[ Act No. 1461, March 05, 1906 ]
AN ACT FOR THE PURPOSE OF RESTRICTING THE SALE AND SUPPRESSING THE EVIL RESULTING FROM THE SALE AND USE OF OPIUM UNTIL MARCH FIRST, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHT, WHEN ITS IMPORTATION OR USE FOR ANY BUT MEDICINAL PURPOSES IS FORBIDDEN BY ACT OF CONGRESS.
Section 1. Opium within the meaning of this Act shall embrace every kind, class, and character of opium, whether crude, prepared, or refuse, and all narcotic preparations thereof or therefrom, and all morphine or alkaloids of opium and all preparations in which opium, morphine, or any alkaloid of opium enters as an ingredient, together with all opium leaves and wrappings of opium leaves, whether such leaves or wrappers are prepared for use or not.
Section 2. Upon the presentation by any Chinese person of a written n application, duly verified by his oath before an officer entitled to administer oaths, and reciting that he habitually smokes, chews, swallows, or injects opium in any of its forms, or is otherwise addicted to the use of opium or of any of its narcotic principles, it shall be the duty of the treasurer of the municipality or the treasurer of the township or settlement in which said application is presented, or if presented in the city of Manila, then of the Collector of Internal Be venue, upon the payment to him of five " pesos by the applicant, to register such Chinese person as a confirmed user of opium and to issue to him a certificate stating that -he is addicted to the use of opium, the manner and form of its use, and the quantity of the drug consumed by him by the day, week, or month. The certificates so issued shall be printed in quadruplicate and shall be consecutively numbered. One of the quadruplicates shall be retained by the officer issuing the same, one shall be forwarded forthwith to the treasurer of the province in which said municipality, township, or settlement is located, one shall be forwarded to the Collector of Internal Revenue, and one shall be delivered to the person registered. All such certificates shall be accounted for as cash at the rate of five pesos for each certificate. Spoiled or mutilated certificates not issued must be retained and turned in with the accounts of the responsible officer at the proper time.
Section 3. Any person who makes or uses a false or counterfeit certificate, or other official document used in the enforcement of this Act, or who with intent to defraud has in his possession any false, counterfeit, restored, or altered certificate, or other official document used in the enforcement of this Act, or who alters the written or printed figures or letters upon such certificate, or other official document used in the enforcement of this Act, or who procures the commission of any such offense by another, or who cooperates or assists in the commission of any such offense, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Section 4. (a) Except when prescribed as a medicine by a duly licensed and practicing physician;, it shall be unlawful for any person to smoke, chew, swallow, inject, or otherwise consume or use opium in any of its forms unless such person has been duly registered as provided in section two hereof and has secured the certificate therein prescribed. Except when prescribed as a medicine by a duly licensed and practicing physician, no registered confirmed user of opium shall smoke, chew, swallow, inject, or otherwise use or consume opium except in his own residence.
(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two hundred pesos, or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Section 5. (a) It shall be unlawful to sell, transfer, give, or deliver opium in any of its forms to any person unless such person is a duly licensed physician, pharmacist, or second-class pharmacist, or is a duly licensed wholesale dealer or retail dealer in opium, or is duly registered as a confirmed user of opium as prescribed in section two hereof who presents his certificate as such at the time of the sale, transfer, gift, or delivery to him of opium in any of its forms: Provided, however, That opium in all of its forms may be sold, transferred, or delivered to scientific bureaus of the Government and to hospitals, on permit from the Collector of Internal Eevenue. Duly licensed physicians may prescribe and administer opium as a medicine, and pharmacists and second-class pharmacists may sell, transfer, give, or deliver opium as a medicinal preparation on the prescription of a duly licensed and practicing physician, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the Collector of Internal Revenue and approved by the head of the proper Department.
(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be punished hy a fine not exceeding one thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, or by boih such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
(c) Any physician who habitually prescribes opium for his patients when the physical condition of said patients does not of require the use of opium shall have his license to practice medicine revoked hy the Board of Medical. Examiners for the Philippine Islands after due notice and hearing by said Board, and shall be punished by a court of competent jurisdiction by a fine of not less than two hundred and fifty pesos nor more than one thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for a period not less than six months nor more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Section 6. (a) Every person other than a licensed pharmacist or second-class pharmacist who imports, cooks, or prepares opium or prepares any narcotic extract from opium, or who after its reception modifies or changes the form of any opium received by him, or who sells or offers to sell opium in any of its forms in quantities of one kilo or more, or who for himself or on commission sells or offers to sell opium to another, for resale, shall be deemed to be a wholesale dealer for the purposes of this Act.
(b) Every person other than a licensed pharmacist or a second-class pharmacist, or a wholesale dealer in opium, who sells opium in any of its forms, or who deals or traffics therein, shall be deemed to be a retail dealer in opium for the purposes of this Act: Provided, That persons engaged in selling or offering for sale, or giving away or bartering, opium in such manner, and in such quantities, as to bring them within the definition of wholesale dealers and who also sell or offer for sale, or barter or give away, opium in such manner and in such quantities as to bring them within the definition of retail dealers shall be subject to both the wholesale and the retail dealer's license tax as prescribed by this Act.
Section 7. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person not a duly registered confirmed user of opium, a licensed physician, pharmacist, second-class pharmacist, wholesale dealer or retail dealer in opium, to have in his possession opium in any of its forms except on a permit from the Collector of Internal Revenue, or as a medicine prescribed by a duly licensed and practicing physician.
(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred pesos, or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Section 8. Every wholesale dealer and every retail dealer in opium shall keep and maintain on the outside of his place of business, so that the same may be seen and easily read by the public, a sign" setting forth in plain, large letters' the name or firm designation of such wholesale dealer or retail dealer, and the words "Licensed wholesale dealer in opium," or "Licensed retail dealer in opium," as the case may be. For a failure to keep and maintain such sign conspicuously displayed as herein provided, or for a violation of any of the provisions of this Act, the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, may cancel the license issued to such wholesale dealer or retail dealer, and such wholesale dealer or retail dealer shall not be entitled to the return of any money paid by him for such license.
Section 9. (a) Within ten days after this Act shall go into effect, every wholesale dealer and every retail dealer in opium, and every licensed pharmacist and second-class pharmacist, shall report in writing to the treasurer of the province in which his place of business is located, or if located in the city of Manila, then to the Collector of Internal Revenue, the kind, quantity, and quality of all opium in his possession or under his control, and the then existing market value of the same and a definite description of the place in which the same is kept, held, or stored.
(b) Any person failing to make true report of the opium in his : possession or under his control as prescribed in this section shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court; and all opium not reported by such person shall be seized, forfeited, and sold as prescribed by this Act.
Section 10.1aшphi1 (a) All imported opium immediately after its release from the custom-house, and all opium owned, held, controlled, possessed, prepared, or manufactured by any wholesale dealer in opium, shall be stored by the wholesale dealer in some building or place duly approved by the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, and neither the whole nor any part of
the opium so stored shall be removed from such building or place except in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Collector of Internal Revenue and approved by the head of the proper Department, or on a permit from the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative. Opium stored or withdrawn in any manner other than that prescribed in this Act, or by regulations of the Collector of Internal Revenue, approved by the head of the proper Department, shall be seized and confiscated.
(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Section 11. (a) Every wholesale dealer and every retail dealer in opium shall keep a book in which he shall enter, in Spanish or English, the full quantity of opium on hand at the time of giving the notice prescribed by section nine and of all opium thereafter received by him from every-source, the date on which the same was received, the person or firm from whom received, the kind received, the price paid or to be paid therefor, the date and hour of each and every sale made by him, the quantity and kind of opium sold, the name and address of the purchaser, the quantity and kind of opium transferred on permit, the date of such transfer, the name and address of the person to whom transferred, together with the number of the permit for withdrawal or removal, and such other information as may be prescribed by the Collector of Internal Revenue.
(b) Any wholesale dealer or retail dealer in opium who shall fail to keep the book and make true entries therein, as prescribed by this section, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand pesos or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Section 12. Should an inspection of the opium on hand or an examination of the books of any wholesale dealer or retail dealer in opium disclose a greater or less quantity of opium than the difference between the receipts of opium and the sales, transfers, or withdrawals justifies, such wholesale dealer or retail dealer shall pay to the Government of the Philippine Islands as a penalty double the value of any deficiency or excess that may exist, and all opium and other property on the premises on which the opium business is carried on and conducted shall be subject to seizure and shall be forfeited and sold as prescribed by this Act: Provided, That the wholesale dealer or retail dealer may be relieved in whole or in part from the penalties and forfeiture provided in this section whenever in the opinion of the Collector of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the head of the proper Department, such relief is just and equitable.
Section 13.1aшphi1 Every wholesale dealer and every retail dealer in opium shall give each purchaser of opium a certificate of sale, written in English or Spanish, duly prepared and signed by the dealer, reciting the sale, name and address of the purchaser, kind and quantity of opium sold, price paid, and such other information as shall be prescribed by the Collector of Internal Revenue, and for every failure, neglect, or refusal to deliver the certificate herein provided for, such wholesale dealer or retail dealer shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred pesos; or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Section 14. The books and stock of opium of wholesale dealers and retail dealers in opium, or pharmacists or second-class pharmacists, shall be subject to inspection at any time by the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, and any wholesale dealer or retail dealer in opium, or pharmacist or second-class pharmacist, failing, refusing, or neglecting to allow such inspection immediately upon demand made by the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Section 15. (a) No person shall import, cook, or prepare opium, or engage in the business of purchasing or selling opium or of dealing or trafficking therein, unless he shall have first secured from the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, a license to transact such business and shall have paid the license tax prescribed by this Act. Crude opium shall not be sold to any person who is not a duly licensed wholesale dealer: Provided, That duly licensed pharmacists and second-class pharmacists may import, buy, sell, and prepare opium for medicinal purposes without securing the license prescribed by this section, under such regulations as the Collector of Internal Revenue may prescribe, with the approval of the head of the proper Department.
(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred pesos or more than two thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for a period of not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Section 16. Before any license is issued to any wholesale dealer in opium, the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, shall require that such wholesale dealer shall execute to the Government of the Philippine Islands a good and sufficient bond in the sum of ten thousand pesos, duly approved by the Collector of Internal Revenue, and conditioned that said wholesale dealer will well and truly pay the internal-revenue taxes, fines, and penalties imposed by this Act; that he will not withdraw or remove any opium from the place in which it is lawfully kept or stored except as prescribed by this Act, or by regulations of the Collector of Internal Revenue, approved by the head of the proper Department; and that he will well and truly comply with the provisions of this Act and perform all the duties by it required of him to be performed.
Section 17. Every wholesale dealer in opium shall pay to the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, an annual license tax of one thousand pesos, and every retail dealer in opium shall pay an annual license tax of two hundred pesos, which tax shall become due and payable on the first day of January of each year or on commencing business as a wholesale dealer or retail dealer in opium. In case any wholesale dealer or retail dealer in opium begins business after the first day of January, he shall pay that proportion of the license tax which the unexpired portion of the calendar year bears to the whole year: Provided, however, That the sum paid for the license shall not be Jess than that required for three months: And provided further, That the that license tax may be paid in quarterly installments on the first day of January, the first day of April, the first day of July, and the first day of October: And provided further. That no wholesale or retail hi license shall be issued to any person authorizing him to peddle opium, or to sell opium in any locality outside of a store duly registered, and that any person so found peddling or trafficking in opium in the streets or dwelling places, or market places, of any city, or in the country, or in the wafers of the Philippine Islands, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding' one thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding: one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court; and in addition all of the stock of opium found in the possession of any such peddler shall be confiscated to the Insular Government.
Section 18. Persons doing business as copartners in any one place shall be required to pay but one license lax. Should a wholesale dealer or retail dealer in opium engage in the business of manufacturing opium or dealing therein in more than one place, he shall pay the prescribed license tax for each place in which he carries on business: Provided, however, That: if the business of manufacturing opium or of dealing therein at wholesale or retail is transferred to a place other than that for which the license was issued, the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, may transfer the license to the new place of business, and in such case no additional license tax shall be exacted: And provided further, That when any person to whom a license is issued dies during the term of the license, the surviving spouse, children, executor, administrator, or other legal representative of such person may, without the payment of an additional tax, carry on, for the rest of the term covered by the license, the business for which the license was issued.
Section 19. Unless otherwise provided by this Act. the payment and collection of all taxes and of all judgments and moneys recovered and received for taxes, costs, forfeitures, and penalties imposed by this Act and the accounting therefor shall be made as prescribed by Act Numbered Eleven hundred and eighty-nine and the regulations of the Collector of Internal Revenue, and in the manner and form provided for the payment and collection of taxes imposed by said Act.
Section 20. (a) Before imported crude opium or imported prepared opium in any of its forms shall be released from the customhouse, there shall be paid thereon an infernal-revenue tax as follows: On crude opium, two pesos and fifty centavos a kilo, net weight, and on prepared opium seven pesos and fifty centavos a kilo, net weight.1aшphi1 This tax shall be paid to the collector of customs, under-regulations prescribed by the Collector of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the bead of the proper Department.
Before any crude opium which is in the Philippine Islands at the time this Act shall become effective; is cooked or prepared for sale or for human consumption or use. every wholesale dealer shall pay on such crude opium to the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, an internal-revenue tax of two pesos and fifty centavos per kilo, net weight. On opium cooked or prepared in the Philippine Islands for sale or for human consumption or use, every wholesale dealer shall pay on the removal or withdrawal of such opium from the place in which it is lawfully kept or stored, to the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, an internal-revenue tax of five pesos on each kilo, net weight. The burden of proving that the internal-revenue tax hereby imposed has been paid is imposed on the wholesale dealer: Provided, however, That no tax shall be paid on opium removed or withdrawn for exportation and actually exported and not relanded in the Philippine Islands.
All opium in the possession, or under the control, or subject to the order or disposition of any retail dealer at the time this Act becomes effective on which the internal-revenue tax provided by this Act has not been paid by a wholesale dealer, shall be subject to such tax and said retail dealer shall pay on such opium before manufacture, sale, consumption, or use thereof, an internal-revenue tax. as follows: Crude opium, two pesos and fifty centavos for each kilo, net weight; cooked or prepared opium, or opium prepared for human consumption or use, five pesos for each kilo, net weight. The burden of proving that such internal-revenue tax has been duly paid is hereby imposed on the retail dealer. Net weight shall lie determined by the customs rules and regulations covering the importation of opium into the Philippine Islands.
Before any opium is withdrawn or removed from the place in which it is lawfully kept or stored, as provided by this Act, it shall be marked, branded, or otherwise identified in the manner prescribed by the Collector of Internal Revenue and approved by the head of the proper Department.
(b) Any wholesale dealer or retail dealer in opium failing, refusing, or neglecting to pay the internal-revenue tax as prescribed by this section, or who shall fail, refuse, or neglect to mark, brand, or otherwise identify opium as required by this section, shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred pesos nor more than five thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court; and all goods on which such tax is due and not paid as required by this Act shall be subject to seizure and shall be forfeited and sold as prescribed by this Act.
Section 21. In case of the seizure of any property for the violation of the provisions of this Act, the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, shall publish a notice of such seizure once a week for three successive weeks in some newspaper of general circulation devoted to the publication of general news and published in the province in which the seizure was made, or if the seizure was made in the city of Manila, then in some newspaper published in said city. If there be no newspaper published in the province in which the seizure was made, then such notice may be published in any newspaper in the Islands devoted to the publication of general news. The notice shall describe the property seized and state the time, cause, and place of seizure, and shall require any person claiming such property to appear and file his claim within twenty days after the first publication of such notice.
Section 22. Any person claiming seized property shall file his claim thereto as prescribed in the notice provided for in the preceding section, and shall deposit with the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, a bond executed to the Government of the Philippine Islands in the sum of five hundred pesos, duly approved by said Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, and conditioned that the claimant will pay nil costs and expenses of proceedings for forfeiture and sale of the property in case forfeiture and sale thereof is adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction. On the filing of such a bond, the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, shall transmit the claim and a copy of the notice of-seizure to the Attorney-General, who shall commence proceedings for the forfeiture and sale of the seized property described in the notice mentioned in the preceding section.
Section 23. In case no claim is filed»for the property within the time specified in the notice, or in case the claimant refuses to furnish the bond prescribed by the section immediately preceding, the Collector, of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, shall give notice of the sale of such property by publishing such notice in the manner prescribed for the publication of the notice of seizure. Such notice shall set forth the date, hour, and place of sale, and the first publication of such notice shall be made at least ten days before the sale and shall be made in each issue of the paper in which published until and including the date of sale, provided such pajxn1 is published on said dale. On the date and at the hour and place specified in the notice the Collector of Internal Revenue, or his duly authorized representative, shall sell the property seized, at public auction, and for the proceeds of the sale he shall account as for other funds received by him in his official capacity.
Section 24. The books, blank forms, certificates. and registers necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be prepared by the Collector of Internal Revenue. printed by the Bureau of Printing, and furnished to wholesale dealers and retail dealers in opium at the cost of printing plus ten per cent.
Section 25. The Collector of Internal Revenue shall prepare and distribute regulations, directions, and instructions, not in conflict with the provisions of this Act, pertaining to the assessment, collection, and payment of the internal-revenue fax prescribed by this Act; and such regulations, directions, and instructions, whether general or special in character, shall have the force and effect of law when approved by the head of the proper Department.
Section 26. The Collector of internal .Revenue, with the approval of the head of the proper Department, may compromise any civil or other case arising under the provisions of this Act instead of commencing or prosecuting suit thereon, and, with the consent of the head of the proper Department, he may compromise such case if action has been begun thereon.
Section 27. The registration tax required to be paid by this Act shall be covered into the treasury of the municipality, township, or settlement in which collected, or if collected in the city of Manila, then into the Insular Treasury, and shall he deposited and disposed of as are all other deposits to the general fund of said municipalities, townships, settlements, or city of Manila, as the case may be.
The license tax and the internal-revenue tax required to be paid by this Act shall be covered into the Insular Treasury and shall constitute a special fund to be devoted solely to the following purposes:
First. The printing and dissemination among the people of information as to the evils resulting from the use of opium;
Second. The payment of the reasonable expenses, in some reputable hospital, of those desiring to cure themselves of the opium habit;
Third. The payment of the expenses of such Filipino students as may be sent by the Insular Government to the United States for education;
Fourth. The payment of salaries of Filipinos who have been appointed Insular teachers ;
Fifth. The construction of schoolhouses and school buildings in the various municipalities of the Islands: Provided, That twenty-five per centum of all fines imposed by reason of violations of this Act shall be paid to the person who furnished the original evidence, and substantiated it, which led to the detection of the offense and the imposition of the fine. The name of the informer shall be specified in the judgment of the court when conviction is had in the court.
Section 28. This Act shall continue in effect until March first, nineteen hundred and eight, after which time it is made unlawful to import into the Philippine Islands opium, in whatever form, except by the Government, and for medicinal purposes only, by virtue of paragraph eighty of the Act of Congress approved March third, nineteen hundred and five, entitled "An Act to revise and amend the tariff laws of the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes."
Section 29. This Act shall take effect on April first, nineteen hundred and six.
Enacted, March 8, 1906.
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