REPUBLIC ACT No. 2642

An Act Amending Section Twenty-Two of Republic Act Numbered Seven Hundred Sixty, Otherwise Known as the Charter of the City of Tacloban

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress Assembled:

Section 1. Section twenty-two of Republic Act Numbered Seven hundred sixty, otherwise known as the Charter of the City of Tacloban, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 22. The City Fiscal and Assistant City Fiscals -Powers and duties of the fiscal.— The Law Department of the city shall consist of a city fiscal and three assistant city fiscals who shall discharge their duties under the general supervision of the Secretary of Justice. The city fiscal and assistant city fiscals shall receive the salaries provided by existing laws.

The city fiscal shall be the chief legal adviser of the city and all offices and departments thereof. He shall have the following general powers and duties:

"(a) He shall, personally or through any assistant, represent the city in all civil cases wherein the city or any officer thereof, in his official capacity, is a party; and shall prosecute and defend all civil actions related to or connected with any city office or interest.

"(b) He shall, when directed by the Mayor, institute and prosecute in the city’s interest a suit on any bond, lease, or other contracts, and upon any breach or violation thereof.

"(c) He shall, when requested, attend meetings of the Board, draw ordinances, contracts, bonds, leases, and other instruments involving any interest of the city, and inspect and pass upon any such instruments already drawn.

"(d) He shall give his opinion in writing, when requested by the Mayor or the Board or any of the heads of the city departments, upon any question relating to the city or the rights or duties of any officer thereof.

"(e) He shall, whenever it is brought to his knowledge that any city officer or employee is guilty of neglect or misconduct in office, or that any person, firm, or corporation holding or exercising any franchise or public privilege from the city has failed to comply with any condition, or to pay any consideration mentioned in the grant of such franchise or privilege, investigate or cause to be investigated the same and report to the Mayor.

"(f) He shall cause to be investigated all charges of crimes, misdemeanors, and violations of laws and city ordinances and have the necessary informations or complaints prepared or made against the accused.1âшphi1 He or any of his assistants may conduct such investigations by taking oral evidence of reputed witnesses, and for this purpose may, by subpoena or subpoena duces tecum, summon witnesses to appear and testify under oath before him, and the attendance of, or the production of documents and other evidence by, an absent or recalcitrant witness may be enforced by application to the municipal courts or to the Courts of First Instance. No witness summoned to testify under this section shall be under obligation to give any testimony tending to incriminate himself.

"(g) He shall have charge of the prosecution of all crimes, misdemeanors and violations of laws and city ordinances triable in the Court of First Instance of Leyte and the municipal court of the city, and shall discharge all the duties in respect to criminal prosecutions enjoined by law upon provincial fiscals.

"(h) He shall also cause to be investigated the causes of sudden deaths which have not been satisfactorily explained and when there is suspicion that the cause arose from unlawful acts or omissions of other persons or from foul play. For that purpose he may cause autopsies to be made in case it is deemed necessary and shall be entitled to demand and receive for the purpose of such investigations or autopsies the aid of the city health officer or the resident physician of the Leyte Provincial Hospital.

"(i) He shall at all times render such professional services as the Mayor or the Board may require, and shall have such powers and perform such duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.

"(j) He shall perform the duties prescribed by law for register of deeds."

Section 2. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 18, 1960.


The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation