General Orders, No. 40 (1900)

by United States Military Governor in the Philippine Islands

OFFICE OF THE U.S. MILITARY GOVERNOR IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

Manila, P.I., March 29, 1900.

GENERAL ORDERS,
No. 40

The board of which his honor Don Cayetano Arellano, chief justice of the Philippines is president, and which was called in General Orders, No. 18, of January 29 last, from this office to submit a form of municipal government for such of the municipios of the islands as are prepared to adopt representative control over their own civil affairs, and which may become applicable to others as soon as they demonstrate a fitness for self-administration, having reported a plan of government which meets existing conditions, the same is approved and will receive practical application in accordance with the mode of procedure therein outlined.

It is with great satisfaction of the United States authorities, in consonance with former promises, promulgates in this order the law by which the municipalities of the towns of the Philippines are to be established and governed in the future. The law is inspired by a genuinely liberal spirit and the principles of autonomous government. It is in itself educating. It is calculated to urge on the people in the path of true progress, if they are desirous to understand their duties as free citizens and make legitimate use of their privileges.

For the first time the Philippine people are to exercise the right of suffrage in the election of municipal officers―a right only slightly restricted by conditions which have been imposed for the purpose of rewarding as well as encouraging the people in their just and natural aspirations to become educated, and worthy to enjoy all the benefits of civilization.

With the new municipalities, a really autonomous and decentralized municipal government will be established in the towns, since no provincial assembly is created in the capitals of the provinces or districts, and each municipality is the legitimate administrator of the interests of its town, and will keep, preserve, and expend for the public welfare of the municipal funds. The intervention which has been bestowed upopn the governors of provinces, or the supreme island authorities, is in the intrerest of the towns themselves, as well as of the country in general, because supervision and watchfulness are always indispensable to prevent transgressions of the law, and the harm consequent upon a noncompliance with its precepts. It will be noted also that the ample powers given the alcalde (the presentative of the executive power) to punish and repress misdemeanors and infringements of a governmental or administrative character, provide that before a penalty or correction can be applied the accused must be heard, and allowed to submit evidence in his behalf―a proceeding heretofore unknown in these islands.

A reading of the provisions of the law clearly demonstrates the purposes, tendencies, and beneficient intentions of the United States Government. Naturally, it is impossible to frame legal provisions which are perfect, but these are susceptible of future improvement in order that they may meet future necessities and keep pace with the development in political knowledge of the Philippine people, with whom now rests the creation of municipalities which shall faithfully administer their interests and protect their rights and liberties. Their action is limited by law solely by a desire to establish prudential measures for the common welfare, such as appear to be necessary to secure the prosperity and the moral and material advancement of the country. And if, notwithstanding the prudent foresight of the United States Government as herein expressed, errors should occur and abuses should be committed by the municipalities in the management of their interests, the abuses will be strongly repressed in accordance with the penal law, and the responsibility for errors committed must be charged to the electors, who, it is to be hoped, after having seen that they have chosen incompetent or unworthy officers, will endeavor to exercise the elective franchise more wisely in the future. By such a course of action they will demonstrate that they possess the qualifications necessary to free citizenship; that they have a clear idea of their rights and liberties; that they know how to guard their common interests, and that they honestly desire the progress and happiness of the country.

The following are the provisions of law (subdivided into chapters and articles) which have been determined upon and which will be carried into execution as rapidly as practicable:

CHAPTER ONE.
DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION.

ARTICLE 1.

The towns of the Philippine Islands shall be recognized as municipal corporations with the same limits are heretofore established, upon reorganizing upon under the provisions of this order.

All property vested in any town under its former organization shall be vested in the same town upon becoming incorporated hereunder.

ART 2.

Towns so incorporated shall be designated as “municipios,” and shall be known respectively by the names heretofore adopted. Under such names they may without further authority, sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with, acquire and hold real and personal property for the general interest of the town, and exercise all the powers hereinafter conferred.

The city of Manila is exempt from the provisions of this order.

ART. 3.

The municipal government of each town is hereby vested in an alcalde and a municipal council. The alcalde and councilors, together with the municipal lieutenant, shall be chosen at large by the qualified electors of the town, and their term of office shall be for two years from an after the first Monday in January next after their election and until their successors are duly chosen and qualified: Provided, That the alcalde and the municipal lieutenant elected in 1900 shall hold office until the first Monday in January, 1902, only; and that the councilors elected in 1900 shall divide themselves by lot into two classes; the seats of those of the first class shall be vacated on the first Monday of January, 1901, and those of the second class one year therwafter, so that one-half of the municipal council shall be chosen annually.

ART. 4

Incorporated towns shall be of four classes, according to the number of inhabitants. Towns of the first class shall be those which contain not less than 25,000 inhabitants, and shall have eighteen councilors; of the second class, those containing 18,000 and less than 25,000 inhabitants, and shall have fourteen councilors; of the third class, those containing 10,000 and less than 18,000 inhabitants, and shall have ten councilors; of the fourth class, those containing less than 10,000 inhabitants and shall have eight councilors. Towns of less than 2,000 inhabitants may incorporate under the provisions of this order, or may upon petition to the provincial governor, signed by a majority of the qualified electors thereof, be attached as a barrio to an adjacent and incorporated town, if the council of the latter consents.

CHAPTER TWO.
ELECTIONS.

ART. 5.

The electors charged with the duty of choosing elective municipal officers must be male persons, 23 years of age or over, who have had a legal residence in the town in which they exercise the suffrage for a period of six months immediately preceding the election, and who are not citizens or subjects of any foreign power, and who are comprised within one of the following three classes:

1. Those who, prior to the 13th of August, 1898, held the office of municipal captain, gobernadorcillo, lieutenant, or cabeza de Barangay.
2. Those who annually pay 30 pesos or more of the established taxes.
3. Those who speak, read, and write English or Spanish.

ART. 6.

Each elector shall, before casting his ballot, take and subscribe the following elector's oath, which shall be administered by the Municipal Secretary:

ELECTOR’S OATH.

I ........................................., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a male resident of the town of ..............................., in the .........................................; and shall have resided therein for the period of six months immediately preceding the next municipal election; that at the date of said election I shall be ...... years of age; that I am not a subject or citizen of any foreign power; that I ....................................................................................................................................................................; and in all respects shall be entitled to vote therein at the next election for Municipal officers; furthermore, 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 duly promulgated by its authority; and that I impose upon myself this obligation voluntarily and without mental reservation or purpose of evasion, so help me God.

(Signature of the elector.)

Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me this .......... day of ................................, 1900.

(Signature of Municipal Secretary.)

ART. 7.

The following persons, although they may possess the qualifications required in Article 5, shall be disqualified from voting: Defendants in criminal cases pending trial; those who have been gubernatively corrected three or more times for misconduct; those who have been subjected to corporal punishment or disqualification; those who are subject to civil interdiction or to the vigilance of the authorities through sentence of a court of justice; debtors to any municipal, provincial or treasury fund; those who have contracts with the municipal council to be finished within the municipal term; those who have a suit with the municipality to which they belong; and insane and feeble-minded persons.

ART. 8.

General municipal elections (except the first, for which special provision is hereinafter made) shall be held on the first Tuesday in December of each year, and the officers elected thereat shall enter upon their duties on the first Monday of January following. In order to provide properly for municipal elections, the Alcalde, during the first five days of the month next preceding the month in which any general election is to be held, shall prepare and cause to be posted, a proclamation in triplicate, specifying the place where and the hours during which the election shall be held, and notifying all persons, qualified as electors, to appear before the Municipal Secretary during the first fifteen days of the month in which the proclamation is dated, for the purpose of taking the elector’s oath. It shall be the duty of the Secretary, and he is empowered, to administer the oaths, but without fee. One of the copies of the proclamation shall be posted at the door of the municipal building and the other two at other public and conspicuous places within the town. Between the 15th and 20th days of the month the Alcalde shall prepare from the oaths thus taken, in duplicate, and cause to be posted, as hereinbefore prescribed, the lists of the qualified electors, alphabetically arranged according to surnames, and shall accompany such lists with a notice specifying a term of five days prior to the election, in which any qualified elector may demand his enrollment in said list or the exclusion therefrom of the name of any person not having the right to vote, which demand shall be made to the Alcalde, and shall be determined by the Alcalde, the Municipal Lieutenant and the Attorney sitting as a Board for the purpose.

Special elections shall be held on the fourth Tuesday succeeding the call for the same; the calling and holding of such elections shall conform in all respects, as nearly as may be, to the requirements of this order.

ART. 9.

Municipal elections shall be held in the house of the municipality, and shall be presided over by a board of election judges consisting of three qualified electors not holding municipal office nor being candidates therefor, who, together with two tellers, possessing like qualifications, shall be designated in writing prior to the day of election, by a majority vote of a Board consisting of those members of the Municipal Council who have the longest unexpired terms of office. The senior member of the Board of Judges shall act as its chairman. In case of the absence at the election of any member of the Board of Judges or of a teller, or their disqualification at any stage of the election, the vacancy or vacancies shall be immediately filled by a majority vote of the entire number of the remaining election judges and tellers.

ART. 10.

The election shall be by secret ballot; each ballot shall contain the names of the persons voted for and the offices for which they are respectively proposed. No person shall be deemed elected to any office unless he shall have received a plurality of the votes cast for said office.

ART. 11.

Immediately after the close of the election, the ballots shall be canvassed by the Board and a certificate of the result of the polling shall be prepared, in duplicate, and signed by the members of the Board and by the tellers. Duplicates containing the additional statement that a term of three days is granted in which any resident of the town can present to the Board, or to the chairman thereof, in writing, such objections as he may deem just and legal against those declared elected, shall be prepared by the Board and posted, one on the door of the Municipal building and the other in the square or market place of the town.

On the day following said term of three days, a duplicate of the election certificate with the original electors’ oaths and the objections made, if any, shall be sent by the chairman of the Board to the Governor of the Province. If the Governor find the election legal, he shall, within three days after the receipt of said documents, direct the newly elected officers to qualify and enter upon their duties on the day fixed by this order. If, upon examining the aforesaid documents, the Governor determines that there has been an illegality committed in said election, affecting the validity thereof, in whole or in part, he may order a special election to fill the offices affected, or take such other and further action as he may deem expedient.

ART. 12.

In case of the absence of the Alcalde, or temporary inability to discharge his duties, the Municipal Lieutenant shall assume his office. In like manner the Municipal Attorney will substitute the Municipal Lieutenant. In case of a vacancy in the office of Alcalde, the Provincial Governor shall appoint a successor. A vacancy in the office of Municipal Lieutenant or among the Councilors, will be filled by the Municipal Council from among the residents of the town having the qualifications specified in Art. 13. Persons thus substituted as Alcalde, Municipal Lieutenant or Councilor shall serve only for the unexpired term for which selected and until their successors have been chosen.

CHAPTER THREE.
OFFICERS.—THEIR QUALIFICATIONS AND DUTIES.

ART. 13.

An Alcalde, Municipal Lieutenant or Councilor must have the following qualifications :

1. He must be a duly qualified elector of the municipality in which he is a candidate, of twenty-six years of age or over, and have had a legal residence therein for at least one year prior to the date of election.
2. He must correctly speak, read and write either the English language or the local dialect.

ART. 14.

In no case can there be elected or appointed to municipal office, ecclesiastics, soldiers in active service, persons receiving salary from municipal, provincial or Government funds; debtors to said funds, whatever the class of said funds; contractors of public works and their bondsmen; clerks and functionaries of the administration or government while in said capacity; bankrupts until discharged, or insane or feeble-minded persons.

ART. 15.

Each and every person elected or appointed to a municipal office under the provisions of this order shall, before entering upon the duties thereof, take and subscribe before the Alcalde or Town Secretary the following oath of office:

OATH OF OFFICE.

I, .............., having been ............... as ......................... of the Municipio of.................... in the province of ........................................, do solemnly swear that I have the prescribed qualifications to hold office in said town; 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.

(Signature of officer.)

Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me this .......... day of ................................, 19........

(Signature of Alcalde or Municipal Secretary.)

ART. 16.

Every municipal officer charged with the duty of collecting taxes and the custody of municipal funds, shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, execute a bond, with good and sufficient sureties to be approved by the Alcalde, payable to the town, in such penal sum as may be directed by ordinance or resolution, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of the office and the payment of all moneys received by such officers for and in behalf of said town. The bond of the Treasurer shall be fixed at a sum not less than the estimated amount of the aggregate taxes for the current year.

ART. 17.

The Alcalde shall be the Chief Executive of the town, and is empowered to delegate to the Municipal Lieutenant the performance of subordinate administrative duties.

ART. 18.

The Alcalde shall preside at all meeting of the Municipal Council, but shall not vote except in case of a tie when he shall give the casting vote.

ART. 19.

The Alcalde has power:

1. To appoint, by and with consent of the Council, all non-elective municipal officers and employees that may be provided for by law or ordinance, and at any time, for cause, to suspend or discharge the same.
2. To cause the ordinances of the town to be executed; to supervise the discharge of official duties by all subordinates; and to perform all other duties which may be prescribed by ordinance or law.
3. To recommended to the Municipal Council, at any time, such measures connected with the public health, cleanliness or ornament of the town, or with the improvement of the government and finances thereof, as he may deem expedient.
4. To approve ordinances adopted by the Municipal Council, such approval being necessary to the validity of the ordinance.
5. To issue orders relative to the city or rural police or to public safety, or for the purpose of avoiding conflagrations, floods, and the effects of storms or other public calamities.
6. To draw warrants on the town treasury for legitimate payments authorized by the Council.
7. To exact the punctual payment of taxes.
8. With the assistance of the Municipal Attorney, one Councilor, and one Secretary, to hold such public auctions as may be authorized by the Municipal Council, and to preside thereat.
9. After due trial, in which the accused and his witnesses shall be heard, to punish violations of municipal ordinances and regulations, either by admonition, disciplinary punishment, or fine and imprisonment, as provided in Par. 14 of Art. 33; Provided, that the jurisdiction conferred by this paragraph may, at the discretion of the Alcalde, and upon his authorization in writing, be exercised by the Municipal Lieutenant. Such fines shall be paid in coin and shall be covered into the town treasury by the Alcalde.
10. To examine and inspect the books, records, and papers of any officer or agent employed by the town.
11. To sign the journals of the Municipal Council.

ART. 20.

The office of the Municipal Attorney shall be filled by a lawyer, if there shall be one in the municipality, or, in default of a lawyer, by the person best qualified for the office. He shall be the regulation substitute of the Municipal Lieutenant, and must attend to all suits and matters and things in which the town may be legally interested; and must give his advice or opinion in writing whenever required by the Alcalde or Municipal Council. He shall act as censor of the minutes of the sessions of the Municipal Council and all other documents drafted or decreed by the municipality. He shall attend all sessions of the Council, but shall have no vote therein. He shall also do and perform all such things touching his office as may be required by ordinance or by the Council.

ART. 21.

The Municipal Secretary shall keep his office at the place of meeting of the Municipal Council, or at some place convenient thereto, as the Council may direct. He is clerk of the Municipal Council, whose meetings it shall be his duty to attend, and he must keep the journal of the proceedings thereof, and all records and acts of the town, and must countersign all warrants ordered by the Council to be drawn on the town treasury, and do such other things as the Municipal Council may by ordinance provide.

ART. 22.

The Treasurer shall receive all moneys that come to the town from any source, keep a detailed account thereof and pay the same out only on the order of the Council upon the warrant of the Alcalde, countersigned by the Secretary, and do and perform all such other acts as are prescribed for him by ordinance. He must, on the first day of each month, make out and present to the Alcalde a full and complete statement of the receipts and expenditures of the preceding month, copies of which statement the Alcalde must cause to be posted in at least two public and conspicuous places within the town.

ART. 23.

The Treasurer shall give to every person paying money to the town treasury a receipt therefor, witnessed by at least one disinterested person, specifying the date of payment, and upon what account paid; and he shall immediately file a duplicate of said receipt with the Alcalde.

ART. 24.

All warrants for the payment of money shall be paid in the order in which they shall be presented and the Treasurer shall note on the back of each warrant presented to him the date of such presentation, and, when payment is made, the date of such payment; Provided, that any such warrant shall be paid by the Treasurer upon the presentation, in case a sufficient amount of money shall remain in the treasury to pay all warrants previously issued.

ART. 25.

The Treasurer shall keep all moneys belonging to the towns, separate and distinct from his own money; nor shall he be permitted to make profit out of public money, or use the same for any purpose not authorized by law.

ART. 26.

The duties, powers and privileges of officers in any any way connected with the town Government not herein prescribed, shall be defined by the Municipal Council, and the defining by this order of the duties of towm officers shall not preclude the Municipal Council from defining by ordinance, further and additional duties to be performed by any such officer.

ART. 27.

The offices of the Municipal Lieutenant and Councilor are honorary and gratuitous. The offices of the Alcalde, Municipal Attorney and Municipal Treasurer shall be compensated, the salaries being fixed, as in the case of other compensated Municipal offices, by the Council, as the resources of the corporation will justify, but shall not exceed in case of corporations of the first class, for Alcalde, 1,200 pesos, for Municipal Attorney, 1,000 pesos, and Municipal Treasurer 800 pesos; for other class of corporations the salaries for these offices shall not exceed, for those of the second class, 1,000, 800 and 600 pesos respectively; for those of the third class, 800, 600 and 400 pesos respectively, and for those of the fourth class, 600, 400 and 200 pesos respectively. The salary of the Alcalde, during the period he is substituted by the Municipal Lieutenant, shall be drawn by the latter. The discharge of the duties of Alcalde, Municipal Lieutenant and Councilor is obligatory for the term of two years, and no exemption shall be admitted unless claimed before election and mentioned in this order. A second re-election to any municipal office is prohibited except after two years.

ART. 28.

The following persons may be excused from discharging the duties of Alcalde, Lieutenant and Councilor upon written demand made to the Municipal Secretary prior to the date of election:

1. Those who are or shall be over 62 years of age at date of election.
2. Those physically disabled.
3. Those who have discharged the same duties for two previous terms.

ART. 29.

The term of office of all appointive officers shall be until the end of the term of the Alcalde appointing them, unless sooner removed, as provided in this order.

ART. 30.

Every officer of the municipality shall,at the expiration of his term, deliver to his successor in office, all properties, books and effects of every description in his possession belonging to the town or pertaining to the said office. Upon his refusal to do so he shall be liable for all damages caused thereby and to such penalties as may be by ordinance prescribed.

ART. 31.

No officer shall be directly or indirectly interested in any contract, work, or business of the municipality, nor in the purchase of any real estate or any other property belonging to the Corporation.

ART. 32.

If any town officer, at any time during his term of office, shall remove his residence from the limits of the municipality, his office shall thereby become vacant.

CHAPTER FOUR.
THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL.

ART. 33

The Municipal Council has power:

1. To create the offices of Municipal Attorney, Treasurer, Secretary, and such other offices as may be necessary, and to prescribe their duties.
2. To establish and fix the salaries of town officers and employees and also to prescribe official fees when allowed by law, causing a list of the same to be posted in like manner with ordinances, subject to the limitations expressed in Article 40.
3. To manage the finances and property of the town.
4. To regulate the streets, sidewalks, wharfs and piers in the town, and the use thereof, and to prevent and remove obstacles and encroachments upon the same.
5. To establish or authorize slaughter houses and markets, and regulate the same.
6. To provide for lighting, sprinkling and cleaning the town.
7. To provide for licensing every business not prohibited by law and to fix the amount of license tax for the same.
8. To regulate the keeping and use of animals.
9. To suppress games of chance, gambling houses, disorderly houses, nuisances of every description, and all kinds of vice and immorality.
10. To prohibit the burial of the dead within the town except in such places and in such manner as the Council may determine.
11. To establish and regulate a police department, and maintain and regulate municipal prisons.
12. To establish and regulate a fire department.
13. To establish and maintain schools.
14. To impose penalties for violation of ordinances; but no single penalty must exceed a fine of 125 pesetas or imprisonment for fifteen days, or both; imprisonment shall be imposed in lieu of unpaid fines at the rate of one day’s imprisonment for each peso of the fine.
15. To require any land or building to be cleansed at the expense of the owner or occupant, and upon their default, to have the work done and to assess the expense upon the land and building.
16. To adopt measures to prevent the introduction and spreading of disease.
17. To levy and collect taxes as hereinafter provided.
18. To establish, alter, extend, grade, pave, or otherwise improve streets, alleys, sidewalks or public grounds, and to vacate the same.
19. To make appropriations for lawful town expenditures.
20. To make such provisions for the care of the poor and the sick as it may deem necessary.
21. To purchase, receive, hold, sell, lease, convey and dispose of property, real and personal, for the benefit of the town; Provided, that the express authorization of the Governor of the Islands shall be necessary to alienate or constitute any lien upon any real property of the town.
22. To erect all needful buildings for the use of the town.
23. To construct and maintain waterworks for the purpose of supplying the inhabitants with water; and to control the water and water courses within the town.
24. To regulate and prevent the throwing or depositing of dirt, garbage or any offensive matter in any street, alley, park or public ground.
25. To regulate the numbering of houses and lots.
26. To name streets, avenues and other public places and to change the names thereof.
27. To construct and keep in repair bridges and viaducts and to regulate the use thereof.
28. To construct and keep in repair public drains, sewers and cess pools, and to regulate the construction and use of private plumbing, sewers, drains and cess pools.
29. To license and regulate the manufacturing, selling, giving away or disposing in any manner of any intoxicating malt, vinous, mixed or fermented liquor, and to determine the amount to be paid for such licenses.
30. To prohibit and punish the keeping or visiting of any place where opium is smoked or sold for the purpose of smoking.
31. To provide for and regulate the inspection of meats, fruits, poultry, milk, fish, vegetables and all other provisions.
32. To provide for the inspection and sealing of weights and measures, and to enforce the keeping of the proper weights and measures by vendors.
33. To prevent intoxication, fighting, gambling and all disorderly conduct; to restrain riots, disturbances or disorderly assemblies.
34. To arrest, fine or set to work on the streets or elsewhere, all vagrants and persons found in the town without visible means of support or some legitimate business.
35. To provide for the punishment of mendicants, common prostitutes, or habitual disturbers of the peace.
36. To prohibit cruelty to animals.
37. To regulate the establishment and to provide for the inspection of steam boilers.
38. To regulate or prohibit the running at large of animals within the limits of the town.
39. To license, tax, regulate or prohibit the keeping of dogs, and authorize the destruction of the same, when at large contrary to ordinance.
40. In its discretion to divide the town into districts for taxation and administrative purposes, and to appoint one or more Councilors for the inspection and supervision of the same.
41. To establish a post-office and provide for the collection and delivery of mails; but such regulations must be in harmony with the postal service and rules established by the General Government.
42. To make such ordinances and regulations, not repugnant to law, as may be necessary to carry into effect and discharge the powers and duties conferred by this order, and such as shall seem necessary and proper to provide for the health and safety, promote the prosperity, improve the morals, peace, good order, comfort and convenience of the town and the inhabitants thereof and for the protection of property therein; and to enforce obedience thereto with such lawful fines or penalties as the Municipal Council may prescribe under the provisions of subdivision 14 of this Article.

ART. 34.

The Municipal Council shall, at the beginning of each year, by a majority vote of the entire Council, resolve itself into committees to take charge of the police, health, plantations, irrigation, live stock, public works, roads, schools, and other municipal affairs.

ART. 35.

The majority of the council elected shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from time to time and may compel the attendance of absentees under such penalties as may be prescribed by ordinance.

ART. 36.

The Municipal Council shall prescribe the time and place of holding its meetings; Provided, that at least one meeting shall be held each week.

The Alcalde or any two members of the Council may call a special meeting by giving a written notice of it to each of the members of the Council, which notice shall be served personally or left at his usualplace of abode.

ART. 37.

The sessions or meetings of the Municipal Council shall be public, and the person presiding has authority to exact from all present due respect and proper deportment, to prevent disturbances and disorder, and to order the room cleared of any or all present who give reason for such action by improper behavior. The Council may decide to hold sessions with closed doors if the nature of the business in hand requires such action.

ART. 38.

The Municipal Council shall determine its own rules of procedure, punish its members for disorderly conduct, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members the Council, may suspend or expel a member for cause.

ART. 39.

The Council shall keep a journal of its own proceedings. The ayes and nays shall be taken upon the passage of all ordinances and all propositions to create any liability against the town, or at the request of any member, and shall be entered upon the journal. The concurrence of the majority of the members of the Municipal Council shall be necessary to the passage of any ordinance or of any proposition creating indebtedness; other measures, except as otherwise specially provided in this order or by due authority, shall prevail upon the majority vote of the members present at any meeting duly called and held.

ART. 40.

All ordinances, before taking effect, shall be posted within the town in at least two public places and shall go into effect on the tenth day after posting the same, unless the ordinance shall provide that it shall take effect at an earlier or later date; Provided, that no ordinance creating a municipal office or prescribing the compensation thereof shall take effect until it has been approved by the Provincial Governor.

ART. 41

Questions which may arise relative to the constitution or attributes of the municipal government shall be submitted to the Military Governor for decision through the Provincial Governor with the recommendations of the latter.

CHAPTER FIVE.
TAXATION AND FINANCES.

ART. 42.

The revenues of the towns, which shall be devoted exclusively to local public purposes, shall be derived from the following sources :

1. Fisheries.
2. Certificates of ownership of large cattle.
3. Certificates of transfers of title.
4. Rents and profits from city and country property belonging to the town.
5. Billiard tables.
6. Theatrical performances and horse races.
7. Markets.
8. Slaughter houses.
9. Toll-bridges, ferries and fords.
10. Stabling of animals.
11. Tax for lighting and cleaning.
12. Municipal fines.
13. Bathing establishments in public waters.
14. Professional or special institutions of instruction.
15. Licenses to erect buildings, and other licenses allotted to municipalities by law.
16. Public carriages and those used in funerals, and carts used for the transportation of freight, within the limits of the towns.
17. Issuing of certified copies of resolutions or of documents on file in the municipal archives.
18. The sale of spirituous or fermented drinks, either in permanent establishments, by peddlars, or by the manufacturers thereof.
19. Cafés, restaurants, hotels, inns, lodging houses and other similar establishments.
20. The stamping and restamping of weights and measures.
21. Carriages, carts and horses.
22. Municipal cemeteries.
23. Road or street tax.
24. Other taxes which may be imposed, according to the requirements and conditions of each town.
25. A general division among all residents and property owners in proportion to the means and resources of each, to cover the expenses of the service of the municipality or of such part thereof as is not provided for by receipts from the preceding sources.

ART. 43.

Rates of taxation imposed by the Municipal Council upon industries paying industrial taxes to the General Government, shall not exceed 25 per cent. of such industrial taxes.

ART. 44.

Rates of taxation shall be fixed by ordinance and may be changed from time to time as the Council may deem proper, but ordinances imposing taxes under subdivisions 24 and 25 of Art 42, or changes therein, before taking effect, shall be submitted to the Governor of the Islands for his action through the Provincial Governor with the recommendations of the latter.

In levying taxes the Council shall endeavor to provide for sufficient revenue to cover the estimated annual expenses of the town.

ART. 45.

During the month of January of each year the Council shall cause to be made a report giving:

1. An inventory of all buildings, lands and other property, real and personal, belonging to the municipality.
2. An itemized estimate of the revenues of the town from all sources during the current year, with a statement opposite each item of the amount realized from that source during the last preceding year.
3. An itemized estimate of the ordinary expenses of the town for the current year with a statement opposite each item of the corresponding expenditures for the last preceding year. The estimated ordinary expenses must not exceed the estimated resources. This estimate shall include a statement of outstanding indebtedness, if such exists.
4. An estimate of such extraordinary expenditures, if any, as may be required through unusual necessity, or to make permanent improvements. Such estimate shall state the approximate total expenditures by reason of such necessity or improvement, the amount which it is expected to expend during the current year, and source or sources from which it is proposed to secure the necessary funds; also an itemized statement of extraordinary expenditures for the last preceding calendar year. The reports hereinbefore provided for shall be in such form as may be prescribed by higher authority, or, in the absence of such prescribed form, shall be written in an orderly and intelligible manner.
   Such report, when approved, shall be attested by the Alcalde and Town Secretary and shall be forwarded in duplicate to the Governor of the Province for his action. If approved by the latter he shall forward one of the copies with his approval endorsed thereon to the Alcalde to serve as a guide to the municipality in the administration of the finances of the town.
   Any increase in expenditures beyond the amounts thus estimated and approved will be understood to be illegitimate and cannot be approved if the total amount of the same should exceed the resources.

ART. 46.

Taxes and imposts shall not be leased by the Municipal Council, but shall be collected by municipal employees, or in such other manner as the Council may determine.

ART. 47.

The Alcalde shall take measures to compel the payment of delinquent taxes and may make use of judicial compulsion when necessary, following the mode of procedure provided in such cases by the General Government of the Islands.

ART. 48.

When taxes are paid directly to the Treasurer he shall receipt therefor as provided in Article 23. When collected by any other duly authorized person, the latter shall give the taxpayer a receipt signed by the Treasurer and by himself. The Treasurer shall retain a duplicate of all such receipts issued by him to collectors, so as to verify collections reported by the latter. Collectors will turn over to the Treasurer, once each week, all amounts received by them during the week, with an itemized statement of the persons collected from and the respective amounts received. The Treasurer will receipt to the collectors for amounts thus turned over, as provided in Article 23.

ART. 49.

At the termination of the period of collection, the person in charge of the same will return to the Municipal Council an account of those taxes that could not be collected, and the collector will not be held liable for the uncollected portion unless because of negligence or bad faith on his part.

ART. 50.

Taxation shall be uniform and just. Persons deeming themselves injured by any tax levy may protest to the council, whose duty it shall be to consider and determine such protests at once. Should the protest be disregarded, the protestant may appeal in writing to the Provincial Governor through the Alcalde; the latter shall note upon the appeal papers the action taken by the Council.

ART. 51.

A public improvement deemed necessary by the municipal authorities, not exceeding 2,000 pesos in cost, may be made by the Council with the prior approval of the Provincial Governor. If the estimated cost should exceed that sum, the proposed expenditure will be submitted to the Governor of the Islands for his action by the Provincial Governor, with the recommendation of the latter.

Should any such improvement prove to be more expensive than estimated and approved, that fact, as soon as ascertained, will be reported to the Provincial Governor for his action.

No improvement will be authorized which cannot be paid for from the ordinary revenues of the town, or from some extraordinary tax duly proposed and approved.

ART. 52.

The Treasurer, during the month of January of each year, shall prepare itemized statements of the income and disbursements for the preceding calendar year. The latter shall be duly verified and submitted to the council, which shall carefully audit the same, comparing the statement of income with the duplicate receipts in the hands of the Alcalde, and the statement of disbursements with the warrants in the hands of the Treasurer. If, after this and such further examination as the Council may desire to make, the statements are found to be correct, they will be attested by the members of the Council. Should any member not be in favor of approving the statements or any item therein, he will endorse his disapproval in writing thereon, mentioning the items objected to and the reasons therefor. Certified copies of the statement, with the signatures thereto and endorsements thereon, shall at once be forwarded to the Provincial Governor.

CHAPTER SIX.
THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNOR.—DUTIES AND POWERS IN RELATION TO THE TOWNS.

ART. 53.

The Governor of the Province shall be ex-officio President of all Municipal Councils within the Province and shall have general supervisory charge of the municipal affairs of the several towns and cities therein organized under the provisions of this order, and in his said supervisory capacity may inspect or cause to be inspected, at such times as he may determine, the administration of municipal affairs and each and every department thereof, and may hear and determine all appeals against the acts of Municipal Corporations or their officers. He, or those whom he may designate in writing for that duty, shall at all times have free access to all records, books, papers, moneys, and property of the several towns and cities of the Province, and may call upon the officers thereof for an accounting of the receipts and expenditures, or for a general or special report of the official acts of the several Municipal Councils, or of any and every of them, or of any and every of the officers thereof, at any time, and as often as he may consider necessary to inform himself of the state of the finances or of the administration of municipal affairs; and such requests when made, must be complied with without excuse, pretext or delay. He may suspend or remove municipal officers, either individually or collectively, for cause, and appoint substitutes therefor permanently, for the time being or pending the next general election, or may call a special election to fill the vacancy or vacancies caused by such suspension or removal, reporting the cause thereof with a full statement of his action in the premises to the Governor of the Islands without delay. He shall forward all questions or disputes that may arise over the boundaries or jurisdictional limits of the city, towns or municipalities to the Governor of the Islands for final determination, together with full report and recommendations relative to the same. He may, with the approval of the Governor of the Islands authorize the cities and towns to form among themselves associations or communities for determined ends, such as the construction of public works, the creation and foundation of beneficent, charitable or educational institutions, for the better encouragement of public interests or the use of communal property.

CHAPTER SEVEN.
PROVISIONAL ARTICLES.

ART. 54.

It shall be the duty of commanding officers of military districts, immediately after the publication of this order, to recommend to the office of the Military Governor in which towns within their commands municipal governments shall be established, and upon approval of recommendations, either personally or through subordinate commanders designated by them, to issue and cause to be posted proclamations calling elections therein. Such proclamations shall fix the time and place of election and shall designate three residents of the town who shall be charged with the duty of administering electors’ oaths, of preparing, publishing and correcting, within specified dates, a list of electors having the qualifications hereinbefore set forth, and of presiding at and making a due return of the election thus appointed. The proclamation shall specify the offices to be filled; and in order to determine the number of Councilors, the commanders charged with calling the election shall determine from the best available evidence the class to which the town belongs as hereinbefore defined; the classification thus made shall govern until the taking of an official census. The first Alcaldes appointed under the provisions of this order shall take and subscribe the oath of office before the commanding officer of the Military District or some person in the several towns designated by said commanding officer for the said purpose; whereupon the Alcalde, so sworn, shall administer the said oath of office to all the other officers of the municipio there elected and afterwards appointed.

The election returns shall be canvassed by the authority issuing the election proclamation, and the officers elected shall assume their duties on a date to be specified by him in orders.

ART. 55.

Until the appointment of Governors of Provinces, their duties under this order will be performed by the commanding officers of the Military Districts. They may, by designation, confer on subordinate commanding officers of sub-districts or of other prescribed territorial limits of their commands the supervisory duties herein enumerated and a subordinate commander so designated shall perform all and every of the duties herein prescribed for the superior commanding officer.

ART. 56.

For the time being the provisions of this order requiring that Alcaldes be elected, in all cases shall be so far modified at to permit the commanding officers of Military Districts in their discretion either to appoint such officers or to have them elected as hereinbefore prescribed.

The term of office of Alcaldes, appointed under this authority shall be the same as if they had been elected; at the expiration of such term the office shall be filled by election or appointment.

ART. 57.

The governments of towns organized under General Order, No. 43, Headquarters Department of the Pacific and Eighth Army Corps, series 1899, will continue in the exercise of their functions as therein defined and set forth until such time as municipal governments therefor have been organized and are in operation under this order.

BY COMMAND OF MAJOR GENERAL OTIS:
M. BARBER
Assistant Adjutant General.