of the department of assessment. The city assessor and his authorized deputies, who are empowered to administer any oath authorized to be administered in connection with the valuation of real estate for the assessment or collection of taxes, shall appraise and value all the real estate in the city, and assess for taxation all such real estate not expressly exempt; except machines, mechanical contrivances, instruments, tools, implewments, appliances, apparatus, and paraphernalia used for industrial, agricultural, or manufacturing purposes, which shall be excluded from such valuation and assessment whether or not attached to lands or buildings. He shall prepare and file with the city treasurer a list of the real estate so valued which is exempt from taxation and a separate list of the taxable real estate.

"Whenever the words 'city assessor and collector' occur in this Act in relation to any matter pertaining to assessment, or properly falling under such department, the same shall be deemed to mean the city assessor, and all the duties and powers heretofore devolving upon such officer shall hereafter be performed and exercised by the city assessor."
SEC. 2. The third paragraph of section six hundred and sixteen, as amended by Act Numbered Twenty-seven hundred and seventy-four, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"All payments out of the funds of the city shall be made by the city treasurer, in accordance with the requirements of the law."

SEC. 3. This Act shall take effect on its approval.

Approved, February 26, 1921.