Amending Section 15 of R.A. No. 3590 (Revised Barrio Charter)

January 6, 1976

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 869

AMENDING SECTION 15 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 3590, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE REVISED BARRIO CHARTER, AS AMENDED, IN ORDER TO PROVIDE FOR RURAL POSTAL CIRCUITS IN THE BARRIOS

WHEREAS, the postal service plays a vital role in the development of the economic, political, social, and cultural life not only in the cities but also in the rural areas of the Philippines;

WHEREAS, it is imperative to adopt measures responsive to the demands of the modern age for faster delivery of mail matters more particularly in the rural areas, to help in the speedy growth of the barrios and the development of the rural communities; and

WHEREAS, in order to hasten the delivery of mail matters for the barrios, it is the primary concern of the government through the Bureau of Posts to establish Rural Postal Circuits which will dispose of mail matters intended for barrios comprising a rural postal circuit and which will be manned by barrio treasurers as a barrio self-help undertaking;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution, do hereby order and decree:

SECTION 1. In addition to the establishment of a post office in every municipality, the Postmaster General shall establish Rural Postal Circuits for the purpose of providing postal service to the greatest number of rural inhabitants. cdt

To achieve this objective, the Postmaster General or his authorized representative shall group all contiguous barrios and sitios beyond five kilometers from a regular post office of a city or municipality, not served regularly by local letter carriers, to constitute a rural postal circuit. A rural postal circuit shall have a Postal Center which shall be located in the Barrio Community Center of the barrio most accessible to all the barrios and sitios within the circuit. The rural postal circuit shall be manned and attended to by the barangay treasurers of the barrios where the circuit is established.

Section 15 of Republic Act No. 3590, otherwise known as the Revised Barrio Charter, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 15. Duties and Responsibilities of the Barangay Treasurer and Barangay Secretary. — The Barangay Treasurer, who shall hold office until the end of the term of the Barangay Captain who appointed him and who shall be bonded in accordance with existing laws and in amounts to be determined by the Barangay Council, but not exceeding ten thousand pesos, shall discharge the following duties:

a. To be the custodian of barrio property and barrio funds not deposited with the municipal treasurer;

b. To collect and receive taxes, fees, contributions, monies, materials, and all other resources accruing to the barrio treasury, for which he shall issue official receipts;

c. To disburse funds in accordance with the financial procedures provided for in this Act;

d. To submit to the Barangay Council certified and detailed statements of actual receipts and expenditures and estimated receipts for the ensuing fiscal year for the preparation of the barrio budget not later than one month before the said ensuing fiscal year;

e. To render a public accounting within one month after the end of each fiscal year of all barrio funds and property and which had been under his custody;

f. To certify to the availability of funds whenever necessary; and

g. The Barangay Treasurer in the barrio where the postal center is located shall undertake the collection and delivery of mail matter pertaining to the postal circuit to and from the municipal or city post office at least once a week. Each treasurer of the barrios composing the rural postal circuit shall undertake the collection of mail matter pertaining to his barrio from the postal center and the delivery to the respective addresses.

The Barangay Treasurer of each postal center shall be appointed as postal agent, bonded in accordance with law, and shall be under the immediate administrative supervision of the city or municipal postmaster insofar as the performance of his postal work is concerned. He shall be empowered to obtain from the postmaster the necessary postage stamps for sale in the rural postal circuit and shall submit a report of the proceeds of the sales of postage stamps to the postmaster every month, or upon demand of the latter or other authorized postal officials.

The Barangay Secretary who shall hold office until the end of the term of the Barangay Captain who appointed him shall discharge the following duties:

a. To be custodian of all records of the Barangay Council and Barangay Assembly;

b. To keep minutes of all meetings of the Barangay Council and Barangay Assembly;

c. To record the proceedings of Barangay Council and Barangay Assembly meetings;

d. To prepare separate lists of the members of the Barangay Assembly and the registered voters of the barrio and to have the same posted in conspicuous places within the barrio;

e. To register all new members of the Barangay Assembly in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

f. To prepare all necessary election forms, such as certificate of candidacy, ballots, certificate of election returns, record of challenges, and such other forms necessary in the conduct of barrio elections or plebiscite."

SECTION 2. The Bureau of Posts shall compensate or provide incentives to postal agents who perform duties in accordance with the provisions of this Decree.

SECTION 3. The Postmaster General shall adopt such regulations as may be necessary to implement this Decree. Any provisions of law inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or amended accordingly. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 6th day of January, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Six.