Location and Physical Profile

The City of Zamboanga is located at the southernmost tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula. It is approximately 505 nautical miles south
of Manila, 270 nautical miles from Cebu City and 320 nautical miles from Davao City.  It is bounded on the north by Zamboanga del
Norte and Zamboanga del Sur; on the west by the Sulu Sea; on the east by the Moro Gulf; and on the south by the Basilan Strait
and Celebes Sea.  The territorial jurisdiction of the city includes the Great and Little Sta. Cruz Islands, Tictabon, Sacol, Manalipa,
and the seven and eleven islands.

In terms of land area, Zamboanga is the third largest city in the country with a total land area of 1,483.3849 square kilometers.  In
the 2007 Census, Zamboanga registered 774,407 residents making it the sixth largest city in the country in terms of population.

Southeast Asia
Zamboanga City commands the sea lanes of southwestern Philippines. It is our gateway to Southeast Asia. The city is the nearest
major urban center to our ASEAN neighbors: Malaysia, Brunei, Sarawak and Singapore; and through them, Thailand, Myanmar,
Laos, Cambodia and southern China. Farther to the west, through the Indian Ocean, is the Indian subcontinent with giant India, Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh. It is 365 nautical miles northeast of Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia; 252 nautical miles from Sandakan, Malaysia;
345 nautical miles from Manado, Indonesia; and 467 nautical miles from Brunei, Darusalam.

Mindanao
Zamboanga is situated in Mindanao. Mindanao is the second giant of the archipelago of all the land mass of the Philippines. The city
is situated at the southernmost tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula, in the island of Mindanao, Philippines. It is approximately within the
1210 53’ 50’’ and 1220 23’ 25’’ east longitude and 60 53’ 50’’ and 70 29’ 20’’ North.

Organizational Setup
     On November 27, 1992, Ordinance No. 454 was enacted by the Sanggunian Panlungsod creating the Office of the City
Accountant effective January 1, 1993. Upon its creation, a separate Budget had been prepared under the Annual Budget for Fiscal
Year 1993 to finance the operation of the newly created department. 
 
    The Organizational Structure of the Office of the City Accountant is composed of four (4) distinctive Divisions namely: 

     1.) Administrative Division 

          a.  Office Service Division 
          b.  General Service Division 

     2.)  Internal Control Division 

          a.  Financial Audit Section 
          b.  Operations Audit Section 

     3.)  Disbursement Audit and Property Inspection Division 

          a. Pre-Audit Section 
          b. Property Inspection Section 

     4.) Financial Transactions Division 

          a. Bookkeeping Section 
          b. Billing and Remittance Section

     Initially, there were twenty seven (27) existing regular plantilla items or positions transferred from the Accounting Division, Office
of the City Treasurer to the Office of the City Accountant and by virtue of its creation as a new Department, fifteen (15) more new
positions were created bringing the total number of plantilla positions to forty two (42) in 1993.

     
     To date, the total number of personnel under this office per plantilla is fifty seven (57). 
     
     As part of the local government, a lot of the expected work output depends much on the manpower initiative of the present
working force. The transfer of the Office to its location at the City Hall Annex Buidling paved way for a  

conducive working condition allowing the staff to attend and provide more effective and efficient services to their various clientele. 
    
     In fact, the Department has met the standard performance of providing a sound financial condition and results of operations of
the City Government of Zamboanga and the Barangay Units.  It continues to get the support of the Chief Executive, the Legislative
and other Departments. It has likewise grown in awareness under the managerial concept of delegation of authority and
responsibility as well as meaningful concept of job rotation to provide a wider span of experience to all the personnel in the
department. These are  indeed the major milestones  of its accomplishments in the field of local fiscal administration.