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.

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:

1. To be the custodian of barrio property and barrio funds not
   deposited with the municipal treasurer;
2. 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;
3. To disburse funds in accordance with the financial procedures
   provided for in this Act;
4. 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;
5. 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;
6. To certify to the availability of funds whenever necessary;
   and
7. 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:

1. To be custodian of all records of the Barangay Council and
   Barangay Assembly;
2. To keep minutes of all meetings of the Barangay Council and
   Barangay Assembly;
3. To record the proceedings of Barangay Council and Barangay
   Assembly meetings:
4. 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;
5. To register all new members of the Barangay
   Assembly in accordance with the provisions of this Act;
6. 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.”

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

SEC. 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.