Presidential Decree No. 824 (Marcos)

, 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;

, 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;

, 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;

, 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;

, it is necessary that the unified metropolitan services or functions be planned, administered, and operated in accordance with the highest professional technical standards; and

, such coordination, integration, and unified management especially in the maintenance of peace and order at 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;

, 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.—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.—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 Taguig 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.—The Commission shall be composed of a Chairman or Governor, a Vice-Chairman or Vice-Governor and three Commissioners or Board Members, one for plannigplanning [sic], 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 ₱60,000.00, the Vice-Chairman or Governor, ,₱50,000.000 and the three Commissioners or Board Members, ₱45,000.00 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.—The Commission shall have the following powers and functions:

(1) To act as a central government to establish and administer programs and provide services common to the area;

(2) 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;

(3) To charge and collect fees for the use of public service facilities;

(4) 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 not be 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;

(5) To review, amend, revise or repeal all ordinances, resolutions and acts of cities and municipalities within Metropolitan Manila.

(6) To enact or approve ordinances, resolutions and to fix penalties for any violation thereof which shall not exceed a fine of ₱10,000.00 or imprisonment of six years or both such fine and imprisonment for a single offense.

(7) To perform general administrative, executive and policy-making functions;

(8) To establish a fire control operation center, which shall direct the fire services of the city and municipal governments in the metropolitan area;

(9) To establish a garbage disposal operation center, which shall direct garbage collection and disposal in the metropolitan area;

(10) To establish and operate a transport and traffic center, which shall direct traffic activities;

(11) 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;

(12) To insure and monitor the undertaking of a comprehensive social, economic and physical planning and development of the area;

(13) 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;

(14) 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

(15) To perform such other tasks as may be assigned or directed by the President of the Philippines.

Functions of the General Manager.—The General Manager shall have the following powers and functions:

(1) To execute policies and measures approved by the Commission and be responsible for the efficient discharge of management functions;

(2) 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;

(3) 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:

(4) 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;

(5) To submit for the approval of the Commission an annual budget for its operations; and

(6) To perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the Commission.

Functions of the Commissioner for Planning.—The Commissioner for Planning shall have the following functions:

(1) To formulate, and submit to the General Manager for approval, long-range plans for the integration of common, essential, municipal and public services;

(2) To translate all policy directives on the common, essential, municipal and public services into detailed operational plans and programs;

(3) To undertake researches, investigation and other activities on the policy areas and to submit comprehensive reports and appropriate recommendations to the General Manager;

(4) 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.—The Commissioner for Finance shall have the following functions:

(1) To determine financial requirements for the common, essential, municipal and public services to be integrated;

(2) To determine sources of, and allocate, funds for the purpose thereof;

(3) To conduct a continuous and detailed financial analysis of the integration of common, essential, municipal and public services;

(4) 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.—The Commissioner for Operations shall have the following functions:

(1) 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.

(2) To perform such other functions related to operations as may be assigned by the Commission or the General Manager from time to time.

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 members 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.

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:

(1) To implement the integration of the common, essential, municipal and public services approved by the Commission as they pertain to their respective local government units;

(2) 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;

(3) To perform such other functions as the Commission may direct.

All the city or municipal treasurers of the local government units placed under the Commission shall close their respective books 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 Expenses.—The Commission shall have the following financial resources:

(1) The sum of Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (2,500,000.00) is hereby appropriated out of any funds in the National Treasury for the operation of the Commission;

(2) Proceeds of the franchise taxes now allocated to local government units in the metropolitan area;

(3) Proceeds of the fixed or privilege tax on occupation accruing to local government units in the metropolitan area;

(4) Proceeds of the corporate residence tax accruing to the local government units in the metropolitan area; and

(5) 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.

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.

To enable the President to assess and determine the efficacy of the integration of governmental functions and services under this Decree and 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.

All laws or part of laws, as well as all executive orders or regulations, inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

This Decree, except those provisions otherwise indicated above, shall take effect immediately.

in the City of Manila, this 7th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-five.

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By the President:

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