Government of the Philippine Islands

“ Every person arrested shall, without unnecessary delay, be brought before a municipal court or a Court of First Instance for preliminary hearing, release on bail, or trial. Each judge shall have power to enforce all processes of the court, compel the attendance of witnesses, and punish all contempts of court by fine or imprisonment, or both, under the limitations imposed by the Code of Civil Procedure. ”

“ Every city officer charged with the custody of property or funds, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall execute a bond to the city, in such sum and with such surety or sureties as shall be approved by the members of the Board in writing thereon. ”

“ The city superintendent of schools shall make a quarterly report of the condition of the schools and school buildings of Manila to the Board, and such recommendations as seem to him wise in respect to the number of teachers, their salaries, new buildings to be erected, and all other similar matters, together with the amount of city revenues which should be expended in paying native teachers, and improving the schools or school buildings of the city. ”

“ No person shall be confined in the city prison by sentence of either municipal court until the warden or officer in charge of the prison shall receive a written commitment showing the offense for which the prisoner was tried, the date of the trial, the exact terms of the judgment or sentence, and the date of the order of commitment. The clerk shall, under seal of the court, issue such a commitment in each case of sentence to imprisonment. ”

“ City officer not to engage in certain business transactions. It shall be unlawful for any city officer, directly or indirectly, individually or as a member of a firm, to engage in any business transaction with the city through any of its authorized officials, boards, agents, or attorneys, whereby money is to be paid, directly or indirectly, out of the revenues of the city to such person or firm; or to purchase any real estate or other property belonging to the city, or which shall be sold for taxes or assessments, or by virtue of legal process at the suit of the city ”

“ Lands or buildings owned by the United States of America, the Central Government of the Philippine Islands, or the city of Manila, and burying grounds, churches, and their adjacent parsonages and conventos, and lands or buildings used exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, or educational purposes, and not for profit, shall be exempt from taxation; but such exemption shall not extend to lands or buildings held for investment, though the income therefrom be devoted to religious, charitable, scientific, or educational purposes. ”

“ City not to be liable for damages, and so forth. The city shall not be liable or held for damages or injuries to persons or property arising from the failure of the Municipal Board, or any city officer, to enforce the provisions of this charter, or any law or ordinance, or from negligence of said Board or other officers while enforcing or attempting to enforce the same. ”

“ To assist the city engineer in the discharge of his official duties, there shall be employed under his direction a first assistant city engineer, two second assistant city engineers, a superintendent of streets, parks, bridges, docks, and wharves, a superintendent of water and sewers, and a superintendent of buildings and illumination. ”

“ To license, regulate, or prohibit the keeping of dogs, and to authorize their impounding and destruction when running at large contrary to ordinance. (q) To establish and maintain city pounds; to regulate, restrain, and prohibit the running at large of domestic animals, and provide for the distraining, impounding, and sale of the same for the penalty incurred, and the cost of the proceedings; also to impose penalties upon the owners of said animals for the violation of any ordinance in relation thereto. ”

“ Every contract exceeding in amount the sum of five hundred dollars, for work, materials, or supplies, shall be let by the Board to the lowest responsible bidder: Provided, That the Board may, in its discretion, reject any and all bids, and if such bids are too high may purchase the material, hire the laborers, and supervise the work. Bonds, to be approved by the Board, shall be taken for the faithful performance of contracts ”

“ Should the Advisory Board, however, delay action upon the ordinance thus presented to it for its consideration and recommendation, for more than two weeks after the same shall have been received and receipted for by its secretary, the Municipal Board may proceed to adopt the ordinance without awaiting action by the Advisory Board. No person shall be eligible to appointment as a member of the Advisory Board from a particular district unless he is a bona fide resident of such district at the time o f appointment. ”

“ To extend and enforce all its ordinances over all waters a within the city, and over the Bay of Manila three miles beyond the city limits, and over any boat or other floating structure thereon; and for the purpose of protecting and insuring the purity of the water supply of the city, to extend and enforce ordinances to that end over all territory within the drainage area of such water supply, or with 100 meters of any reservoir, conduit, canal, aqueduct, or pumping station used in connection with the city water service. ”

“ An annual tax of one and one-half per cent. (11⁄2%) on the assessed value of all real estate in the city subject to taxation as hereinbefore provided is hereby levied for the year 1902, and an annual tax of two per cent. ”

“ To regulate the use of lights in stables, shops, and other buildings and places, and to regulate and restrain the building of bonfires and the use of firecrackers, fireworks, torpedoes, candles, skyrockets, and other pyrotechnic displays. ”

“ To provide for the inspection and scaling of weights and measures, enforce the keeping and use of proper weights and measures by vendors, and regulate the inspection, weighing, and measuring of brick, coal, lumber, and other articles of merchandise. (t) To lay out, construct, improve, and regulate the use of streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, wharves, piers, parks, cemeteries, and other public places ”

“ To regulate the business and fix the location of tanneries, renderies, tallow chandleries, bone factories, soap factories, match factories, blacksmith shops, foundries, steam boilers, lumber yards, shipyards, and other dangerous, offensive, or unwholesome establishments ”