Republic Act No. 3857

This Act shall be known as the Revised Charter of the City of Cebu.

The City of Cebu constitutes a political body corporate and as such is endowed with the attributes of perpetual succession and possessed of the powers which pertain to a municipal corporation, to be exercised in conformity with the provisions of this Charter.

The city may have a common seal and may alter the same at its pleasure. It may take, purchase, receive, hold, lease, convey, and dispose of real and personal property within or without its corporate limits, for the general interest of the city, condemn private property for public use, contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, and prosecute and defend to final judgment and execution, actions where its interests are involved, and exercise all the powers conferred by this Charter together with all the powers implied thereby or appropriate to the exercise thereof. The provisions of this Charter shall be construed liberally in favor of the city, to the end that it may have all the necessary powers for the efficient conduct of its municipal affairs. The specific mention or particular powers in other sections of this Charter shall not be construed as limiting the powers of the city in the premises to those thus mentioned.

The city shall not be liable or held for damages or injuries to persons or property arising from the failure of any of its officers and employees, jointly or individually, to enforce the provisions of this Charter or any other law or ordinance, or from the negligence of any of its officers or employees while enforcing or attempting to enforce said provisions.

The boundaries and limits of the City of Cebu shall comprise the territory within its present corporate limits or as hereafter changed in accordance with law.

The City Council may, by ordinance, divide the city into districts for all administrative and other municipal purposes, including the description of property. Such districts as may have been established by law in the city on or before the date on which this Charter shall take effect shall remain in existence until changed or abolished by laws or by ordinance.

The jurisdiction of the city for police purposes shall extend to six miles from the shore of Cebu City, and over a zone surrounding the city on land of three miles in width; and for the purpose of protecting and ensuring the purity of the water supply of the city, such police jurisdiction shall also extend over all territory within the drainage area of such water supply, or within two hundred meters of any reservoir, conduit, canal, aqueduct, or pumping station used in connection with the city water service. The city court of the City of Cebu shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of First Instance of Cebu and the municipal courts of the respective municipalities to try crimes and misdemeanors committed within the said zone of three milers in width, within said drainage area or within said spaces of two hundred meters. The court first taking jurisdiction thereof. The police force of the several municipalities concerned shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the police force of the City of Cebu for the maintenance of good order and the enforcement of lawful ordinances throughout said zone, area and spaces but any license that may be lawfully granted within said zone, area, or spaces shall be granted by the proper authorities of the municipality concerned, and the fees arising therefrom shall appertain to the treasury of the municipality concerned and not to that of the City of Cebu.

The elective officers of the city shall be the Mayor, the Vice-Mayor and the councilors, all of whom shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the city on the date of the regular elections for provincial and municipal officials, in conformity with the provisions of the Revised Election Code and shall assume office on the first day of January next following their election, upon qualifying, and shall hold office for four years and until their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified.

In addition to any special qualifications prescribed by this Charter, all elective officers of the city shall be qualified and registered electors of the city and shall hold no other public office except that of notary public or membership in the armed forces reserve, nor any other employment with the city or with the National Government or any province or municipality.

Any elective city officer may be removed by the President of the Philippines on proof of disloyalty to the Philippine Republic, but shall be entitled as a matter of right to notice and hearing before he may be removed, or upon conviction by final judgment by a competent court of any crime involving moral turpitude. The President may suspend such officer accused of disloyalty to the Philippine Republic for a period of not exceeding thirty days pending the preparation and disposition of the charges;Provided, however, That should the accused be acquitted, he shall be reinstated and be entitled to the payment of any salary which he failed to receive during his suspension.

No officer or employee of the city shall give or promise to give any portion of his compensation or any money or valuable thing to any person in consideration of his having been nominated, elected, appointed or employed as such officer or employee. No officer or employee of the city shall willfully violate any provision of law relating to his office or employment, or commit any fraud upon the city, or convert any of the public property to his own use or knowingly permit any other person to do so. No officer or employee of the city shall detail or cause any officer or employee of the city to do or perform any service or work outside of his public office, work or employment. No officer or employee of the city shall, directly or indirectly, coerce or intimidate, or attempt directly or indirectly, to coerce or intimidate any officer or employee in the classified service of the city with a view to causing any such classified officer or employee involuntarily to resign his office or employment with the city. Any person convicted of any offense enumerated in this section, in addition to any other penalties imposed by law, shall forfeit his city office or employment.

It shall be unlawful for any city officer or employee, 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 officials, 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 assessments, or by virtue of legal process at the suit of the city; or to be surety for any person having a contract or doing business with the city, for the performance of which security may be required; or to be surety of the official bond of any officer or employee of the city; or to have a financial interest in any transaction or contract with the city or in which the city is an interested party; or to appear as counsel to defend any person or corporation against whom the city may have filed suit. Any willful violation of this section shall constitute malfeasance in office, and any officer or employee found guilty thereof shall thereby forfeit his city office or employment.

Each appointive city officer and employee shall devote his time and attention exclusively during the usual office hours to the duties of his office. No city officer or employee shall hold more than one office unless expressly so provided by law. But this section shall not apply to other persons discharging public duties in the city under the National Government who receive no compensation for their services.

Upon a written formal complaint made under oath, which on its face provides reasonable basis to believe that some anomaly or irregularity might have been committed, the City Council or the Mayor, or any person or committee authorized by either of them, shall have power to inquire the official conduct of any department, agency, or officer or employee of the city and to make investigation as to city affairs, and for that purposes may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and compel the production of books, papers and other evidence.

The City Treasurer and all his deputies, and such other city officers or employees as the City Council by ordinance require so to do, shall give bond in such amount and with such surety as may be approved by the Mayor. All such bonds shall be in favor of the city; and the premiums thereon shall be paid by the city.

No contract for personal services to be furnished the city shall extend beyond the term of the Mayor in office at the time the contract is approved; nor shall any such contract be valid unless made or approved by ordinance.

The City Council may levy an annual tax on real estate in the city not exempt from taxation at a rate not to exceed two per centum ad valorem:Provided, That the City Council may levy an additional tax annually on all taxable real estate in the city at a rate not to exceed one per centum ad valorem on the condition that all proceeds from said additional levy shall be credited to and paid into a special restricted fund, to be known as the Capital Improvement Fund, to be expended exclusively for the financing of capital projects as herein defined. For the purposes of this section, the words "capital project" shall be construed to mean any of the following:

Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the city may incur indebtedness or other obligation to the payment of which the faith and credit of the city is pledged at an amount not exceeding twenty per centum of the total assessed value of the taxable real estate in the city.

As used in this section, the term "indebtedness" shall be construed to be the net figure obtained by deducting from the total outstanding indebtedness of the city all sinking fund assets and other reserves inviolably pledged or committed to its payment or retirement. The words "total outstanding indebtedness of the city as herein used shall be construed to include all indebtedness contracted in the previous year or years, whether bonded or of any kind whatever, but excluding the budgeted or estimated operating expenses of the city for the current fiscal year. For the purposes of this section, the assessed value of taxable real estate in the city shall be that used as a basis for the city tax levy for the fiscal year next preceding that in which the indebtedness is incurred.

The Mayor shall be the chief executive of the city and as such shall have immediate control over the executive functions of the different departments and agencies of the city, subject to the general supervision of the President as may be provided for by law. He shall be at least thirty years of age, and shall have been a resident of and a registered voter in the city at least five years immediately prior to and at the time of his election. He shall hold office for four years unless sooner removed for cause as provided for by law, and shall receive a salary of twelve thousand pesos a year. The City Council may, in its discretion, provided quarters for the Mayor or commute the same in addition to his salary.

The Mayor shall have the following general powers and duties:

The Vice-Mayor, who shall, at the time of his election, possess the qualifications required of the Mayor, shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Mayor in the event of death resignation or permanent incapacity of the Mayor for the completion of the unexpired term of the latter. He shall hold office for four years, unless sooner removed for cause as provided for by law, and shall receive a salary of eight thousand four hundred pesos a year. The Vice-Mayor shall perform such additional duties as may be assigned to him by the Mayor or prescribed by ordinance. The Vice-Mayor may attend, if he wishes to, the sessions of the City Council and participate in its discussion but not to vote.

If, for any reason, the Mayor is temporarily incapacitated to perform the duties of his office because of absence on leave, sickness, or any temporary incapacity, the Vice-Mayor shall perform the duties and exercise the powers that may be delegated to him in writing by the Mayor, during the period of the Mayor's temporary incapacity.

In the event of temporary or permanent vacancy in the office of the Vice-Mayor, the city councilor who obtained the largest number of votes in the local elections immediately preceding shall assume the office of Vice-Mayor. If, for some reason, the councilor obtaining the largest number of votes in the local elections immediately preceding is incapacitated from assuming the office of Vice-Mayor or refuses to assume said office, the councilor obtaining the next largest number of votes shall assume the office of Vice-Mayor, and so on until the vacancy is filled.

In the event that permanent vacancies in the office of Mayor and Vice-Mayor occur simultaneously, then the councilor obtaining the largest number of votes in the local elections immediately preceding shall assume the office of the Mayor and the councilor obtaining the second largest number of votes shall assume the office of Vice-Mayor. If, for some reason, the councilor obtaining the largest number of votes is incapacitated from assuming the office of the Mayor or refuses to assume said office, then the councilor obtaining the next largest number of votes shall assume the office of Mayor and the councilor obtaining the next largest number of votes after him shall assume the office of Vice-Mayor, and so on until the vacancies are filled.

Should the Mayor-elect die before assumption of office or fail to qualify for any reason, then the Vice-Mayor elect shall assume the office of Mayor, but in the latter case, he shall hold office until the Mayor-elect qualifies, should the Vice-Mayor die before assumption of office or fail to qualify for any reason, then the Councilor obtaining the largest number of votes in the local elections immediately preceding shall assume the office of Vice-Mayor.

Any permanent vacancies in the City Council shall be filled by appointment by the President of the Philippines, alone, upon the recommendation of the majority of the remaining members of the City Council.

Upon the recommendation of the Mayor, the City Council may provide, by ordinance approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of all the councilors, for the establishment of the position of city administrator, with the following powers, duties and responsibilities to be exercised under the direction, control and supervision of the Mayor;

The Mayor shall appoint one secretary who shall 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. He shall keep the corporate seal and affix the same with his signature to all ordinances and regulations signed by the Mayor and all other official documents and papers of the government of the city as may be required by custom, in the discretion of the Mayor. He shall attest all executive orders, promulgations, ordinances and resolutions signed by the Mayor and shall perform such other duties as the Mayor may require of him. He shall, on demand, furnish certified copies of all city records and documents in his charge which are not of confidential character and collect and receive such fees as may be prescribed by resolution of the City Council, and pay over such fees collected by him to the City Treasurer. He shall perform also such duties as are required of the heads of the departments of the city government and for the purposes of this section, the secretary will be considered the head of a department. The Secretary shall receive a salary of seven thousand eight hundred pesos per annum, The positions of secretary shall be regarded as within the unclassified civil service but may be filled in the manner in which classified positions are filled, and, if so filled, the appointee shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of classified employees, except that he shall office only during the term of office of the appointing Mayor and until a successor in the office of secretary is appointed and qualified, unless sooner separated for or without cause by the Mayor.

The City Council shall be the legislative body of the city and shall consist of nine councilors. The members of the City Council shall, at its organizational meeting on the first day of January and annually thereafter, elect by a majority vote of its entire membership, one from among themselves a chairman who shall act as presiding officer. Any vacancy in the office of chairman of the City Council during the year shall be filled in like manner to hold office for the rest of the year. The chairman of the City Council shall have the right to vote on all matters that may be brought up before the council. He shall sign all ordinances, resolutions and motions directing the payment of money or creating liability, enacted or adopted by the City Council. In case of sickness or absence or any other temporary incapacity of any member of the City Council, or if, for any reason, it becomes necessary to maintain a quorum, the Mayor may make a temporary appointment until the return to duty of the sick or absent member. During the period of such temporary appointment, the person receiving the same shall possess all the rights and perform all the duties of a member of the City Council. The members of the City Council shall each receive a salary of seven thousand two hundred pesos per annum.

Each councilor at the time of his election shall not be less than twenty-three years of age, and shall have been a resident and a registered voter in the city for at least two years. The nine candidates receiving the greatest number of votes at any election shall be declared elected and any tie for the ninth place shall be broken by the drawing of lots as provided for in the Revised Election Code. If any person so elected is ineligible to hold office, or if, for any reason, there shall be a failure to elect one or more members, no special election shall be called, but the vacancy or vacancies shall be filled for the term by appointment by the President, alone, upon the recommendation of the majority of the duly elected and qualified members of the City Council. Vacancies in the office of any member which occur after taking office shall be filled for the unexpired term in like manner. Insofar as they are applicable, all provisions in the Election Law are made elective as to the members of the City Council and to their election, to the same extent as if the City of Cebu were a province and the election of said members were the election for members of the provincial board, except where there is a conflict between the provisions of the Election Law and this Charter, in which case, the provisions of this Charter shall prevail. The qualified voters of the City of Cebu shall be entitled to vote in the election of the provincial governor, the provincial vice-governor and the members of the Provincial Board of Cebu, and, for this purpose, the city shall continue to form part of the province.

The first meeting of the newly elected City Council shall be held at ten o'clock in the morning of the first day of January following its election, after which the council shall meet regularly at such times and on such days as may be prescribed by resolution but not less frequently then twice each week. The Mayor, at his instance or at the request of any three members of the council, may call special meetings of the council upon at least twelve hours notice to each member. Such notice shall be delivered personally to each member or left at his usual place of residence with some responsible person. All meetings of the council at which any official business is transacted shall be open to the public unless otherwise ordered by an affirmative vote of majority of all the members of the council. The council shall determine its own order of business and rules of procedure not herein set forth, punish the members for disorderly conduct, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of the council, may suspend a member for not more than sixty days, and by the same vote but subject to the approval of the President, may expel a member. Five members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and compel the immediate attendance of any member by issuing to the police of the city an order for his arrest and under such penalties as shall have been previously prescribed by ordinance. The affirmative vote of five members shall be necessary for the passage of any ordinance or resolution directing the payment of money or creating liability. Ordinary motions or resolutions may be approved by a majority of those present. Except in cases where the vote is unanimous, the ayes and nays shall be taken and recorded upon the passage of an ordinance, and upon the request of any member, upon any resolution or motion. Except as may be otherwise expressly provided in this Charter, all legislation, including, but not limited to, all acts establishing a fine or other penalty or providing for the expenditure of public funds, or for the contracting of indebtedness or liability, shall be by ordinance.

Each ordinance shall contain a single purpose of enactment which must be expressed in the title of the ordinance and begin with the words: "The Council of the City of Cebu hereby ordains." Each ordinance and each resolution shall be presented in writing and read in full before a vote is taken thereon, provided that the reading of the resolution may be dispensed with by unanimous consent. Except for emergency ordinances, which shall be so certified by the Mayor, and appropriation ordinances, no ordinance shall be passed unless the same is published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, to be determined by the City Council and until at least two days have elapsed between its publication and final passage.

Each ordinance adopted by the City Council, after being signed by the secretary and the chairman of the City Council, shall be submitted to the Mayor upon his approval. Within ten days after receipt of the same, Sundays and holidays excepted, the Mayor shall return it to the council with his approval or veto. If he does not return it within that time, it shall be deemed to be approved. If he returns it with his veto, his reasons therefor in writing shall accompany it. It may then again be enacted by the affirmative vote of six members of the City Council and again forwarded to the Mayor for his approval, and if within ten days after its receipt. Sundays and holidays excepted, he does not again return it with his veto, it shall be deemed to be approved. If within said time he again returns it with his veto, it may again be reenacted by the affirmative vote of six members of the City Council, and, in such case, the ordinance is deemed approved.

The Mayor shall have power to veto any particular item or items of an appropriation ordinance or of any ordinance, resolution or motion providing for the expenditure of public funds or for the contracting of indebtedness of liability, but the veto shall not affect the item or items to which he does not object. In such a case, the approved items shall take effect and the disapproved items shall not take effect, unless subsequently passed by the council over the Mayor's veto as hereinabove provided with respect to other vetoed ordinances. Each approved resolution and ordinance shall be sealed with the seal of the City Council, signed by the chairman of the City Council and the secretary and recorded in a book kept for that purpose; except appropriation ordinances and those certified to as urgent by the Mayor, all ordinances shall be published in one newspaper of general circulation in the city within ten days after their approval and shall take effect and be enforced on the tenth day following its publication if no date is fixed in the ordinance.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the foregoing section, ordinances establishing regulations for the construction of buildings, installation of plumbing installation of electric wiring or any similar construction code which code is required by the provisions of the adopting ordinance to be published in printed form or distribution need not be published in a newspaper either before or after final passage. At least three correct copies of the ordinance, in the form in which it was presented on first reading, shall, however, be made available to public inspection in the office of the secretary of the council and in lieu of publication of the ordinance, there shall be published a notice, describing the ordinance in brief and general terms and stating that the ordinance is available for public inspection in the office of the secretary of the council, together with the time and place when and where it will be considered for final passage; and after final passage, a notice describing the ordinance in brief and general terms and stating that it is available for public inspection in the office of the secretary of the council and will take effect on a date specified.

The City Council shall make all appropriations for the expenses of the government of the city. Whenever the City Council fails to pass any appropriation ordinance for any fiscal year before the end of the previous fiscal year, the appropriation ordinance for such previous fiscal year, shall be deemed reenacted, and shall go into effect on the first day of the new fiscal year as the appropriation ordinance for that fiscal year until a new appropriation ordinance is duly enacted.

The City Council shall have a secretary who shall be elected but not from its own membership to serve at the pleasure of the council. The secretary shall be in charge of the records of the City Council and shall keep the record of the proceedings. He shall also keep a separate record in a book or books for that purpose with proper indices of all ordinances and all resolutions and motions adopted by the council with their dates of passage and publication. He shall be custodian of the seal of the council which shall be circular in form with the inscription "City Council City of Cebu" in the center of which shall be placed the arms of the city. He shall affix said seal with his signature to all ordinances and other official acts of the council and shall present the same for signature to the presiding officer. He shall forward to the Mayor all ordinances, resolutions or motions requiring the latter's approval and shall cause each ordinance to be posted or published as herein provided. He shall, upon request, furnish certified copies of all records of public character in his charge under the seal of the council and collect and receive the fees therefor and pay over to the city treasurer such fees as may be prescribed by law, ordinance or resolution. He shall keep his office and all records therein, which are not of a confidential character, open to public inspection during usual business hours. He shall have such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by ordinance. His compensation as secretary shall be seven thousand eight hundred pesos a year.

Any provision of law and executive orders to the contrary notwithstanding, the City Council shall have the following legislative powers:

Whenever a person is imprisoned for nonpayment of a fine, he shall be released upon payment of such fines less than two pesos and fifty centavos per day for each day that he has been confined. Pending appeal, the defendant shall remain in custody unless released upon sufficient bail in accordance with the general provisions of law to await judgment of the appellate court;

There shall be the following city department over which the Mayor shall have direct supervision and control, any existing law to the contrary notwithstanding:

Any existing law to the contrary notwithstanding, each head of department of the city government shall be in control of such department, under the direct supervision and control of the Mayor, and shall possess such powers as may be prescribed herein or by ordinance. He shall certify to the correctness of all payrolls and vouchers of his department covering the payment of money before payment, except as herein otherwise expressly provided. On or before the first day of March of each year, he shall prepare and present to the Mayor for submission to the council an estimate of the receipts and appropriations necessary for the operation of his department during the ensuing year, and shall submit therewith such information for the purpose of comparison as the Mayor may desire. He shall make to the Mayor, as often as required, reports covering the operations of his department.

In case of absence or sickness, or inability to act or any other reason, of the head of one of the city departments, or in case of a temporary vacancy, the officer next in charge of that department shall perform the duties of the head of the department concerned. In case of a temporary vacancy, the officer next in charge performing the duties of the head of such department shall, during his incumbency in an acting capacity, receive the salary and other emoluments of the latter.

In case of temporary disability of the department head and of the officer next in charge, the Mayor may temporarily designate any other officer in the service of the city to perform the duties of the head of such department until the return to duty of the department head or his assistant.

With the consent of the Commission on Appointments, the President of the Philippines shall appoint the City Fiscal and his assistants, the Judges of the City Court, and in case of a temporary vacancy in such court, an acting judge therefor, the city Chief of Police, the City Engineer, the City treasurer, and the City Superintendent of Schools. The Mayor shall appoint all other officers and employees of the city whose appointment is not vested in the President or otherwise provided for in this Chapter, any existing law to the contrary notwithstanding. The Mayor may, for cause as provided for by Civil Service Law and rules, suspend for not more than sixty days and recommend the removal of any official or employee appointed by him to the Civil Service Commission. He may investigate or cause to be investigated any official appointed by the President and recommend to him the suspension or removal of such official.

There shall be a City Engineer with a salary of seven thousand eight hundred pesos per annum, who shall be in charge of the Department of Engineering and Public Works. He shall have charge of all the surveying and engineering work of the city; care, cleaning and sprinkling streets, canals and esteros, parks and public grounds, bridges, recreation and playgrounds, and shall perform such services in connection with public improvements, or 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 monuments of the city survey and from thence extend the survey of the city, and locate, establish and survey all city properties, and also private property abutting on the same, whenever directed by the Mayor; shall prepare and submit plans, maps, specifications or engineering materials used in construction and repair as may be necessary to protect the city from the use of materials of poor or dangerous quality; shall inspect and report upon the condition of public property and public works whenever required by the Mayor, 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 ordinances of 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, esteros, and waterways of the city, and shall issue permits for the construction, repair, and removal of the same, and enforce all ordinances relating to the same; shall have the care and custody of the public system of waterworks and sewerage and of all sources of water supply and shall control, maintain, and regulate the used of the same, in accordance with the ordinances relating thereto. He shall file and preserve all maps, plans, notes, surveys, and other papers and documents pertaining to his office. He shall supervise the laying of mains and connections for the purpose of supplying gas to the inhabitants of the city. He shall have the 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 law and ordinance relating thereto. He is authorized to charge fees, at rates to be fixed by the City Council with the approval of the Mayor, 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.

All public works construction, repair and improvements of the city shall be carried out by administration by the office of the City Engineer under the direct supervision and direction of the City Mayor. The approval of the plans and specifications thereof by the City Mayor with the favorable recommendation of the City Council and the City Engineer shall constitute sufficient warrant for the undertaking and execution of said projects. For justifiable reasons, the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the City Council, may also have said work done totally or partially by contract, upon advertising for bids therefor:Provided, That in the case where the funds are borrowed from private persons or institutions and not obtained from taxes or any other governmental source public bidding may be dispensed with.

To assist the City Engineer in the discharge of his official duties, there shall be an assistant engineer, office superintendents, assistants, and other employees as are from time to time provided in appropriation ordinances.

Powers and duties of the City Health Officer. There shall be a City Health Officer with a salary of seven thousand eight hundred pesos per annum, who shall have charge over the Department of Health. He shall have general supervision and control over the health and sanitary condition of the city and shall have control and supervision over puericulture centers and social services in the city. He shall execute and enforce all laws, ordinances and regulations relating to public health and shall recommend to the City Council the passage of ordinances as he may deem necessary for the preservation of public health. He shall cause to be prosecuted all violations of sanitary laws, ordinances, or regulations and shall make sanitary inspections and may be aided herein by such members of the police force of the city as shall be designated as sanitary police by the Chief of Police and by such sanitary inspectors as may be authorized by law or ordinances. He shall keep a civil registry for the city and record therein all births, marriages, and deaths with their respective dates. He shall perform such other duties with reference to the health and sanitation of the city as the Director of Health Services shall direct:Provided, That nothing in this law shall be interpreted as to curtail the powers and duties conferred by existing law to the Director of Health Services over the City of Cebu as a part of the Philippines, and that the Director of Health Services shall continue to have technical supervision and control over the health work of the city. The City Health Officer shall have an assistant and such other personnel to assist him with his duties as may be provided for from time to time by appropriation ordinances.

The Law Department shall consist of the fiscal of the city and ten assistants, namely: one first assistant city fiscal, one second assistant city fiscal, three third assistant city fiscals and five fourth assistant city fiscals, who shall discharge their duties under the general supervision of the Secretary of Justice. The fiscal of the city shall be: the chief legal adviser of the city and all offices and departments thereof; shall personally or through any assistant represent the city in all civil cases wherein the city or any officer thereof in his official capacity as a party; shall attend, when required, meetings of the City Council, draw ordinances, contracts, bonds, leases, and other documents involving any interest of the city, and inspect and pass upon all such documents already drawn; shall give his opinion in writing when requested by the Mayor or City Council upon any question relating to the city, or the rights or duties of any city officer; shall, whenever it is brought to his knowledge that any city officer or employee is guilty of neglect or misconduct in office, or 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 the same and report to the Mayor; 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; and shall prosecute and defend all civil actions related to, or connected with, and city office or interest. He shall also have charge of the prosecution of all crimes, misdemeanors and violations of city ordinances, in the Court of First Instance of Cebu and the city court of the city, and shall discharge all the duties in respect to criminal prosecution enjoined by the law upon provincial fiscals.

The fiscal of the city shall cause to he investigated all charges of crimes, misdemeanors, and violations of ordinances, and have the necessary information of complaints prepared or made against the persons accused. He or any of his assistants may conduct such investigations by taking oral evidence or 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 city court or the Court of First Instance. No witness enforced by application for a warrant of arrest to the summoned to testify under this section shall be under obligation to give any testimony tending to incriminate himself.

The fiscal of the city shall also cause to be investigated the causes of sudden deaths which have not been satisfactorily explained and when there is suspicion that the caused arose from the unlawful acts or omissions of other persons or from foul play. For this purpose, he may cause autopsies to be made and shall be entitled to demand and receive, for purposes of such investigations or autopsies, the aid of the health authorities stationed in Cebu. In the case the fiscal of the city deems it necessary to have further expert assistance for the satisfactory performance of his duties in relation with medico-legal matters or knowledge including the giving of medical testimony in the courts of justice, he shall request the same from the head of the department of legal medicine of the College of Medicine and Surgery of the University of the Philippines, or the aid of the medico-legal section of the National Bureau of Investigation, who shall thereupon furnish the assistance required, in accordance with his powers and facilities. 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 other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.

The fiscal of the city and his assistants shall receive the salaries hereinafter set forth, which shall be paid by the City of Cebu: fiscal of the city, seven thousand eight hundred pesos per annum; the first and second assistant city fiscals, seven thousand two hundred pesos each per annum; three third assistant city fiscals, six thousand pesos each per annum; and five fourth assistant city fiscals, four thousand eight hundred pesos each per annum.

The City Council may, by appropriation ordinance, create additional positions of assistant city fiscals as the public interest may require.

There shall be a city court for the City of Cebu consisting of five branches, for which a presiding judge and four other judges shall be appointed, to be known, respectively, as judge of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth branches. The presiding judge shall receive a salary of eight thousand four hundred pesos per annum and the other judges shall receive salaries of seven thousand eight hundred pesos each per annum.

One judge shall be designated by the Secretary of Justice to try traffic cases and cases of juvenile delinquency in addition to such ordinary civil and criminal cases as may be assigned to him in the ordinary functions of the court. When the public interest so requires, the Secretary of Justice may designate any of the judges to hold sessions at night.

The city court shall have the same jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases and the same incidental powers as are at present conferred by law upon municipal courts and such additional jurisdiction and powers as may hereafter be conferred upon by them by law.

In case absence, sickness or incapacity of any of the judges of the city court and in case of any vacancies in such offices, the Secretary of Justice may designate any assistant fiscal in the office of the provincial fiscal of Cebu to act as judge of the city court of the City of Cebu, with all the powers of a regular judge of said court, but such acting judge shall not receive any additional compensation during the time he is acting as such.

The City Council may create additional judges of the city court through appropriation ordinances as the public interest may require.

The clerk of the city court shall keep its seal and affix it to all orders, judgments, certificates, records, and other documents issued by the court. He shall keep a docket of the trial in the court, in which he shall record in a summary manner the name of the defendant, the charge against him, the name of the prosecuting witness, the date of the arrest, the appearance of the defendant, the date of the trial, and the nature of the judgment, together with the fines and costs adjudged or collected in accordance with the judgment. He shall have the power to administer oaths.

The city court shall have territorial jurisdiction embracing the entire police jurisdiction of the city, and shall hold daily sessions, Sundays and legal holidays alone excepted. Said court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over all criminal case arising under the ordinances of the city, and over all criminal cases arising under the penal laws of the Philippines, where the offense is committed within the police jurisdiction of the city and the maximum punishment is by imprisonment for not more than one year, or a fine of not more than four hundred pesos, or both. It shall also 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 four 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.

The city court shall have power to administer oaths and to give certificates thereof; to issue summons, writs, warrants, executions, and all other processes necessary to enforce its orders and judgments, to compel the attendance of witnesses; to punish contempts of court by fine or imprisonment, or both, within the limitations imposed by the Rules of Court; and to require of any person arrested a bond for good behavior or to keep the peace, or for the further appearance of such person before a court of competent jurisdiction. But no such bond shall be accepted unless it be executed by the person in whose behalf it is made, with sufficient surety or sureties, to be approved by said court.

In a prosecution for the violation of any ordinance, the first process shall be a summons; 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 case made and provided." All proceedings and prosecutions for offenses against the laws of the Philippines shall conform to the rules relating to process, pleading, practice, and procedure for the judiciary of the Philippines, and such rules shall govern the city court and its officers in all cases insofar as the same may be applicable.

There shall be taxed against and collected from the defendant, in case of his conviction in the city court, such costs and fees as may be prescribed by the City Council not exceeding those charged in criminal cases in municipal 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 deposit 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 presiding 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.

No person shall be confined in the city prison by sentence of the city 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 commitment. The clerk shall, under the seal of the court, issue such commitment in each case of sentence to imprisonment.

An appeal shall lie to the Court of First Instance in all cases where fine or imprisonment, or both, is imposed by the city court. The party desiring to appeal shall, before six o'clock post meridian of the day after the rendition and entry of the judgment by the city court, file with the clerk of the court a written statement that he appeals to the Court of First Instance. The filing of such statement shall perfect the appeal. The judge of the court from whose decision appeal is taken shall, within five days after the appeal is taken, transmit to the clerk of the Court of First Instance a certified copy of the record of proceedings and all the original papers and process in the case, and the clerk of the Court of First Instance shall docket the appeal in that court. A perfected appeal shall operate to vacate the judgment of the city court, and the action, when duly entered in the Court of First Instance, shall stand for trial de novo upon its merits in accordance with the regular procedure in that court, as though the same had never been tried and had been originally there commenced. Pending an appeal, the defendant shall remain in custody unless released in the discretion of the judge of the city court, or of the judge of the Court of First Instance, upon sufficient bail, in accordance with the rules and regulations now or hereafter enforced, to await the judgment of the appellate court.

Persons arrested to be promptly brought before a court Preliminary investigations in City Court and Court of First Instance. Every person arrested shall, without unnecessary delay, be brought before the city fiscal, the city court, or the Court of First Instance for preliminary hearing, release on bail, and trial. In cases triable in the city court the defendant shall not be entitled as a matter of right to a preliminary investigation, except a summary one to enable the court to fix bail, in any case where the prosecution announces itself ready and is ready for trial within three days, not including Sundays, after the request for an investigation is presented.

The aid of assessors in the trial of any civil or criminal action in the city court, or the Court of First Instance, within the city, may be invoked in the manner provided in the Rules of Court. It shall be the duty of the City Council to prepare one list of the names of twenty-five residents of the city best fitted by education, natural ability, and reputation for probity to sit as assessors in the trial in action in the city court and a like list of persons to sit as assessors in the trial of action in the Court of First Instance. The City Council may, at any time, strike any name off the list so prepared by reason of the death, permanent disability, or unfitness of the person named; and in case names are so stricken off, other names shall be added in their place, to be selected as in this section provided. Parties desiring to avail themselves of the use of assessors in the city court or in the Court of First Instance shall proceed as provided for by law or the Rules of Court; and the method of summoning assessors, enforcing their attendance, excusing them from attendance, their compensation, oath, and effect of dissent from the opinion of the judge shall be as provided in those laws and rules.

There shall be a City Treasurer with a salary of seven thousand eight hundred pesos per annum, who shall have charge of the City Department of Finance and shall act as chief fiscal officer and financial adviser of the city and custodian of its funds.

The City Treasurer shall exercise the functions of municipal collector of taxes and shall collect all 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 city court, from the clerk thereof, and the fees collected by the sheriff or his deputies; and shall collect all miscellaneous 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. He shall collect, as deputy of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, by himself or deputies, all taxes and charges imposed by the Philippine Government upon property or persons in the City of Cebu, depositing daily such collections in any depository bank of the Government. Unless otherwise specifically provided by law or regulations, he shall perform in and for the city, the duties by law or regulation upon provincial treasurers generally, as well as the other duties imposed upon him by law. Any provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, he shall purchase all supplies, equipment and other property required by the city as may be authorized by ordinances or regulations approved by the Mayor, and issue such supplies, equipment and other property upon authority of the Mayor. 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 Auditor General. He shall deposit daily all municipal funds and collections in any bank duly designated by the City Council as government depository.

On or before the first day of April 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 February twenty-eight, 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 receipt of this statement and estimate and the estimates of department heads as are required by Section thirty-three of this Charter, the Mayor shall formulate and submit to the City Council before the thirty-first day of May next following, a detailed budget covering the estimated necessary expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year; and the City Council 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 City Council, disbursements of city funds may be made by the City Treasurer out of 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 City Council for their administrative information with a statement of the appropriations, expenditures and balances of all funds and accounts as of the last day of the month preceding.

The City Treasurer shall be a deputy for the Commissioner of Civil Service for the purpose of attesting appointments made by the City Mayor, in accordance with Civil Service Law and rules. The City Treasurer shall attest such appointments made by the City Mayor within fifteen days after receipt of the appointments and shall forward such appointments to the Commissioner of Civil Service for review within fifteen days after such attestation has been made by him. Appointees shall be entitled to collect the rate of compensation fixed in their appointments after the same have been attested to by the City Treasurer in his capacity as representative of the Commissioner of Civil Service in the city, any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding. If within ninety days after receipt of said appointments, the Commissioner of Civil Service shall have discovered that said appointments were not made in pursuance of Civil Service Law and rules, then he shall immediately return said appointments to the City Treasurer for correction or revision and upon receipt of said returned appointments, the City Treasurer shall forwith withhold payment of the salary or salaries of the appointees concerned until such time as said appointments are corrected or revised in accordance with Civil Service Law and rules. For purposes of this section the City Treasurer shall be under the supervision of the Commissioner of Civil Service.

The City Treasurer shall have an assistant and such other personnel to assist him with his duties as may be provided for from time to time by appropriation ordinances.

There shall be a City Assessor with a salary of seven thousand two hundred pesos per annum, 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 at their fair market value all the real estate in the city, and assess for taxation all such real estate not expressly exempt, including machines, mechanical contrivances, instruments, tools and implements, appliances, apparatus and paraphernalia used for industrial, agricultural, or manufacturing purposes when attached to land or buildings. He shall prepare and file with the City Treasurer before April first of each year a list of the real estate, machines, mechanical contrivances, instruments, tools and implements, appliances, apparatus, and paraphernalia so valued which are exempt from taxation, and a separate list of the taxable real estate, machines, apparatus, appliances, mechanical contrivances, instruments, tools, implements and paraphernalia:Provided, nevertheless, That if any taxpayer desires to pay his tax before April first the City Assessor must furnish the City Treasurer, upon request, with a certified list of the assessed value of the taxable properties of such taxpayer pertaining to the year for which the tax is offered to be paid. The City Assessor shall have an assistant and such other personnel to assist him with his duties as may be provided for from time to time by appropriation ordinances.

The following shall be exempt from taxation:

List of taxable real estate, how made Examination of witnesses and register of deeds records. The City Assessor shall make the list of the taxable real estate in the city and the names of the owners shall be arranged in the order of the lot and block numbers with a brief description opposite each such name of the property owned by such owners and the cash value thereof. In making this list the City Assessor shall take into consideration any sworn statement made by the owners of the property, but shall not be prevented thereby from considering other evidence on the subject and exercising his own judgment in respect thereto. For the purpose of completing this list, he and his authorized representatives are empowered to enter upon the real estate for the purpose of examining and measuring the same, and to summon witnesses, administer oaths to them, and subject them to examination concerning the ownership and the amount of real estate and its cash values. It shall be the duty of the City Assessor, so far as is necessary, to examine the records of the office of the Register of Deeds showing the ownership of real estate in the city.

It shall be the duty of each person who at any time acquires real estate in the city, and of each person who constructs or adds to any improvements on real estate owned by him within the city, to prepare and present to the City Assessor within a period of sixty days next succeeding the completion of such acquisition, construction or addition, a sworn declaration setting forth the value of the real estate acquired or the improvement constructed or addition made by him and containing a description of such property sufficient to enable the City Assessor readily to identify the same. Any person who fails to make and present such declaration of real estate newly acquired by him within the said period of sixty days shall be deemed to have waived his right to notice of the assessment of such property and the assessment of the same in the name of its former owner shall, in all such cases, be valid binding on all persons interested, and for all purposes, as though the same had been assessed in the name of the actual owner.

Action when owner makes no return, or is unknown, or in doubt, or when land and improvements are separately owned. If the owner of any parcel of real estate shall fail to make a return thereof, or if the City Assessor is unable to discover the owner of any real estate, the City Assessor, upon discovery of such failure to declare, shall nevertheless list the same for taxation and charge the tax against the true owner plus a compromise fee for late filling of return equivalent to twenty-five per centum of the annual tax exclusive of penalties provided in section fifty-six, if known, and if unknown then as against an unknown owner. In case of doubt or dispute as to ownership of real estate, the taxes shall be levied against the possessor or possessors thereof. When it shall appear that there are separate owners of the land and the improvements thereof, a separate assessment of the property of each shall be made.

If it shall come to the knowledge of the City Assessor that any taxable real estate in the city has escaped listing, it shall be his duty to list and value the same at the time and in the manner provided in the next succeeding section and to charge against the owner thereof the taxes due for the current year and for all other years since the original assessment under the city charter was made, and the taxes thus assessed shall be legal and collectible by all the remedies herein provided, and if the failure of the City Assessor to assess such taxes at the time when they should have been assessed was due to any fault or negligence on the part of the owner of such property, then penalties shall be added to such back taxes as though they had been assessed at the time when they should have been assessed. However, if the failure to assess was solely due to any fault or negligence of the City Assessor, penalty shall likewise be added, if said taxes are not paid before the operation of the next tax collection period next ensuing or if the property had originally become delinquent after assessment in the usual course.

The City Assessor shall, during the first fifteen days of December of each year, add to his list of taxable real estate in the city the value of the improvements placed upon such property during the preceding year, and any property which is taxable and which has therefore escaped taxation. He may, during the same period, revise and correct the assessed value of any or all parcels of real estate in the city which are not assessed at their true money value, by reducing or increasing the existing assessments as the case may be. He shall give motive by publication for ten days prior to December first in one newspaper of general circulation published in the city, that he will be present in his office for that purpose on said days, and he shall further notify in writing each person the amount of whose tax will be changed by such action or such proposed change by delivering or mailing such notification to such person or his authorized agent at the last known address of such owner or agent in the Philippines sometime in the month of November.

The City Assessor shall authenticate each list of real estate valued and assessed by him as soon as the same is completed by signing the following certificate at the foot thereof:

In case the City Council, or any owner of real estate or his authorized agent, shall feel aggrieved by any decision of the City Assessor under the preceding sections of this Article, such City Council, owner or agent may, within twenty days after the taxpayer receives notice of such decision, appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals. The appeal shall be perfected by filing a written notice of the same with the City Assessor and it shall be the duty of that officer forthwith to transmit the appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals with all written evidence in his possession relating to such assessment and evaluation.

The Board of Assessment Appeals shall be composed of five members who shall be appointed by the Mayor, three of whom shall be the owners of real estate in the city and shall hold office at the pleasure of the Mayor.

The members of the Board of Assessment Appeals, except the chairman, shall receive a compensation of twenty pesos for each day on which they attend the sessions and serve as members of the Board.

The chairman of the Board of Assessment Appeals shall be designated in the appointment of the Mayor and shall receive forty pesos for each day on which he attends the sessions. The secretary of the Board shall be appointed by the Mayor and shall keep the records of the proceedings of the Board. The secretary shall receive such salary as the City Council may fix.

Before organizing as such, the members of the Board of Assessment Appeals shall take the following oath before an officer authorized to administer an oath in the city:

The oath of each member shall be recorded by the secretary of the Board in the minutes of its proceedings.

The Board of Assessment Appeals shall meet on the second Monday of January of each year, shall hear all appeals duly transmitted to it, shall decide the same forthwith, and shall complete its work and adjourn on or before the thirty-first day of March of each year unless its sessions for any given year are extended to a later date by direction of the City Mayor. It shall have authority to cause to be amended the listing and valuation of the property in respect to which any appeal has been perfected by order signed by the Board or majority thereof, and transmit it to the City Assessor, who shall amend the tax list in conformity with said order. It shall also have power to revise and correct, with the approval of the City Mayor first had, any and all erroneous or unjust assessments and valuations for taxation, and make a correct and just assessment and state the true valuation, in each case where it decides that the assessments previously made are erroneous or unjust. The list when so corrected shall be as lawful and valid for all purposes as though the assessments had been made within the time herein prescribed. Such reassessment and revaluation shall be made on due notice to the individual concerned and he shall be entitled to be heard by the Board of Assessment Appeals before any reassessment or revaluation is made. The decision of the Board of Assessment Appeals shall be final unless the City Mayor forthwith declares the decision reopened for review by him, in which case he may make such revision or revaluation as in his opinion the circumstances justify. Such decision, approved by the President, shall be final.

An annual tax of not more than two per centum on the assessed value of all real estate in the city subject to taxation as hereinabove provided may be levied by the City Council. The tax for any year shall be due and payable on the first day of January of each year, and if any taxpayer shall fail to pay the taxes assessed against him on or before the thirtieth day of June of the year for which such taxes are due, he shall be delinquent in such payment and shall be subject, as a penalty for such delinquency, to an additional tax of twenty per centum of the amount of the original tax if both the original and the additional tax be paid during the first six months of such delinquency, and if not so paid, to an additional tax of twenty-five per centum of the amount of the original tax; the additional tax to be collected at the same time and in the same manner as the original tax.

At the option of the taxpayer, the tax due for any year may be paid in two equal installments, the first of such installments to consist of one-half of the tax and the second to consist of the remainder of the tax for the year. In such cases, the first installment must be paid on or before the thirtieth day of June of the year which the tax is due, and the second may be paid at any time prior to the first day of January of the following year, but if the first installment of the tax for any year is not paid on or before the thirtieth day of June of such year, then the whole of that year's tax shall be delinquent and the penalty due thereon as hereinabove provided. If any taxpayer; having paid the first installment of his tax for any year, shall fail to pay the second installment thereof before the first day of January of the following year, the penalty collected shall be twenty per centum of the amount of such second installment during the first six months of said following year, and thereafter twenty-five per centum of such amount.

The penalties thus imposed shall be accounted for by the City Treasurer in the same manner as the tax. In the event that such tax and penalty shall remain unpaid for fifteen days after the tax become delinquent, the City Treasurer shall proceed to make collection thereof in the manner hereinafter prescribed.

The City Council may extend the time for the collection of the tax on real estate in the City of Cebu for a period part of the tax on real estate or the penalties thereon not to exceed three months. It may also remit all or during the ensuing year in case there are good and sufficient reasons for it. The resolution in any such case shall not take effect until it has been approved by the Mayor.

Proceedings for seizure and sale of delinquent's personal property to satisfy tax, penalty and costs. Fifteen days after the tax shall become delinquent, the City Treasurer shall prepare and sign a certified copy of the records of his office showing the persons delinquent in payment of their taxes and the amount of tax and penalty respectively due from them. He may thereupon proceed to seize the personal property of each delinquent not exempt under the provisions of the next succeeding section and sell at public auction, either at the main entrance of the city hall or at the place where such property is seized, as he shall determine, so much of the same as shall satisfy the tax, penalty, and costs of seizure and sale, to the highest bidder for cash, after due advertisement by notice posted for ten days at the main entrance of the city hall and in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Cebu, stating the time, place, and cause of sale. The certified copy of the City Treasurer's record of delinquents shall be his warrant for his proceedings, and the purchaser at such sale shall acquire an indefeasible title to the property sold. Within two days after the sale, the City Treasurer shall make return of his proceedings and spread it upon his records. Any surplus resulting from the sale, over and above the tax, penalty, and costs, shall be returned to the taxpayer on account of whose delinquency the sale has been made.

The following personal property shall be exempt from seizure and sale for delinquency in the payment of the real estate tax;

The owner of the personal property seized may redeem the same from the collecting officer at any time after seizure and before sale by tendering to him the amount of the tax, the penalty and the costs incurred up to the time of tender. The costs to be charged in making such seizure and preservation of the property pending the sale, and no charge shall be imposed for the services of the collecting officer or his deputy.

Taxes and penalties assessed against realty, machines, mechanical contrivances, instruments, tools, implements, appliances, apparatus and paraphernalia shall be superior to all other liens mortgages or encumbrances of any kind whatsoever and shall be enforceable against the property whether in the possession of the delinquent or any subsequent owner, and can be satisfied only by the payment of the tax and penalty. A lien upon real estate, machines, mechanical contrivances, instruments, tools, implements, appliances, apparatus and paraphernalia for taxes levied for each year shall attach on the first day of January of such year.

In addition to the procedure prescribed in Section sixty-four of this Charter, the City Treasurer may, upon the warrant of the certified record required in said section, not less than twenty-five days after delinquency, advertise the entire delinquent real estate for sale, to satisfy all public taxes upon said property as above, with penalties and costs of sale, for a period of thirty days.

The advertisement shall be by posting a notice at the main entrance of the city hall and in a public and conspicuous place in the district in which the real estate lies, and by publication once a week, for three weeks, in one newspaper of general circulation published in the city. The advertisement shall state the amount of the taxes and penalties so due, the time and place of sale, the name of the taxpayer against whom the taxes are levied, and the approximate area, the lot and block number, the location by district and street, and the street number, if the property has a street number, of the real estate to be sold. At any time before the day fixed for the sale the taxpayer may discontinue all proceedings by paying the taxes, penalties and costs to the City Treasurer. If he does not do so, the sale shall proceed and shall be held either at the main entrance of the city hall or in the premises to be sold, as the City Treasurer may determine. Within five days after the sale, the City Treasurer shall make return of the proceedings and spread it on his records. The purchaser at the sale shall receive a certificate from the City Treasurer from his records, showing the proceedings of the sale, describing the property sold, stating the name of the purchaser, and setting out the exact amount of all public taxes, penalties and costs.

It shall not be essential to the validity of the sale of real estate for delinquent taxes hereunder that the City Treasurer shall have attempted to make the amount due out of the personal property of the delinquent taxpayer, and the remedy provided in Section sixty-four of this Charter shall be deemed cumulative.

Within one year from the date of sale, the delinquent taxpayer, or anyone for him, shall have the right of paying to the City Treasurer the amount of the public taxes, penalties and costs, together with interest on the purchase price at the rate of fifteen per centum per annum from the date of purchase to the date of redemption; and such payment shall entitle the person paying to the delivery of the certificate issued to the purchaser and a certificate from the City Treasurer that he has thus redeemed the real estate, and the City Treasurer shall forthwith pay over to the purchaser the amount with which such real estate has thus been redeemed, and the same shall thereafter be free from the lien of such taxes and penalties.

In case the taxpayer shall not redeem the realty sold as above provided within one year from the date of sale, the City Treasurer shall, as grantor, execute a deed in form and effect sufficient to convey to the purchaser the real estate against which the taxes have been assessed as has been sold, free from all liens of any kind whatsoever, and the deed shall succinctly recite all the proceedings upon which the validity of the sale depends.

In case there is no bidder at the public sale of such realty who offers a sum sufficient to pay the taxes penalties and costs, the City Treasurer shall declare the real estate forfeited to the city, and shall make, within two days thereafter, a return of his proceedings and the forfeiture, which shall be spread upon the records of his office.

Within one year from the date of such forfeiture thus declared, the taxpayer, or anyone for him, may redeem said realty as above provided in cases where the same is sold. But, if the realty is not thus redeemed within the year, the forfeiture shall become absolute and the City Treasurer shall execute a deed similar in form and having the same effect as the deed required to be made by him in case of a sale, conveying the real estate to the city. The deed shall be recorded as required by law for other real estate titles and shall then be forwarded through the Mayor for notation and return to the City Treasurer who shall file the same and enter it in the records of city property.

After the title to the property shall have become absolutely vested in the Government of the City of Cebu in the manner above provided, and at any time before a sale or contract of sale has been made by the City Treasurer to a third party in the manner provided for by law, the original owner or his legal representative shall have a further right to repurchase the entire amount of the property in question by paying therefor the full amount then due for taxes, penalties, and costs, together with an additional penalty of fifteen per centum upon the whole, and if the City Mayor has made a contract for the lease of the property the repurchase may be made subject to such contract.

The assessment of a tax shall constitute a lawful indebtedness of the taxpayer to the city which may be enforced by a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction, and this remedy shall in addition to all the other remedies provided by law.

No court shall entertain any suit assailing the validity of a tax assessed under this article until the taxpayer shall have paid, under protest, the taxes assessed against him, nor shall any court declare any tax invalid by reason of irregularities or informalities in the proceedings of the officers charged with the assessment or collection of the taxes; or of a failure to perform their duties within the time herein specified for their performance, unless such irregularities, informalities, or failure shall have impaired the substantial rights of the taxpayer; nor shall any court declare any tax assessed under the provisions of this article invalid except upon condition that the taxpayer shall pay the just amount of his tax as determined by court in the pending proceeding.

No court shall entertain any suit assailing the validity of a tax sale of real estate under this article until the taxpayer shall have paid into the court the amount for which the real estate was sold, together with interest at the rate of fifteen per centum per annum upon the sum from the date of sale to the time of instituting suit. The money so paid into court shall belong to the purchaser at the tax sale if the deed is declared invalid, and shall be returned to the depositor should he fail in his action. Nor shall any court declare any such sale invalid by reason of any irregularities or informalities in the proceedings of the officer charged with the duty of making the sale or by reason of failure to perform his duties within the time herein specified for their performance, unless such irregularities, informalities, or failure shall have impaired the substantial rights of the taxpayer.

The City Council may, by ordinance duly approved, provide for the levying and collection, by special assessments of the real estate comprised within the district or section of the city specially benefited, of the cost or a part thereof not less than sixty per centum of laying out, opening, constructing, straightening, widening, extending, grading, paving, curbing, walling, deepening, or otherwise establishing, repairing, enlarging, or improving public avenues, roads, streets, alleys, sidewalks, parks plazas, bridges, landing places, wharves, piers, docks, levees, reservoirs, waterworks, water mains, watercourses, esteros, canals, drains and sewers, including the cost of acquiring the necessary land. Within the meaning of this article, all real estate comprised within the district benefited, except lands or buildings owned by the Republic of the Philippines, the Province and City of Cebu, shall be subject to the payment of the special assessment, based upon the valuation of such real estate as shown by the books of the City Assessor, or its present as fixed by said officer in the first instance if the property does not appear of record in his books according to the valuation whereof the special tax has to be made, computed and assessed.

The ordinance providing for the levying and collection of a special assessment shall describe in terms of reasonable accuracy the nature, extent, and location of the proposed improvements, the probable cost of the improvement; the rate per centum of the cost to be defrayed by special assessment; the district which shall be subject to the payment of the said rate per centum of the proposed improvement, delimiting the same by metes and bounds, and the number of annual installments, which shall not be less than five, in which such assessments shall be paid without any interest. The City Council shall not be required to fix one uniform rate per centum for all the taxable real estate in the entire district, but may fix different rates for real estate in different parts or sections of the same, according as said property will derive greater or less benefit from the contemplated improvement.

The proposed special assessment ordinance shall be published for the period of one week in one daily newspaper published in the city, before its adoption by the City Council. The secretary of the City Council shall, upon request, furnish a copy of the ordinance free of charge to each owner affected or his agent, shall insofar as possible send each of them a copy of said proposed ordinance, by ordinary mail or otherwise. At the request of any owner, made within three days from the last publication of the proposed ordinance, or at its own motion, the City Council or the committee thereof in charge of the project shall hold a public hearing on the same and hear all pertinent arguments and evidence offered by the persons interested or their attorneys, and such arguments and evidence shall be attached to the records of the project.

The special assessment ordinance shall be sent to the Mayor for approval as in other cases, but upon forwarding the proposed ordinance passed by the City Council, all papers pertaining to the same shall be transmitted to the Mayor, and the time for the approval or vetoing thereof shall run only from the date of the receipt of the last paper lacking. The Mayor may consider the protest of the persons claiming to be affected if signed by a majority of said persons representing more than one-half of the total assessed value of the property which, according to the proposed ordinance, would be subject to the special assessment, and before approving or vetoing said ordinance, he may propose to the same City Council such amendment or amendments, to the same as he may deem fit.

Upon the approval of the special assessment ordinance, the City Assessor shall forthwith proceed to determine the special tax payable by each realty each year during the period fixed in the ordinance, upon the basis of the estimated cost of the work and the total and parcel value of the real estate comprised within the district especially benefited, and shall notify each owner by ordinary mail of the special tax assessed against each property owned by him in the district benefited; but if, upon the completion of the improvement, it should appear that the cost has been less or more, the City Engineer shall forthwith certify this fact to the assessor who shall thereupon proceed to rectify the assessment reducing or increasing as the case may be, the special tax upon each property affected the unpaid remainder of the annual installments, or, if all the paid, fixing the amount to be credited to or the special additional tax to be collected from the realty, as the case may be, and shall notify the persons interested of such rectifications.

Any owner considering himself aggrieved by any decision of the City Assessor may appeal from the same to the Board of Assessment Appeals within the same time and in the same manner as prescribed by law for cases of assessment and valuation of real estate for the ordinary tax.

All sums and amounts due from any owner as a result of any action taken by virtue of the authority conferred in this article shall be due and payable to the City Treasurer in the same manner as the annual tax levied on real estate under the provisions of the last preceding article hereof, and shall be subject to the same penalties for delinquency, and enforceable by the same remedies, as such annual tax; and all such sums and amounts, together with any such penalties incurred, shall from the date on which they were assessed constitute liens on the property against which the same were assessed, and shall take precedence over any and all other liens which may exist upon such property excepting only such as may have been attached as a result of the nonpayment of said annual tax.

When the President of the Philippines shall so directed it, the City Council of the City of Cebu, as an agency of the National Government shall provide, by means of an ordinance, for the levying and collection by special assessments of the real estate within the district or section of the City of Cebu especially benefited, of the cost or a part thereof to be determined by the President, of laying out, opening, constructing, straightening, widening, extending, grading, paving, curbing, walling, deepening, or otherwise establishing, repairing, enlarging, or improving national roads in the City of Cebu, including the cost of acquiring the necessary land and improvements therein. Within the meaning of this section, all real estate comprised within the district or section benefited, except lands or buildings owned by the Republic of the Philippines, or the Province and City of Cebu, shall be subject to the payment of the special assessment, based upon the valuation of such real estate as shown by the books of the City Assessor, or its present value fixed by said officer in the first instance if the property does not appear in his books according to the valuation whereof the special tax has to be made, computed and assessed.

The ordinance providing for the levying and collection of a special assessment shall describe in terms of reasonable accuracy the nature, extent, and location of the national road project to cover the cost of which the special assessment is to be levied; the probable or actual cost thereof, the rate per centum as shall be determined by the President of the cost to be defrayed by special assessment; the district or section which shall be subject to the payment of the said special assessment, delimiting the same by metes and bounds and the number of annual installments, which shall not be less than five, in which such special assessment shall be paid without any interest.

The City Council of the City of Cebu shall not be required to fix one uniform rate per centum for all the taxable real estate in the entire district or section, but may fix different rates for the real estate in different parts or sections of the same, according as said property will derive greater or less benefit from the improvement.

The proposed special assessment ordinance shall be published in one newspaper of general circulation in the City of Cebu for a period of not less than ten days and shall be posted at the usual place for posting public notices, in the Office of the Director of Public Works and in the Office of the City Engineer and also at conspicuous places in the district or section of the city where such national road project is constructed or contemplated to be constructed. The secretary of the City Council shall, upon request, furnish a copy of the proposed ordinance by ordinary mail or otherwise. Within three days after the last publication of the special assessment ordinance, the board or the committee in charge of the project shall hold a public hearing on the same and hear all pertinent arguments and evidence offered by the persons interested or their attorneys and such arguments and evidence shall be attached to the proper records.

The special assessment ordinance together with all the papers pertaining to the same shall be sent for approval to the Mayor, as in other cases, and the time for the approval or vetoing thereof shall run only from the date of the receipt of the last paper lacking. The Mayor may receive protests of persons claiming to be affected, provided such protests are signed by a majority of said persons representing more than one-half of the total assessed value of the property which according to the proposed ordinance would be subject to the special assessment, and before approving or vetoing said ordinance, he may propose to the City Council such amendment or amendments, as he may deem fit.

Upon approval of the special assessment ordinance, the City Assessor shall forthwith proceed to determine the special tax payable by each realty during the period fixed in the ordinance, upon the basis of the estimate or actual cost of the work and the total and parcel value of the real estate comprised within the district especially benefited, and shall notify each owner by ordinary mail of the special tax assessed against such property owned by him in the district benefited, but if upon the completion of the improvement, in cases where the assessment is made prior to the completion thereof, it should appear that the cost has been less or more, the City Engineer, through the Director of Public Works, shall forthwith certify this fact to the City Assessor who shall thereupon proceed to rectify the assessment, reducing or increasing, as the case may be, and shall notify the persons interested in such rectification.

All sums and amounts due from any owner or owners as a result of any action taken by virtue of the authority conferred in this Act shall be due and payable to the City Treasurer in the same manner as the annual tax levied on real estate under the provisions of the last preceding article hereof, and shall be subject to the same penalties for delinquency, and enforceable by the same remedies, as such annual tax; and all such sums and amounts, together with any such penalties incurred shall, from the date on which they were assessed, constitute lies on the property against which the same were assessed, and shall take precedence over any and all other liens which may exist upon such property excepting only such as may have been attached as a result of the non-payment of said annual tax.

There shall be a Chief of Police with a salary of seven thousand eight hundred pesos per annum who shall have charge of the police department and everything pertaining thereto, including the organization, administration, discipline, and disposition of, and the transfer of, members from and to the city police and detective bureau; shall investigate, under the direction of the Mayor, any complaints filed against members of the police and report the result of his investigation to the Mayor, making whatever recommendations he may deem pertinent for such action as said officer may consider necessary; shall quell riots, disorders, disturbances of the peace, and shall investigate, arrest and prosecute violators of any law or ordinance; shall exercise exclusive police supervision over all land and water within the police jurisdiction of the city; shall at least once a year verify all firearms in the possession of persons holding licenses and make due report of such verification to the Chief of Constabulary of any violation of the terms of the license or the laws, rules and regulations, relating to the possession of firearms or ammunitions, and shall indorse on each license that he has made such verification with the date thereof; shall be charged with the protection of the rights of persons and property wherever found within the jurisdiction of the city, and shall arrest without warrant, 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 discharging of his duty; shall exercise supervision, administration and control over the city jail and city prisoners; shall be responsible for the safekeeping of all prisoners until they shall be released from custody, in accordance with law, or delivered to the warden of the proper prison; may take good and sufficient bail for the appearance before the city court of any person arrested for violation of any city ordinance:Provided, however, That he shall not exercise this powers in cases of violations of any penal law, except when the fiscal of the city shall so recommend and fix the bail to be required of the person arrested; shall have authority within the police jurisdiction of the city, to serve and execute criminal processes of any court; shall either in person or by deputy, attend all sessions of the city courts, and shall promptly and faithfully execute all orders of the Mayor, including assignments and transfer of personnel, and all writs and processes of the city courts and all criminal processes of the Court of First Instance of Cebu, when placed in his hands for that purpose. He shall have such powers and perform such further duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance. The Chief of Police shall have such assistants and additional personnel as may be provided for in appropriation ordinances.

The Mayor, the Chief of Police and his assistants, and all officers and members of the city police and detective force shall be peace officers. Such peace officers are authorized to serve and execute all processes of the city court and criminal processes of all other courts to whomsoever directed, within the jurisdictional limits of the city or within the police limits as hereinbefore defined; within the same territory, to pursue and arrest, without warrant, any person found in suspicious places or under suspicious circumstances reasonably tending to show that such person has committed, or is about to commit, a crime or breach of the peace; to arrest or cause to be arrested, without warrant, any offender when offense is committed in the presence of a peace officer or within his view; in such pursuit or arrest, to enter any building, ship, boat, or vessel, to 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; and to exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinances. They shall detain an arrested person only until he can be brought before the proper magistrate. Whenever the Mayor shall deem it necessary to avert danger or to protect life and property in case of riot, disturbance or public calamity, or when he has reason to fear any serious violation of law and order, he shall have power to call the Philippine Constabulary and swear in special police, in such numbers as the occasion may demand. Such special police shall have the same powers while on duty as members of the regular force.

There shall be a Chief of Fire Department with a salary of six thousand pesos per annum who shall have the management and control of all matters relating to the administration of said department, and the organization discipline, and disposition of the fire force; shall have charge of fire engine houses, fire engines, hose carts, hooks and ladders trucks, and all other fire apparatus; shall have full police powers in the vicinity of fires; shall have authority to remove any building or other property whenever it shall become necessary to prevent the spreading of fire or to protect adjacent property; shall investigate and report to the Mayor upon the origin and cause of all fires occurring within the city; shall inspect all buildings erected or under construction or repair within the city and determine whether they provide sufficient protection against fire and comply with the ordinances relating thereto; shall have charge of the city telegraph, telephone, and fire alarm service; shall supervise and regulate the stringing, grounding, and installation of wires for all electrical connections with a view to avoiding conflagrations, interference with public traffic or safety, or the necessary operations of the fire department; shall supervise and regulate the manufacture, storage, and use of petroleum, gas, acetylene, gunpowder, and other highly combustible matter and explosives; and shall see that all ordinances relating to those subjects or any of them, are enforced. The Chief of the Fire Department shall have an assistant and such other personnel to assist him in his duties as may be provided for from time to time by appropriation ordinances.

There shall be a City Public Service Officer with a salary of six thousand pesos per annum who shall have charge of the Department of Public Services. The city public service officer shall have general supervision and control over the sanitary building and plumbing inspection service; care, custody and cleaning of all public buildings, including markets, crematories, slaughterhouses and building rented for city purposes, public toilets, collection and disposal of garbage, refuse, contents of toilet and cesspools, and all other offensive and dangerous substances within the city. He shall have authority to charge, at rates to be fixed by the City Council with the approval of the Mayor, fees for public services and supplies furnished by his department to private parties. He shall have authority to declare that any lot or ground within the City of Cebu belonging to any person or corporation or to the National Government, or any branch or political subdivisions thereof, is so low, excavated, or walled, diked or dammed as to admit or cause the formation on the surface thereof of stagnant or foul water, or that it is a nuisance or a menace to public health, unless filled in or its sanitary condition otherwise improved, and all communicate the same to the Mayor. He shall execute and enforce all laws, ordinances, and regulations relating to public services, and shall recommend to the City Council the passage of ordinances as he may deem necessary for the better and more adequate extension of public services. He shall cause to be prosecuted all violations of laws, ordinances or regulations relating to public services. The city public service officer shall have an assistant and such other personnel to assist him in his duties as may be provided for from time to time by appropriation ordinances.

The Auditor General shall appoint an auditor for the city who shall have the rank of a chief of a city department and shall receive a salary of seven thousand eight hundred pesos per annum, one-half of which shall be payable from the funds of the city and one-half payable from the National Government funds. The City Auditor shall receive and audit all accounts of the city in accordance with the provisions of law relating to government accounts and accounting. The City Council may provide such assistants and personnel in the office of the City Auditor through appropriation ordinances.

The Director of Public Schools shall exercise the same jurisdiction and powers in the city as elsewhere in the Philippines, and the City Superintendent of Schools 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 division.

The City Council shall have the same powers in respect to the establishment of schools in the City of Cebu as are conferred by law on municipal councils.

The clerical force and assistants and laborers in the office of the City Superintendent of Schools shall be paid by the city, as well as the office expenses for supplies and materials incident to carrying on said office. The City Council may provide for additional compensation for the City Superintendent of Schools, so that the latter may have a total salary equal to that of a city department head of the same importance.

The City Superintendent of Schools shall make a quarterly report of the condition of the schools and the school buildings of the City of Cebu to the Mayor, and such recommendation as 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 school buildings of the city.

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 of the city shall decide that any sign, signboard, or billboard displayed, or exposed to 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 issued 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 of the same shall become a lawful charge against any person or property liable for the creation or display thereof.

Of the internal revenue accruing to the National Treasury under Chapter II, Title XII of Commonwealth Act Numbered Four hundred sixty-six, and other taxes collected by the National Government and allotted to the various provinces, as well as the national aid for schools, the city shall receive a share equal to what it would receive if it were a regularly organized province.

The city may own and operate any gas, water, heat, power, light, telephone or other public utility for supplying its own needs for utility service or for supplying utility service to private consumers, or both. It may construct all facilities reasonably needed for that purpose and may acquire by purchase, condemnation or otherwise, any existing utility properties so needed; but no proceedings to acquire any such public utility shall be consummated unless the city has the money in the treasury to pay for the acquisition or has made provision for paying for the property proposed to be acquired.

Subject to the provisions of any applicable law or Public Service Commission regulations, the City Council may fix rates, fares, and prices for city-owned or operated utilities, but such rates, fares and prices shall be just and reasonable. In like manner, the council may prescribe the time and manner in which payments for all such services shall be made, and may make such other regulations as may be necessary, and prescribe penalties for violation of such regulations.

The City Council, in lieu of providing for the local production of gas, electricity, water, and other utilities, purchase the same in bulk and resell them to local consumers at such rates as it may fix in accordance with law.

The City Council may, if the public interest will be served thereby, contract with any responsible person, partnership, or corporation, for the operation of any utility owned by the city, upon the basis of the highest and best bid therefor, and upon such terms and conditions as the council may provide; but the terms and conditions, other than the amount of the annual rental, shall be clearly set forth in an ordinance authorizing the taking of bids on the proposed lease, which ordinance shall not be adopted by the council until thirty days after its construction and shall not in the meantime be amended or modified.

The engineering fund of the city shall be considered as city funds as well as all sums of money accruing to the city by virtue of any Public Works Act approved by Congress.

Officers and employees, whether occupying positions in the classified or unclassified service, shall continue in the service unless removed for cause as provided by law.

of the city to remain in force. All ordinances, resolutions, orders or other regulations of the city on the date of the approval of this Act shall continue on force and effect until repealed, modified or superseded by the City Council by ordinances.

To carry out the purposes of the Election Law in the election of public officers in the City of Cebu, the duties which are by said law made incumbent upon provincial board and municipal councils, shall be performed by the City Council, and the duties imposed by said law upon provincial treasurers and municipal secretaries shall be performed by the City Treasurer and the secretary to the Mayor.

Until otherwise provided by law, the City of Cebu, shall continue as part of the second congressional district, and as the capital of the province.

Commonwealth Act Numbered Fifty-eight, as amended, and all laws or parts of laws, executive orders and proclamations or parts thereof inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

If any part or section of this Act shall be declared unconstitutional, such declaration shall not invalidate the other provisions thereof.