[ Act No. 2494, February 05, 1915 ]

AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR PUBLIC WORKS AND PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Legislature, that:

Section 1. The following sums, or such part thereof as Appropriation, may be necessary, are hereby appropriated, cat of any funds in the Insular Treasury from the sale of bonds for public works or permanent improvements, and in default thereof, out of any funds in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for public works and permanent improvements as mentioned hereunder, and for other purposes of the Insular Government:

EXECUTIVE BUREAU.

(a) National monuments.-For the improvement and maintenance of the monument dedicated to the heroes of the construction of an adjacent park to said monument, the construction of its connections with Manila and Caloocan, once definitely fixed by the Governor-General the most adequate site for said monument, and for the improvement and maintenance of other historical monuments, which in addition to said monument dedicated to the heroes of '96, their parks and connections shall be under the care of the Executive Secretary: Provided, That the city of Manila and any provincial board affected shall be authorized to appropriate from their fuiiids of any kind whatsoever, any sum approved by the Executive Secretary, to aid in the construction of the specified work herein, and such city of Manila and provincial boards affected shall be likewise authorized to ;, collect public subscriptions to be destined to the same object, whenever necessary P50,000.00
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BUREAU OF HEALTH.(awÞhi(

(b) For necessary and indispensable repairs and improvements at Insular hospitals, including building and equipment of a new sanitary kitchen at San Lazaro Hospital 25,000.00
(c) For the construction and equipment of buildings for the lodgment and isolation of suspected cases and leper convalescents in the city of Manila 15,000.00
(d) For (continuance of construction at Culion, including not to exceed P3,000 for installation of a wireless station 25,000.00
_________
Total for the Bureau of Health 65,000.00
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BUREAU OF LANDS.(awÞhi(

(e) For the repair and reconstruction of the friar lands irrigation systems: Provided, That P25,000 shall also be made available for this purpose by allotment from all profits which heretofore may have been realized from friar lands loans: And provided. further, That reimbursements to the general appropriation made for the Bureau of Lands arising under section seven of Act Numbered Seventeen hundred and thirty-six may also be available in the fiscal year nineteen hundred and fifteen for the foregoing purposes 35,000.00
(f) For filling up the estero and nearby lowlands on the northern part of the Calle de Isaac Peral, Manila 8,000.00
_________
Total for the Bureau of Lands 43,000.00
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BUREAU OF SCIENCE.

(g) For the improvement of the aquarium 2,000.00

BUREAU OF FORESTRY.

(h) For building for recitation rooms, laboratory and other purposes for forest: school at Los Baņos 10,000.00
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BUREAU OF QUARANTINE SERVICE.

(i) For the necessary and indispensable repair of quarantine stations, buildings and structures 3,000.00
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BUREAU OF CONSTABULARY.

(j) For the construction of a comandancia for the Constabulary at Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija 5,000.00
(k) For the reconstruction, alteration, and improvement of the barracks of the Constabulary at Naga, Ambos Camarines; at Ilagan, Isabela; at Santa Cruz, Laguna; at Lingayen, Pangasinan; at Catbalogan, Samar; at Sorsogon, Sorsogon; for repairs, Laoag, Ilocos Norte; Malolos, Bulacan; Banaue, Mountain Province; Bontoc, Mountain Province; Dapitan. District of Mindanao; Cotabato, Mmdanao; Zamboanga, Mindanao; Puerto Princesa, Palawan; Balabac; for repairs and painting of permanent buildings at Baguio; and for repairs to other buildings occupied by the Constabulary to be expended in the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce and Police 10,858.00
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Total for the Bureau of Constabulary 15,858.00
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BUREAU OF PUBLIC WORKS.

(l) For the construction, improvement, and where necessary for the maintenance of roads arid bridges in such provinces as shall accept the provisions of Act Numbered Sixteen hundred and fifty-two, which by a resolution of the provincial board shall guarantee by continuing annual appropriations the establishment of a system of maintenance as may be necessary in the opinion of the Director of Public Works, on all first-class roads, at present constructed or which in future may be constructed, and are so declared by the Director of Public Works, including the construction, improvement, and maintenance of roads and bridges in the Provinces of Palawan and Batanes, and in the provinces organized under Act Numbered Twenty-four hundred and eight to be apportioned in proportion to the number of inhabitants of each province: Provided, That the continuing annual apportionment of five hundred thousand pesos created by section one of Act Numbered Nineteen hundred and eighty-eigrht, is hereby abolished to take effect January first, nineteen hundred and sixteen 1,500,000.00
(m) For the construction, improvement, and where necessary the maintenance of roads and bridges in the provinces accepting the provisions of Act Numbered Sixteen hundred and fifty-two, and that by resolution of the provincial board shall guarantee by annual appropriation the establishment of such system of maintenance as may be necessary in the judgment of the Director of Public Works on all first-class roads now constructed or which may be constructed in the future and declared as such by the Director of Public Works and in the provinces organized under the Special Provincial Government Act, and in the provinces organized under Act Numbered Twenty-four hundred and eight, which shall be distributed amongst the provinces which have not so far received special apportionments or which have receiwed such apportionments in less than fifty per centum if such apportionments had been made on the basis of the regular apportionments, in the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce and Police 300,000.00
(n) For the construction of roads, bridges, and waterworks in the Province of Mindoro 30,000.00
(o) For the construction, reconstruction, and improvement of wharves, piers, retaining walls, dams, and dredgings in the different districts of the Archipelago, including the purchase of necessary equipment to be apportioned in the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce and Police 300,000.00
(p) Artesian wells and waterworks systems.-For the drilling of artesian wells and the establishment of a waterworks system whenever the provinces or municipalities concerned including those organized under Act Numbered Twenty-four hundred and eight and under the Special Provincial Government Act, shall adopt resolutions for the appropriation of funds covering the cost of one-third of the cost of the work, to be apportioned in the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce and Police: Provided, That the Director of Public Works is hereby authorized to drill wells for private parties upon the payment of one-third of the cost of the work and upon the condition that the public shall be permitted continuous use of the well: Provided further, That any municipality or provincial board that by virtue of the provisions of this Act shall incur in the expense of an artesian well resulting in a failure, shall have returned the amounts expended, if any, and are hereby relieved of the obligation contracted by them for the payment thereof: Provided further, That funds appropriated by provinces or municipalities to cover the cost of one-third part of the work shall be covered, unless otherwise provided by this Act, into the Insular Treasury upon the fixing by the Director of Public Works of the amount thereof; and for the study and construction of municipal systems of waterworks, whenever the provincial boards or municipalities concerned shall adopt resolutions for the appropriation of funds covering the cost of one-third part of the work to be apportioned in the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce and Police: Provided, That the funds appropriated by the provinces and municipalities to cover the cost of one-third part of the work shall be covered into the Insular Treasury, ' whenever the Director of Public Works shall have fixed the amount thereof: Provided, finally, That provinces organized under Act Numbered Twenty-four hundred and eight shall be entitled to the benefits of these provisions 350,000.00

(q) For salaries and wages, Bureau of Public Works, to offset the reduction of ten per centum for vacancies, salaries, and wages, Bureau of Public Works, Act Numbered Twenty-four hundred and thirty-one, seventy-one thousand two hundred and fifty-eight pesos and forty centavos: Provided, however, That this sum shall be distributed among projects as part of the general administrative expenses of the Bureau in accordance with the following provision of Act Numbered Twenty-four hundred and thirty-one:

"Provided, That the total herein appropriated for administrative expenses and direct charges, shall be offset by the automatic reversion to the general unappropriated surplus of all income and receipts of whatever nature resulting from the correct allocation of costs to each project: * * *"

SPECIAL WORKS.

(r) For the survey work in relation with the establishment of the permanent lines of bays, rivers, and estuaries in ports of entry including the projected canal communicating the Bay of Misamis and the sea to south of Tucuran, Island of Mindanao 15,000.00
(s) For the expenses in the investigation of applications for irrigation or water rights submitted to the irrigation council 10,000.00
(t) For the necessary and indispensable repairs to public buildings to be expended in the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce and Police 50,000.00
(u) For the construction of a building for the customhouse and port works of Iloilo, Province of Iloilo, and for the maintenance and improvement of the roads leading to the wharves of said port 200,000.00
(v) For the termination of Insular improvements under construction and for the maintenance of terminated improvements, continuation of wharves and other improvements projected by fotifier laws, maintenance of roads constructed across Insular lands adjactent to wharves and of roads leading1 to such lands, in other ports of entry to be expended in the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce and Police 200,000.00
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Total for the Bureau of Public Works 2,955,000.00
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BUREAU OF POSTS.

(w) For the construction of telegraph lines 30,000.00
(x) For : he purchase of cable and construction of cable lines 50,000.00
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Total for the Bureau of Posts 80,000.00

BUREAU OF CUSTOMS.

(y) For the construction and reconstruction of stations, buoys, lighthouses, and beacons 40,000.00
(z) For reimbursement to the provincial treasury of La Union of the amount of three parcels of land in the municipality of San Fernando, La Union, for lighthouse purposes 1,442.40
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Total for the Bureau of Customs 41,442.40
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BUREAU OF EDUCATION.

(aa) To aid the municipal governments in the construction and repair of central school buildings and intermediate school buildings to be apportioned by the Secretary of Public Instruction 150,000.00
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BUREAU OF PRISONS.

(bb) For the construction of a tuberculosisstation, Iwahig penal colony 4,000.00
(cc) For the construction of a woman's building at Bilibid Prison 17,000.00
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Total for the Bureau of Prisons 21,000.00
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BUREAU OF PRINTING.

(dd) For the construction of a building for new power plant 16,000.00
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UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES.

(ee) For the construction of a house for the curing of tobacco for the College of Agriculture at Los Baņos, Laguna 4,000.00
(ff) For the construction of a chemical laboratory, College of Liberal Arts, Manila 30,000.00
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Total for the University of the Philippines 34,000.00
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POSTIGO BUILDING.

(gg) For the reconstruction of the Postigo Building and the addition of a new floor for the records of the Courts of First Instance and the Supreme Court 65,000.00
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Total appropriations made by this section 3,551,300.40

Section 2. The different appropriations made in subsections (c) and (d) of section two and subsection (b) of section three both of Act Numbered Twenty-two hundred and sixty-four and in section two of Act Numbered Twenty-three hundred and seventy-eight and subsection (p) of section two of Act Numbered Two thousand two hundred and sixty-four not heretofore expended, are hereby declared available as if such appropriations had been made by this Act for the same purposes.

Section 3. Authorization is hereby granted for the construction of a building, to furnish legislative offices and halls and such other governmental offices as the Governor-General may designate, to be situated at the Plaza de Mc-Kinley in the city of Manila, said building to be constructed with funds loaned from the gold standard fund in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c), section three of Act Numbered Two thousand and eighty-three, as amended: Provided, That for the year nineteen hundred and fifteen, not to exceed five hundred thousand pesos shall be expended for this purpose: And provided further, That the Director of Public Works may enter upon the construction of said building, either by contract or administration, in the discretion of the Governor-General, whether the total amount necessary to complete the building is immediately available or not, all provisions of existing law to the contrary notwithstanding.  Authorization is also hereby granted for the construction in the reclaimed district of buildings for a customhouse, including the necessary equipment and plant; the construction of a breakwater or bulkhead with sheds for cargo on the water front in the vicinity of piers numbered three and five of Manila Bay; the acquisition of equipment for said sheds; for the construction of railroads and other public works and improvements on the reclaimed area: Provided, That said buildings, breakwater, sheds, equipment, and other public works shall cost not to exceed one million five hundred thousand pesos.

Said buildings, equipment, and plant to be paid for with funds loaned from the gold standard fund in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c), section three of Act Numbered Two thousand and eighty-three as  amended: Provided, That the Director of Public Works may enter upon the construction of said buildings and plant and acquisition of said equipment either by contract or administration in the discretion of the Governor-General, whether the total amount necessary to complete the buildings and plant or acquire the equipment is available or not, the provisions of existing law to the contrary notwithstanding: Provided further, That upon the completion of the construction of such buildings, the Governor-General is hereby authorized and empowered to negotiate the sale, cession, or transfer of the present internal revenue and customs buildings in such form and upon such conditions as the Legislature may authorize by law if it is deemed that such sale, cession, or transfer would be advisable to the public interest: Provided further, That the proceeds of the sale of said present buildings shall be deposited in the Insular Treasury and shall constitute a special fund in trust for the amortization of the loans acquired from the gold standard fund: And provided finally, That if the proceeds of the sa a are not sufficient to pay the loan contracted from the 'gold standard fund, one-tenth part of the necessary sum to cover such loan and interest thereon for the period of ten years shall be deemed to have been appropriated annually from the general surplus of the Insular Government.

Section 4. All balances of the different appropriations made by this Act unexpended on the thirtieth of June, nineteen hundred and sixteen, shall be reverted to the unappropriated funds in the Insular Treasury, and thereafter shall not be available for withdrawal or expenditure except upon appropriation by the Legislature.

Section 5. Whenever the Governor-General shall believe that the probable revenues of the Insular Government will not be sufficient to cover the projects provided for in this Act, he may suspend in whole or in part temporarily or definitely to the end of the fiscal year the construction of any specified project, or projects provided for in this Act until otherwise ordered by the Legislature.

Section 6. This Act shall take effect on its passage.

Enacted, February 5, 1915.


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