[ Acts No. 1826, May 20, 1908 ]
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE GRANTING OF A FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, MAINTAIN, AND OPERATE TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH SYSTEMS, AND TO CARRY ON OTHER ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION BUSINESS IN AND BETWEEN THE PROVINCES OF ALBAY AND AMBOS CAMARINES AND IN AND BETWEEN THE MUNICIPALITIES THEREOF.
By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Legislature, that:
Section 1. There is hereby granted for a period of fifty years from and after the passage of this Act, upon the considerations and conditions herein contained, to Charles W. Carson and his successors or assigns, the right and privilege to construct, maintain, and operate in and between the Provinces of Albay and Ambos Camarines and in and between the municipalities thereof a telephone and telegraph system, to carry on the business of transmitting messages and signals by means of electricity in and between said provinces and municipalities and for the purpose of operating said telephone and telegraph system and of transmitting messages and signals by means of electricity, to construct telephone and telegraph lines in and between said provinces and municipalities, to construct, maintain, and operate and use all apparatus, conduits, and appliances necessary for the electrical transmission of messages and signals, to erect poles, string wires, build conduits, lay cables, and to construct, maintain, and use such other approved and generally accepted means of electrical conduction in, on, over, or under the public roads, highways, lands, bridges, streets, lanes, alleys, avenues, and sidewalks of said provinces and municipalities as may be necessary and best adapted to the transmission of passages and signals by means of electricity: Provided, however, That all poles erected and all conduits constructed or used by the grantee, his successors or assigns, shall be located in places designated by provincial or municipal authorities, as the case may be, and poles shall be straight and smooth and erected and painted in a good, substantial, and workmanlike manner to the1 satisfaction of such authorities, but it: shall not: be obligatory on the grantee, his successors or assigns, to paint poles except in centers of population or poblacions of municipalities: And provided, further, That said poles shall be of such a height and the wires or conductors strung or used by said grantee, his successors or assigns, shall be so placed and safeguarded as to prevent danger to life or property by reason of contact, with electric light, power, or street-railway wires or conductors: And provided further, That upon reasonable notice and by resolution of the proper Insular, provincial, or municipal authorities, the grantee, his successors or assigns, may be required to relocate poles or remove or raise wires or other conductors so as to permit the passage of buildings or other structures from one place to another, one-half the actual cost of such relocation of poles or raising or removal of wires or other conductors to be paid by the person at whose instance the building or structure is moved; and, at the expense of the grantee, his successors or assigns, to relocate conduits, poles, and wires and to raise or remove wires or other conductors when the Insular Government or any provincial or municipal government declares that the public interest: so requires: Provided, however, That from any order or regulation of a provincial municipal government requiring the grantee, his successors or assigns, to relocate conduits, poles, or wires or to raise or remove wires or other conductors, the said grantee, his successors or assigns, shall have the right of appeal to the Governor-General, whose decision in-the matter shall be final and conclusive.
Should the grantee, his successors or assigns, fail, refuse, or neglect within a reasonable time to relocate his or their poles, conduits, wires, or other conductors or to raise his or their wires or other conductors when so directed by the proper Insular, provincial, or municipal authorities, then said authorities may relocate said poles, conduits, wires, or other conductors or raise said wires or other conductors at the expense of the grantee, his successors or assigns: And provided further, That the installation of all instruments, the inside wiring, and all outside construction work shall be done in accordance with the rules, regulations, or ordinances covering electrical work adopted by the Insular, provincial, or municipal authorities: And provided further, That whenever twenty-five or more pairs of open wires or other conductors are carried on one line of poles in any city or municipal center, said wires or conductors shall be placed in one cable and that whenever more than two hundred and fifty pairs of wires or other conductors in cables are carried on one line of poles, said cables shall be placed underground underground by the grantee, his successors or assigns, whenever ordered so to cables' do by the proper Insular, provincial, or municipal authorities: And provide further, That the poles erected, wires and cables strung or conduits laid by virtue of this franchise shall be so placed as not to impair the efficient and effective transmission of messages or signals by any other company whose poles are erected, whose wires and cables are strung, or whose conduits are actually laid at the time that poles are to be erected, wires and cables are to be strung, or conduits are to he laid under and by virtue of this franchise.
Section 2. For the purpose of erecting and maintaining poles or oilier supports for said wires or other conductors or for the purpose of laying and maintaining underground said wires, cables, or other conductors, it shall be lawful for the grantee, his successors or assigns, under such regulations and orders as may be prescribed by insular, provincial, or municipal authorities, to make excavations s in any of the public places, lands, roads, highways, alleys, avenues, bridges, or sidewalks in or between or municipalities: Provided, however, That any public place, road, highway, street, lane, alley, avenue, bridge, or sidewalk' disturbed, altered, or changed by reason of the erection of poles or other supports, or the laying underground of wires or other conductors or of conduits shall wherever disturbed, altered, or changed be repaired and replaced in a good, substantial, and workmanlike manner by said grantee, his successors or assigns, to the satisfaction of the insular, provincial, or municipal authorities, as the case may be. Should the grantee, his successors or assigns, Failure to repair after reasonable written notice from said authorities, fail, refuse, or neglect to repair and replace in a good, substantial, and workmanlike manner, to the satisfaction of said Insular, provincial, or municipal authorities, any part of a public place, road, highway, street, lane, alley, avenue, bridge, or sidewalk altered, changed, or disturbed by said grantee, by provincial, or municipal authorities, as the case may be, shall have the right to have the same properly repaired and placed in good order and condition at the cost and expense of the grantee, his successors or assigns.
Section 3. All telephone and telegraph lines and systems for the transmission of messages and signals by means of electricity owned maintained, or operated by the grantees, his successors or assigns, shall be maintained and operated at all times in a complete, modern and first class style as understood in the United States, and it shall further duty of such grantee, his successors or assigns, to modify, improve and change such telephone and telegraph system, or systems, for the transmission of messages and signals by means of electricity, in such manner and to such extent as the progress of science and improvement in the method of transmission of messages and signals by means of electricity may make reasonable and proper.
Section 4. The grantee, his successors or assigns, shall keep a separate account of the gross receipts of the telephone, telegraph, and electrical transmission business transacted by him in each of the municipalities of the Provinces of Albay anad Ambos Camarines, and shall furnish to the Insular Auditor and the Insular Treasurer a copy of such account not later than the thirty first day of July of each year for the twelves months preceding the first day of July. for the purpose of auditing the accounts so rendered to the Insular auditor and the Insular Treasurer all of the books and accounts of the grantee, his successors or assigns, shall be subject to the official inspection of the Insular Auditor, or his authorized representatives, and in the absence of fraud or mistake the audit and approval by the Insular Auditor of the accounts so rendered to him and to the Insular Treasurer shall be final and conclusive evidence as to the amount of said gross receipts.
Section 5. The grantee, his successors or assigns, shall he liable to pay the same taxes on his or their real estate, buildings, and personal property, exclusive of this franchise, as other persons or corporations are now or hereafter may be required by law to pay. In addition, the grantee, his successors or assigns, shall pay in the Insular Treasurer each year, within ten days after the audit and approval of the accounts as prescribed in section four of this Act, two per centum of all gross receipts of the telephone, telegraph, or other electrical transmission business transacted under this franchise by the grantee, his successors or assigns, and the said percentage shall be in lieu of all taxes on the franchise or earnings thereof.
Section 6. As a guaranty that the franchise has been accepted in good faith and that within six months from the dale of the passage of this Act the grantee or his successors or assigns will begin the business of transmitting messages by telephone and will be fully equipped and ready to operate according to the terms of this franchise fifty telephones in the Province of Albay and fifty telephones in the Province of Ambos Camarines.1aшphi1 the said grantee money shall deposit at the time of such acceptance, with the Insular Treasurer, one thousand pesos, or negotiable bonds of the United States or other securities approved by the Secretary of Commerce and Police of the face value of one thousand pesos: Provided, however, That if the deposit is made in money the same shall be deposited at interest in some saving bank approved by the Secretary of Commerce and Police, and all interest accruing and due on such deposit: shall be collected by the insular Treasurer and paid to the grantee, his successors or assigns, on demand: And provided further, That if the deposit made with the Insular Treasurer be negotiable bonds of the United States, or other interest-bearing securities approved by the Secretary of Commerce and Police, the interest on such bonds or securities shall be collected by the Insular Treasurer and paid over to the grantee, his successors or assigns, on demand.
Should the said grantee, his successors or assigns, for any other cause than the act of Clod, the public enemy, usurped power, martial law, riot, civil commotion, or inevitable cause fail, refuse, or neglect to begin within two months from the date of the passage of this Act the business of transmitting messages by telephone, or fail, refuse, or neglect to be fully equipped and ready to operate within six months from the date of the passage of this Act fifty telephones in the Province of Albay and fifty telephones in the Province of Ambos Camarines, according to the terms of this franchise, then the deposit prescribed by this section to be made with the Insular Treasurer, whether in money, bonds, or oilier securities, shall become the property of the Insular Government as liquidated damages Caused to such Government by such failure, refusal, or neglect, and thereafter no interest on said bonds or other securities deposited shall be paid to the grantee, his successors or assigns. Return of deposit. Should the said grantee, his successors or assigns, begin the business of transmitting messages by telephone and be ready to operate fifty telephones in the Province of Albay and fifty telephones in the . Province of Ambos Camarines according to the terms of this franchise within six months from the date of the passage of this Act, then and in that event the deposit prescribed by this section shall be returned by the Insular Government to the grantee, his successors or assigns: Provided, however, That all the time during which the grantee, his successors or assigns, may be prevented from canning out the terms and conditions of this franchise by any of sail! causes shall be added to the time allowed by this franchise for compliance with its provisions.
Section 7. The books and accounts of the grantee, his successors or assign shall be subject to official inspection at any and all times by the Insular Auditor or his authorized representatives.
Section 8. The rights herein granted shall not the exclusive, and the right and power to grant to any corporation, association, or person other than the grantee franchises, for the telephonic, telegraphic, or electrical transmission of messages or signals shall not be impaired granting of this franchise : Provided, That the poles rune', or conduits laid by virtue of any franchise for telegraph or other electrical transmission of messages and granted subsequent to this Act, shall he so placed as not to the efficient and effective transmission of messages or signals under this franchise by means of poles erected, wires strung, or conditions actually laid and in existence at the time of the granting of said subsequent franchise: And provided further, That the grantee of franchise, his successors or assigns, may be required by the Governor-General to remove, relocate, or replace his poles, wires, or conduits, but in such case the reasonable cost of the removal, relocation, or replacement shall be paid by the grantees of the subsequent franchise or their successors or assigns to the grantees of this franchise or their successors, or assigns.
Section 9. The grantee of this franchise, his successors or assigns, shall hold the Insular, provincial, and municipal governments harmless from all claims, accounts, demands, or actions arising out ot accidents or injuries, whether to property or to persons, caused by the construction or operation of the telephone, telegraph, or other electrical transmission system of the said grantee, his successors or assigns.
Section 10. The municipalities of the Provinces of Albay and Ambos Cainarines in which the grantee, his successors or assigns, may establish telephone, telegraph, or any other system of electrical transmission of messages and signals, shall have the privilege of using, without compensation, the conduits and poles of the grantee, its successors or assigns, for the purpose of installing, maintaining, and operating a lire and police telegraph or telephone alarm system, bid the wires of such fire and police telegraph or telephone alarm system shall be so placed, strung, stretched, and insulated as to interfere with the efficient transmission of messages and signals by the grantee, his successors or assigns.
Section 11. Within thirty days after the passage of this Act the grantee shall file with the Secretary of Commerce and Police his written acceptance of the franchise granted by this Act and of all Hip terms and conditions thereof, and the grantee shall begin the construct ion of bis telephone system in the Provinces of Albay and Ambos Caniarines within two months from the date of such acceptance and shall begin the business of transmitting messages by telephone and be fully equipped and ready to operate at least fifty telephones in the Province of Albay and at least fifty telephones in Hie Province of Ambos Camarines within six months from the date of the passage of this Act unless prevented by act of God, the public enemy, usurped or military power, martial law, riot, civil commotion, or inevitable cause.
Failure, refusal or the failure, refusal, or neglect to comply with any of the terms and conditions required of the grantee, his successors or assigns, by this Act, shall subject the franchise to forfeiture unless such failure, refusal, or neglect was directly and primarily caused by act of God, the public enemy, usurped or military power, martial law, riot, civil commotion, or inevitable cause.
Section 12. The grantee, his successors or assigns, shall be entitled to charge such rates as may from time to time be previously approved by the Board of Rate Regulation created by Act Numbered Seventeen hundred and seventy-nine,-entitled "An Act to create a board for the regulation of rates chargeable by public-service corporations in the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes." No subscribers for telephones authorized by this Act shall be obliged to purchase instruments or to make any deposit whatever for telephone installation..
Section 13. The right is hereby reserved to the Government of the Philippine Islands to regulate the rates to be charged by the grantee, his successors or assigns, but any rates which shall be fixed shall be sufficient to yield a reasonable return to the grantee, his successors or assigns, upon the capital invested after making due allowance for maintenance, operation, and other necessary expenses.
Section 14. The grantee may transfer, sell, or assign this franchise to any corporation, organized, or existing under the laws of the Philippine Islands or of any Stale or Territory of the United States, and such corporation shall have the right lo buy and to own said franchise, but the grantee shall not sell, transfer, or assign this franchise to any other person, firm, company, corporation, or other commercial or legal entity without the written approval of the Governor-General first had. Any corporation to which this franchise may be sold, transferred, or assigned shall be subject to the corporation laws of the Philippine Islands now existing or hereafter enacted, and any person, firm, company, corporation, or other commercial or legal entity to which this franchise is sold, transferred, or assigned shall be subject to all the conditions, terms, restrictions, and limitations of this franchise as fully and completely and to the same extent as if die franchise had! been originally granted to the said person, firm, company, corporation, or other commercial or legal entity.
Section 15. This franchise, or concession, is granted subject to creation or repeal amendment, alteration, or repeal by the Congress of the United States; no stock or bonds shall be issued by the grantee, his successors or assigns, hereunder except in exchange for actual cash or for property at a fair valuation equal to the par value of the stock or bonds so issued, and said grantee, bis successors or assigns, shall not . Private property, declare any stock or bond dividend. No private properly shall be taken for any purpose under this franchise without just compensation paid or tendered therefor, and any authority to take and occupy land shall not authorize the taking, use or occupation of any land except such as is required for the actual necessary purposes Reversion of land for which this franchise is granted. All lands, or rights of use and occupation of lands, granted to the grantee, his successors or assigns,, shall, upon the termination of this franchise or upon its revocation or repeal, revert to the Insular Government or to the provincial or municipal government to which such lands or the right to use and occupy them belonged at the time the grant thereof or the right to use or occupy the same was conceded to the grantee, his successors or assigns.
The foregoing and all other terms and provisions of section seventy-four of the Act of Congress approved July first, nineteen hundred and two, which are applicable to grantees of franchises or concessions, or to their successors or assigns, are incorporated into and made a part hereof, with the same effect as if they were set forth herein at length.
Section 16. This Act shall take effect on its passage.
Enacted, May 20, 1908.
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