Executive Order No. 42 of the Chairman of the Philippine Executive Commission

by Chairman of the Philippine Executive Commission

OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMISSION
MALACAÑAN PALACE

BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMISSION

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 42

DEFINING THE ORGANIZATON, JURISDICTION, POWERS AND DUTIES OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS AND OFFICIALS.

Pursuant to the authority conferred upon me as Head of the Central Administrative Organization by Order No. 1 in connection with Order No. 3 of the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Forces in the Philippines, and upon the recommendation of its Executive Commission, the organization, jurisdiction, powers, duties and functions of the provincial governments and officials are hereby determined and defined as follows:

ARTICLE I.—GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 1. Territorial application; situs and territory of provinces.—The provisions of this Order shall apply to all provinces. Until otherwise provided by law or order of the Chairman of the Executive Commission, the number, general location and territory of the provinces shall be as at present fixed by existing law: Provided, That the Province of Romblon shall be governed by the provisions of this Order and the four special municipalities comprised in said province by Executive Order No. 43.

SEC. 2. Subprovinces abolished.—The subprovinces and their governments are hereby abolished and their territories annexed to the provinces to which they belong.

SEC. 3. Duties and functions of provinces.—Unless otherwise herein provided, the administrative duties and functions of the provincial government shall be continued as heretofore, insofar as they may be consistent with the demands of the Imperial Japanese Forces and the needs of the Central Administrative Organization.

ARTICLE II.—PROVINCIAL OFFICES AND OFFICERS IN GENERAL

SEC. 4. Chief officials of provincial government.—The chief officials of the provincial government are the provincial governor, the provincial treasurer, and the provincial fiscal.

SEC. 5. The governor; powers and duties.—The governor shall be the chief executive and administrative officer of the province and shall be responsible for the efficient administration of the government thereof. As such it shall be his duty to exercise, in conformity with law, general supervision over the government of the province and of the municipalities therein, and his decision on administrative matters within his jurisdiction shall be final, unless revoked or modified by the Commissioner of the Interior. He shall be responsible for the faithful execution within the province of all the laws, orders, and proclamations issued by competent authority. He shall have the power to promulgate provincial ordinances, after consultation with the provincial board, and submit a copy thereof through the Director of Local Governments to the Commissioner of the Interior. Such ordinances shall be effective thirty days after the receipt thereof by the Director of Local Governments, unless the Commissioner of the Interior finds the same or any provision thereof to be in violation of existing laws, orders, proclamations or instructions or not in conformity with sound government policy, in which case he may disapprove or modify said ordinances or any portion thereof. He shall appoint, with the approval of the Commissioner concerned, all the subordinate officers and employees in each provincial office, upon recommendation of the chief provincial official concerned, in accordance with the Civil Service Law and Regulations.

SEC. 6. Acting governor.—In the event of sickness, absence, or other temporary incapacity of the provincial governor, the powers, duties, and functions thereof shall be exercised by the provincial treasurer, and in the absence or incapacity of the latter, the Commissioner of the Interior shall designate any other official of the province to act in his place.

SEC. 7. The provincial board.—There shall be a provincial board composed of the chief provincial officials and two other members possessing the necessary qualifications to be appointed by the Chairman of the Executive Commission, which shall serve in an advisory capacity to the provincial governor. The members of the provincial board, who are not officers or employees of the Government receiving a fixed compensation or salary from public funds, may be allowed per diems in accordance with the rates fixed and subject to the limitations prescribed in Executive Order No. 13, dated March 12, 1942, in addition to actual and necessary traveling expenses for attendance at the sessions of the board. The board shall hold sessions upon call of the governor. Such sessions shall not be public.

SEC. 8. The provincial treasurer; powers and duties.—The provincial treasurer shall be the chief financial officer and assessor of the province. He shall have general supervision over the offices of municipal treasurers in the province and it shall be his duty to collect all taxes, fees and charges throughout the province whether they are national, provincial or municipal; have charge of the disbursement of provincial funds and other funds the custody and disbursement of which may be entrusted to him by competent authority; acquire for the provincial government all necessary supplies, materials and equipment for which appropriation has ben authorized by competent authority; have custody and supervision of all provincial funds and property, including the provincial buildings and grounds; assess all real property in the province and perform the duties of provincial assessor prescribed in the Assessment Law; and prepare financial statements which may be required by the governor.

SEC. 9. The provincial fiscal; powers and duties.—The provincial fiscal shall be the law officer of the province and the legal adviser of the provincial government and its officers and of the mayors of the municipalities in the province. Unless otherwise provided, he shall discharge the powers and duties provided in paragraph (a), section 24, Article IV of Executive Order No. 4, dated February 5, 1942.

SEC. 10. Acting officers.—Upon the occasion of the absence, illness, suspension, or other temporary disability of a provincial officer, the Commissioner concerned may designate any provincial officer or employee to perform temporarily the duties of the position.

SEC. 11. Suspension and removal of provincial officers.—Any chief provincial officer may be suspended from office by the Commissioner concerned for disloyalty, dishonesty, oppression, or misconduct. Immediately after the order of suspension is received by the provincial officer concerned, the said Commissioner shall order the investigation of the cause of suspension. The investigation shall be terminated within twenty days and the complete record of the case, with the consent and recommendation of the Commissioner, shall be submitted to the Chairman of the Executive Commission within fifteen days after the termination of the investigation. As the circumstances may warrant and upon the recommendation of the Commissioner concerned, the suspended officer may be reinstated or removed by the Chairman of the Executive Commission.

SEC. 12. Salary during suspension.—When a provincial officer is suspended he shall receive no salary from and after the date of his suspension, unless so provided in the order of suspension; but upon subsequent reinstatement of the suspended person or upon his exoneration, if death should render reinstatement impossible, any salary so withheld may be paid in whole or in part upon order of the Commissioner concerned approved by the Chairman of the Executive Commission.

ARTICLE III.—PROVINCIAL FINANCE

SEC. 13. Sources of provincial income.—The province shall have the same sources of income as at present provided in existing laws, except as modified by executive orders of the Chairman of the Executive Commission. The surcharge on all the public works undertaken under the supervision of the provincial engineer and architect as at present provided by existing law and regulations shall accrue to the province.

SEC. 14. Provincial funds.—All revenues and receipts accruing to the provincial government, including the contributions of the municipalities for health and agricultural purposes as required by existing law and the surcharge on all public works mentioned in the preceding section shall constitute and be accounted for as one fund to be known as the general fund, and the same shall be available for the payment of all obligations of the province.

SEC. 15. The provincial budget.—The provincial annual budget shall be prepared in such form and detail as may be prescribed by the Director of Local Governments, and shall be subject to the limitations or restrictions imposed by Executive Order No. 13, dated March 12, 1942, and by other orders, proclamations or instructions issued by competent authorities. It shall show in detail the receipts and expenditures of the province in conformity with the classification of accounts prescribed by the Auditor General and Director of the Budget, and shall contain all the information necessary for a clear and accurate presentation of the needs of the province and the condition of its finances.

On or before the fifteenth day of the ninth month of each fiscal year the provincial treasurer shall submit to the governor certified itemized statements of all receipts and expenditures pertaining to the preceding fiscal year and the first six months of the current fiscal year and a detailed estimate of the revenues and receipts from all sources for the ensuing fiscal year. Upon the basis of such statement of receipts the governor shall, after consultation with the provincial board, make detailed appropriations covering the estimated expenditures of the province for the ensuing fiscal year, but in no case shall such appropriations exceed the estimated receipts. The appropriations for salaries and wages shall specify the positions, the number of each class, the respective designations, the salary rates authorized for the current fiscal year, and those proposed for the ensuing year. The statement of receipts and expenditures for the preceding fiscal year and the first six months of the current fiscal year, together with the estimate of receipts and appropriations by the governor for the ensuing fiscal year, shall be known as the provincial budget, and a copy thereof shall be submitted, through the Director of Local Governments, to the Commissioner of the Interior who shall approve, disapprove or modify the same or any part thereof. The budget of a province shall not become effective until approved by the Commissioner of the Interior.

Changes in the estimate of income and appropriations may be effected from time to time during the year by supplemental budgets, which shall be prepared in the same manner provided above in the case of annual budget. If for any reason, the provincial budget for any fiscal year cannot be made effective before the beginning of the said year, the salaries of all permanent officers and employees of the province and expenses necessary for the operation of the provincial government may be paid on the basis of the budget for the preceding fiscal year until the new budget is approved. In case a reduction of salaries and wages is adopted as an emergency measure, such reduction shall be general and based on the existing rates of salaries and wages and the percentage of reduction shall be uniform for similar rates of salaries and wages.

The expenses of the office of the provincial engineer and architect, including the salaries of its personnel shall be provided in the provincial budget.

SEC. 16. Disbursement of provincial fund.—Disbursements of provincial funds shall be made by the provincial treasurer upon properly executed vouchers in accordance with the appropriations made in the budget. Within fifteen days after the close of each month, the provincial treasurer shall furnish the governor a statement of the appropriations made in the budget. Within fifteen days after the close of each month, the provincial treasurer shall furnish the governor a statement of the appropriations, expenditures and balances in the provincial fund for the said month. The total disbursements shall in no case be in excess of the actual collections plus fifty per centum of the uncollected estimated revenues.

SEC. 17. Overdrafts.—In case of an emergency caused by typhoon, earthquake or any other public calamity which may seriously affect the collection of revenues in the province during any year, the Director of Local Governments with the approval of the Commissioner of the Interior may authorize the provincial treasurer to continue making disbursements from any fund in his possession in excess of the limitation herein provided, under such conditions and limitations as the Chairman of the Executive Commission may, upon the recommendation of said Director of Local Governments approved by the Commissioner of the Interior, prescribe for the purpose.

SEC. 18. Accounting.—The accounts of the province shall be carried in the manner which the Auditor General and Director of the Budget may prescribe.

ARTICLE IV.—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

SEC. 19. Continuity of laws, etc.—All laws and executive orders or parts thereof relating to provincial governments which are not in conflict herewith are hereby continued in force until further orders: Provided, That they are not inconsistent with the present circumstances under the military administration.

SEC. 20. Relation of this Order to prior law.—Such provisions of this Order as incorporate prior laws shall be deemed to be made in continuation thereof and to be in the nature of amendments thereto, without prejudice to any right already accrued.

SEC. 21. Authority of Director of Local Governments to issue regulations.—The Director of Local Governments shall have power to promulgate, whenever he may see fit to do so and with the approval of the Commissioner of the Interior, all rules, regulations, orders or instructions, not contrary to law nor orders and proclamations issued by competent authorities, necessary to regulate the proper working and harmonious and efficient administration of the provincial governments. He shall exercise general supervision over the activities of the provincial governments and for this purpose, he or his duly authorized representative shall make frequent inspections of the provinces and see to it that existing orders, proclamations and instructions are duly complied with, and make his reports to the Commissioner of the Interior who shall, as the circumstances may warrant and when advisable in the public interest, take such steps as may be necessary towards improving the administration of the province.

SEC. 22. Beginning of organization of province.—A provincial government shall be deemed to be organized under this Order upon the assumption of office by the governor and the provincial treasurer by virtue of appointments extended to them by the Chairman of the Executive Commission, and beginning said date the provisions hereof shall have full force and effect in that particular province.

Done in the City of Manila, Philippines, this 18th day of May, 1942.

(Sgd.) JORGE B. VARGAS
Chairman of the Executive Commission

APPROVED by the Director General of the Japanese Military Administration on August 4, 1942.