Presidential Decree No. 824 (PD 824) — Creating the Metropolitan Manila and the Metropolitan Manila Commission and for Other Purposes
WHEREAS, in the referendum held on February 27, 1975, the
residents of the Greater Manila Area authorized the President to
restructure the local governments of the four cities and 13
municipalities thereof into an integrated unit of the manager or
commission form of government, under such terms and conditions as the
President may decide;
WHEREAS, the rapid growth of population and the
corresponding increase of social and economic requirements in the
contiguous communities referred to above has brought into being a large
area that calls for simultaneous and unified development;
WHEREAS, many public services now rendered by local
governments separately for themselves may and should be administered
more efficiently and more economically, to the common benefit of the
cities and municipalities in the area, if they are integrated and
harmonized, under a system of central planning which would take separate
municipal needs into account as a common problem;
WHEREAS, it is vital to the survival and growth of the
aforementioned Greater Manila Area that a workable and effective system
be established for the coordination, integration and unified management
of such local government services or functions within the metropolitan
community;
WHEREAS, it is necessary that the unified metropolitan
services or functions be planned, administered, and operated in
accordance with the highest professional technical standards; and
WHEREAS, such coordination, integration, and unified
management especially in the maintenance of peace and order and the
eradication of social and economic ills that fan the flames of
discontent and rebellion are part of reform measures under Martial Law
essential to the safety and security of the State;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution,
do hereby decree and order:
Creation of the Metropolitan Manila.
SECTION 1. Creation of the Metropolitan Manila.—There
is hereby created a public corporation, to be known as the Metropolitan
Manila, vested with powers and attributes of a corporation including the
power to make contracts, sue and be sued, acquire, purchase,
expropriate, hold, transfer and dispose of property and such other
powers as are necessary to carry out its purposes. The Corporation shall
be administered by a Commission created under this Decree.
Territorial Jurisdiction.
SEC. 2. Territorial Jurisdiction.—The Commission
shall have jurisdiction over the cities of Manila, Quezon, Pasay and
Caloocan and the municipalities of Makati, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Las
Piñas, Malabon, Navotas, Pasig, Pateros, Parañaque, Marikina,
Muntinlupa, and Tagnig in the province of Rizal; and the municipality of
Valenzuela, in the province of Bulacan, all of which together shall
henceforth be known as Metropolitan Manila.
Organization and Personnel of the Commission.
SEC. 3. Organization and Personnel of the Commission.—The
Commission shall be composed of a Chairman or Governor, a Vice-Chairman
or Vice-Governor and three Commissioners or Board Members, one for
planning, another for finance and a third one for operations, all of
whom shall be appointed by the President and shall hold office at his
pleasure. The Chairman or Governor shall receive an annual salary of
P60,000.00, the Vice-Chairman or Vice-Governor, P50,000.00 and the three
Commissioners or Board Members, P45,000.00 each per annum. All heads of
departments and/or offices and subordinate personnel shall be appointed
by the Chairman or Governor and their compensation shall be fixed by
the Commission. All positions, except those of highly professional and
highly technical personnel, shall be subject to Civil Service Law, rules
and regulations. Non-presidential appointees shall enjoy security of
tenure and may be removed or otherwise disciplined only for cause, in
accordance with Civil Service Law, rules and regulations.
The Chairman or Governor and Vice-Chairman or Vice-Governor
shall be the General Manager and Deputy General Manager, respectively,
of the Commission.
Powers and Functions of the Commission.
SEC. 4. Powers and Functions of the
Commission.—The Commission shall have the following powers and
functions:
To act as a central government to establish and administer
programs and provide services common to the area;
To levy and collect taxes and special assessments, borrow and
expend money and issue bonds, revenue certificates, and other
obligations of indebtedness. Existing tax measures should, however,
continue to be operative until otherwise modified or repealed by the
Commission;
To charge and collect fees for the use of public service
facilities;
To appropriate money for the operation of the metropolitan
government and review appropriations for the city and municipal units
within its jurisdiction with authority to disapprove the same if found
to be not in accordance with the established policies of the Commission,
without prejudice to any contractual obligation of the local government
units involved existing at the time of approval of this Decree;
To review, amend, revise or repeal all ordinances, resolutions
and acts of cities and municipalities within Metropolitan Manila.
To enact or approve ordinances, resolutions and to fix penalties
for any violation thereof which shall not exceed a fine of P10,000.00 or
imprisonment of six years or both such fine and imprisonment for a
single offense.
To perform general administrative, executive and policy-making
functions;
To establish a fire control operation center, which shall direct
the fire services of the city and municipal governments in the
metropolitan area;
To establish a garbage disposal operation center, which shall
direct garbage collection and disposal in the metropolitan area;
To establish and operate a transport and traffic center, which
shall direct traffic activities;
To coordinate and monitor governmental and private activities
pertaining to essential services such as transportation, flood
control and drainage, water supply and sewerage, social, health and
environmental services, housing, park development, and others;
To insure and monitor the undertaking of a comprehensive
social, economic and physical planning and development of the
area;
To study the feasibility of increasing barangay participation in
the affairs of their respective local governments and to propose to the
President of the Philippines definite programs and policies for
implementation;
To submit within thirty (30) days after the close of each fiscal
year an annual report to the President of the Philippines and to
submit a periodic report whenever deemed necessary; and
To perform such other tasks as may be assigned or directed by the
President of the Philippines.
Functions of the General Manager.
SEC. 5. Functions of the General Manager.—The General
Manager shall have the following powers and functions:
To execute policies and measures approved by the Commission and
be responsible for the efficient discharge of management functions;
To submit for the consideration of the Commission such other
policies and measures as he may deem necessary to carry out the purposes
and provisions of this Decree;
Subject to the guidelines and policies set by the Commission, to
prepare the staffing pattern and to appoint and fix the number and
compensation of subordinate officials and employees thereof; and for
cause, to suspend or otherwise discipline any subordinate official or
employee; and with the approval of the Commission, to remove for cause
any such official or employee;
To prepare an annual report on the activities of the Commission
at the close of each fiscal year and submit a report thereof to the
President of the Philippines;
To submit for the approval of the Commission an annual budget for
its operations; and
To perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the
Commission.
Functions of the Commissioner for Planning.
SEC. 6. Functions of the Commissioner for Planning.—
The Commissioner for Planning shall have the following functions:
To formulate, and submit to the General Manager for approval,
long-range plans for the integration of common, essential, municipal and
public services;
To translate all policy directives on the common, essential,
municipal and public services into detailed operational plans and
programs;
To undertake researches, investigation and other activities on
the policy areas and to submit comprehensive reports and appropriate
recommendations to the General Manager;
To perform such other functions related to planning as may be
assigned by the Commission or the General Manager from time to time.
Functions of the Commissioner for Finance.
SEC. 7. Functions of the Commissioner for Finance.—
The Commissioner for Finance shall have the following functions:
To determine financial requirements for the common, essential,
municipal and public services to be integrated;
To determine sources of, and allocate, funds for the purpose
thereof;
To conduct a continuous and detailed financial analysis of the
integration of common, essential, municipal and public services;
To perform such other functions related to finance as may be
assigned by the Commission or the General Manager from time to time.
Functions of the Commissioner for Operations.
SEC. 8. Functions of the Commissioner for Operations.—
The Commissioner for Operations shall have the following functions:
To maintain a monitoring system of execution of, and/or
compliance with, approved policies and plans for the common policy areas
which shall be used as a basis in the evaluation both qualitatively and
quantitatively, of performance, such as time schedule and costs.
To perform such other functions related to operations as may be
assigned by the Commission or the General Manager from time to time.
SEC. 9. Until otherwise provided, the governments of the four
cities and thirteen municipalities in the Metropolitan Manila shall
continue to exist in their present form except as may be inconsistent
with this Decree. The numbers of the existing city and municipal
councils in Metropolitan Manila shall, upon the promulgation of this
Decree, and until December 31, 1975, become members of the Sangguniang
Bayan which is hereby created for each city and municipality of
Metropolitan Manila.
In addition, the Sangguniang Bayan shall be
composed of as many barangay captain as may be determined and chosen by
the Commission, and such number of representatives from other sectors of
the society as may be appointed by the President upon recommendation of
the Commission.
Existing provisions of the law to the contrary
notwithstanding, members of the Sangguniang Bayan shall not collect
regular salaries or compensation, except per diems and reasonable
allowances on reimbursement basis, in such amounts as may be fixed by
the Commission.
The Sangguniang Bayan may recommend to the
Commission ordinances, resolutions or such measures as it may adopt; Provided,
that no such ordinance, resolution or measure shall become effective
until after its approval by the Commission; and Provided, further,
that the power to impose taxes and other levies, the power to
appropriate money and the power to pass ordinances or resolutions with
penal sanctions shall be vested exclusively in the Commission.
SEC.
10. Functions of Local Chief Executives.—In addition to
present powers and functions which are not inconsistent with this
Decree, the local chief executive shall have the following functions:
To implement the integration of the common, essential, municipal
and public services approved by the Com mission as they pertain to their
respective local government units;
To furnish the Commission such information as it may require and
to assist it in carrying out the integration of the common, essential,
municipal and public services;
To perform such other functions as the Commission may direct.
SEC. 11. All the city or municipal treasurers of the local
government units placed under the Commission shall close their
respective bocks of accounts for submittal to the Commission not later
than December 15, 1975. Thereafter, their functions and responsibilities
shall be performed or discharged by the Commissioner for Finance.
Operating Exvenses.
SEC. 12. Operating Exvenses.—The Commission shall
have the following financial resources:
The sum of Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Pesos
(P2,500,000.00) is hereby appropriated out of any funds in the National
Treasury for the operation of the Commission;
Proceeds of the franchise taxes now allocated to local government
units in the metropolitan area;
Proceeds of the fixed or privilege tax on occupation accruing to
local government units in the metropolitan area;
Proceeds of the corporate residence tax accruing to the local
government units in the metropolitan area; and
Such other sources of funds as the President may authorize to
meet the needs of the Metropolitan Manila Commission.
Thereafter, the necessary funds for the operation of the Commission
shall be included in the General Appropriations Decree.
SEC.
13. The Commission, the General Manager and any official of the
Commission shall be under the direct supervision and control of the
President. Notwithstanding any provision in this Decree, the President
shall have the power to revoke, amend or modify any ordinance,
resolution or act of the Commission, the General Manager and the
Commissioners.
SEC. 14. To enable the President to assess
and determine the efficacy of the integration of governmental functions
and services under this Decree with the end in view of establishing a
more responsive and effective government for Metropolitan Manila, the
Commission shall submit a special report with appropriate
recommendations as shall be required.
SEC. 15. All laws or
part of laws, as well as all executive orders or regulations,
inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
SEC. 16. This Decree, except those provisions otherwise
indicated above, shall take effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila, this 7th day of November, in the
year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-five.
(Sgd.)
FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President
Republic of the Philippines
By the President:
(Sgd.)
ALEJANDRO MELCHOR
Executive Secretary
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).
