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SEC. 14. A president, vice-president, or councilor shall have the following qualifications: (a) He shall be a duly qualified elector of the municipality, twenty-six or more years of age, and shall have a legal residence therein for at least one year prior to the date of election. (b) He shall intelligently speak, read, and write either Spanish ,or the English language or the local dialect.
SEC. 15. In no case shall there be elected or appointed to a municipal office ecclesiastics, soldiers in active service, persons receiving salaries from provincial, departmental, or governmental funds, or contractors for public works of the municipality.
SEC. 16. (a) Every person elected or appointed to a municipal office under the provisions of this Act shall, before entering upon the duties thereof, take and subscribe before the president or municipal secretary the following oath of office: "OATH OF OFFICE. "I, .............., having been ............... as ......................... of the municipality of.................... in the province of ........................................, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have the prescribed qualifications to hold office in said municipality; that I recognize and accept the supreme authority of the United States of America and will maintain true faith and allegiance thereto; that I will obey the laws, legal orders and decrees promulgated by its duly constituted authorities; that I impose upon myself this obligation voluntarily, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter, so help me God. (Last four words to be stricken out in case of affirmation.) "(Signature of officer.) "Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me this ................ day of ............., 19........ "(Signature of president or municipal secretary.)" (b) Such oaths shall be filed in the office of the municipal secretary.
SEC. 17. Every municipal officer charged with the custody of municipal funds shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, execute a bond to the municipality with two or more sureties, the amount of which bond and the sufficiency of which sureties shall be approved by the president, and by the provincial treasurer, in writing, indorsed thereon, and by the municipal council by a recorded vote. A copy of the bond and the approval of the same shall be spread upon the minutes of the council. The bond shall be fixed at a penal sum of not less than half of the amount of the aggregate revenue which will probably come into the custody of such municipal officer during the current year and shall be conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of the office and the payment as required by law of all moneys received by such officer for and in behalf of the municipality. The bond shall be filed in the office of the municipal secretary, who shall carefully preserve the same. Should suit be brought on this bond, it shall be no defense to those signing the bond that the above requirements for approval have not been complied with, if in fact, by virtue of such bond, the municipal officer had entered upon the discharge of his official duties.
SEC. 18. The president shall be the chief executive of the municipality. (a) He shall cause the ordinances of the municipality to be executed, and shall supervise the discharge of official duties by all subordinates. (b) He shall examine and inspect the books, records, and papers of every officer or agent employed by the municipality. (c) He shall issue orders relating to the police or to public safety, and orders for the purpose of avoiding conflagrations, floods, and the effects of storms or other public calamities. (d) He shall draw warrants upon the municipal treasurer for the legitimate payments authorized by the council. (e) He shall assist the provincial treasurer and his deputies in the collection of taxes. (f) He shall, with the assistance of the municipal treasurer, one councilor, and the secretary, hold such public auctions as may be authorized by the council. (g) He shall hold a court to hear and adjudge alleged violations of public ordinances, upon complaint filed by his direction, or by a police officer, or a private citizen; and, after due trial in which the accused and his witnesses shall be heard, shall, upon conviction, impose such punishment, either by admonition or by fine and imprisonment, or both, in his discretion, as is provided in subsection (dd) of section thirty-nine. (h) Fines shall be paid in coin to the treasurer of the municipality, upon the order of the president, and the municipal officer shall issue a receipt therefor, which shall be countersigned by the president, who shall, upon countersigning it, record the payment of the same in the docket hereinafter prescribed in paragraph (j). (i) Provided, That if the charge be against a municipal officer or employee for violating his official duty, the president shall have jurisdiction to suspend him, pending action on such violation by the municipal council; and if a line is imposed against such officer, it may be collected by withholding the requisite amount from such salary as is or may hereafter become due to him. (j) The president shall keep a docket of the trials held under the preceding paragraph, in which shall be recorded in a summary manner the name of the defendant, the charge against; him and the name of the prosecuting witness, the date of the arrest, the date of the trial, the presence of the defendant, and the nature of the judgment, together with the tines collected, if any, in accordance with the judgment, A docket with proper blanks for entry of required details shall be furnished to the president by the provincial governor, and the cost of the same shall be paid out of the treasury of the municipality. (k) He shall recommend to the municipal council at, any time such measures connected with the public health, cleanliness, or ornament of the municipality or the improvement of its finances as he shall deem expedient. He shall preside at all meetings of the municipal council and shall sign its journal; but he shall not vote, except in case of a tie, when he shall give the casting vote. He shall approve ordinances adopted by the municipal council, unless he shall consider them prejudicial to the public welfare, in which case he shall veto them; but the council may pass an ordinance over the veto of the president by a two-thirds vote of all its members, in which case it shall be valid without the signature of the president. If the president shall not either approve or veto an ordinance within five days of its adoption, it shall become a law. (l) He shall appoint, by and with the consent of the majority of all the members of the council, the municipal treasurer, municipal secretary and all non-elective officers and employees that may be provided for by law or by ordinance; and at any time, for cause, he may suspend any such officer or employee for a period not exceeding ten days, which suspension may be continued for a longer period by the council; and, by and with the consent of a majority of all the members of the council, he may discharge any such officer or employee. (m) He shall make all nominations at the first meeting of the council after his election, except for those offices in which a vacancy may occur during his term. In case the council shall reject any of the nominations made by him, then it shall he his duty, at the next regular meeting of the council, to submit the names of other persons for appointment. In case a vacancy occurs in any of the above-named offices during the term of office of the president, he shall submit a nomination to the council at the first regular meeting after the occurrence of the vacancy. (n) During the month of December of each year the president shall prepare and make out in duplicate an annual report, in which he shall set forth the most important events which have occurred in the municipality within the current year. One copy of the report shall be filed in the office of the municipal secretary and the other shall be submitted to the council and thereafter forwarded to the provincial governor on or before the fifteenth day of the following January. (o) He is authorized to use as a symbol of office a black cylindrical cane, with gold head, gilt ferule and silver cord and tassels.
SEC. 19. The vice-president shall: (a) Act as substitute for the president in case of the absence of the latter or of his temporary inability to discharge the duties of his office. (b) In case of a permanent vacancy in the office of president, he shall fill the post for the unexpired portion of the term; and a new vice-president shall be elected by a majority vote of all the members of the council, as provided in section thirty-nine, subsection (b). (c) He shall be an ex officio member of the council, with all the rights and duties of any other member, and there shall be assigned to him the barrio or district in which the municipal offices are situated. (d) He is authorized to use as a symbol of office a black cylindrical cane, with gold head, gilt ferule and black cord and tassels.
SEC. 20. The municipal secretary shall be the clerk of the municipal council, whose meetings it shall be his duty to attend. (a) He shall keep a journal of the proceedings of the council and of all records and acts of the municipality. (b) He shall countersign and certify to the correctness of all warrants ordered by the council to be drawn on the treasury of the municipality. (c) He shall keep his office in the building where the municipal council meets, or at some place convenient thereto, as the council shall direct. (d) He shall keep a civil register for the municipality and shall record therein all births, marriages, and deaths, with their respective dates. In case of marriages, he shall further record the previous residences of the contracting parties, the name of the person solemnizing the marriage and the names the witnesses. In case of deaths, the causes of death shall be recorded when known. Physicians and midwives residing within the limits of the municipality shall immediately forward to the municipal secretary notification of every birth or death that occurs his or her professional observation, together with the necessary information for making the proper entry in the civil register. Every person resident within the limits of the municipality who is authorized by law to celebrate marriages shall immediately forward to the municipal secretary notification of every marriage which he celebrates, together with the necessary data for properly recording said marriage in the civil register. All entries in the civil register shall be made by the municipal secretary free of charge. (e) He shall issue upon demand of any person a certified copy of any record within his control, and shall be authorized to charge and receive a fee, which shall not exceed, for both the writing and certificate, ten cents per one hundred words (Mexican currency). The records shall during usual business hours be open to inspection by all residents of the municipality and by all officers of the provincial, departmental, and general governments. (f) He shall perform all such other duties as the municipal council may by ordinance provide, or as may be imposed by general legislation.
SEC. 21. The municipal treasurer shall receive all moneys paid to the municipality from any source. (a) He shall give to every person paying money to the municipal treasury a receipt therefor, specifying the date of payment and upon what account paid. (b) He shall keep a detailed account of all moneys received, and shall pay the same out only under authority of an ordinance or resolution of the council and upon a warrant signed by the president and countersigned by the secretary. (c) He shall, on or before the third day of each month, make out in triplicate a full and complete statement of the receipts and expenditures of the preceding month, together with a statement of the cash actually on hand in the municipal treasury, he shall deliver two copies to the president, who shall verify them and certify upon the face of each to the correctness thereof and shall then immediately cause one copy to be posted at the main entrance to the municipal building and send the other copy to the provincial treasurer. (d) He shall pay all lawful warrants in the order in which they shall be presented, and he shall note on the back of each the date of such presentation, and, when payment is made, the date of such payment: Provided, That he shall not pay any warrant when there is not in the treasury a sufficient amount to meet warrants previously presented and not paid for want of funds. (e) He shall have his office in the municipal building and shall keep in the municipal safe or strong box, which it shall be the duty of the municipal council to provide, all moneys belonging to the municipality. Such moneys shall be kept separate and distinct from his own money, nor shall he be permitted to make profit, out of public money, nor to lend or otherwise use it, nor to use the same in any method not authorized by law. A municipal treasurer violating the foregoing restriction shall be dismissed from office, if such violation shall be established at a hearing before the provincial treasurer. Such violation shall he considered a malversation of funds, to be tried accordingly under the penal law by a court of competent jurisdiction. The provincial treasurer shall report any such violation to the provincial fiscal for prosecution. The municipal treasurer may to prevent the accumulation of too large an amount of money in the strong-box of the municipality, when especially authorized by resolution of the municipal council, deposit for safekeeping with the provincial treasurer such sums of money as he will not be obliged to use at once, taking a receipt from the provincial treasurer. He shall exhibit this receipt to the municipal council at its next meeting, and the municipal secretary shall record the fact of such exhibition and the date and amount of the receipt. (f) He shall be the custodian of all municipal property and shall keep a record thereof in a suitable book.
SEC. 22. The president, municipal secretary and municipal treasurer shall receive such annual salaries as the council shall fix: (a) But, in cases of municipalities of the first class, these salaries shall not exceed, for the president, one thousand two hundred pesos; for the municipal secretary, six hundred pesos and for the municipal treasurer, eight hundred pesos. (b) In cases of municipalities of the second class, for president, one thousand pesos; for municipal secretary, live hundred pesos; and for municipal treasurer, six hundred pesos. (c) In cases of municipalities of the third class, for president, eight hundred pesos; for municipal secretary, four hundred pesos; and for municipal treasurer, four hundred pesos. (d) In cases of municipalities of the fourth class, for president, six hundred pesos; for municipal secretary, three hundred pesos; and for municipal treasurer, three hundred pesos. (e) The salary of the president, during the period when the vice-president performs his duties, shall be drawn by the vice-president. (f) The vice-president, except when serving as president, and the councilors shall receive no compensation, their offices being honorary. (g) No change of salaries by the council, after salaries have been fixed at the organization of the municipality, shall affect that of an officer then elected or incumbent.
SEC. 23. (a) A person elected by the people to fill a municipal office shall not be permitted to decline the same, but shall qualify and discharge the duties thereof, unless before election he shall have presented to the judges of election, and established to their satisfaction, a claim for exemption on the ground: That he has discharged the duties of the same office for two previous terms; or That he is physically disabled; or That he is more than sixty-five years of age. (b) Any person violating the foregoing provision of this section, and being convicted thereof in a court of competent jurisdiction, shall suffer imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.
SEC. 24. A second reelection to any municipal office is prohibited, except after two years.
SEC. 25. Should any elective municipal officer become permanently incapacitated for the proper discharge of his duties during his term of office, through accident or disease, his office may be declared vacant by the vote of a majority of all the members of the council, and his successor shall be promptly chosen, also by a majority vote of all the members.
SEC. 26. The term of office of all appointive officers shall be until the end of the term of the president appointing them and until their successors are appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed, as provided in this Act.
SEC. 27. Every officer of the municipality shall, at the expiration of his term, deliver to his successor in office, who shall receipt.for the same in duplicate, all property, books, and effects of every description in his possession belonging to the municipality or pertaining to his office. One copy of the receipt shall be delivered to the retiring officer and the other copy shall be filed with the municipal treasurer. Upon the refusal of the retiring officer to comply with this provision, he shall be liable for all damages caused thereby and to such penalty as may be by ordinance prescribed.
SEC. 28. (a) No municipal officer shall be directly or indirectly interested in any contract work, or business of the municipality or in the purchase of any real estate or any other property belonging to the corporation. (b) Any officer violating the provisions of this section shall, upon a two-thirds vote of all the members of the council, be removed from office; and, upon trial and conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction, shall be imprisoned for not less than six months and not more than two years.
Provisions on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines — Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).