[ Act No. 2765, March 02, 1918 ]
AN ACT GRANTING A FRANCHISE TO JUAN VIDAURAZAGA TO CONSTRUCT AND, FOR A PERIOD OF FIFTY YEARS, TO MAINTAIN AND OPERATE BY STEAM OR OTHER POWER AN AERIAL TRAMWAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE METERS IN LENGTH FROM A POINT APPROXIMATELY TWENTY-FOUR METERS FROM THE RESIDENCE OF THE GRANTEE WHICH IS LOCATED NEAR THE PROPOSED SUGAR CENTRAL TO THE OPPOSITE BANK OF THE HOG RIVER, KABANKALAN, OCCIDENTAL NEGROS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Legislature assembled and by the authority of the same:
Section 1. Juan Vidaurazaga, a resident of the Philippine Islands, upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set out, is hereby authorized to construct and, for a period of fifty years after the approval of this Act, to maintain and operate by steam or other mechanical power an aerial tramway one hundred and five meters in length from a point approximately twenty-four meters from the residence of the grantee, which is located near the present old mill and the proposed sugar central of the San Isidro Hacienda, to the opposite bank of the Hog River, Kabankalan, Occidental Negros, including such anchorages and supporting towers as may be necessary for the proper operation of the aerial tramway. The tariff of charges of the grantee, his successors or assigns shall be subject to regulation by the 1 Public Utility Commission or its lawful successors, and the service furnished by the same shall also be subject to inspection and regulation by said Commission. This franchise shall not take effect until the grantee shall have obtained from the Public Utility Commission a certificate showing the public necessity and convenience of the same, in accordance with the purpose of section twenty-three of Act Numbered Twenty-three hundred and seven, as amended, and shall have filed such certificate with the Secretary of Commerce and Communications upon accepting this franchise: Provided, That if the grantee does not file the proper application for the certificate mentioned with the Public Utility Commission within three months from and after the date of the approval of this Act, this franchise shall become null and void.
Section 2. The franchise granted in the preceding section shall not take effect unless the grantee, his successors, or assigns shall accept in writing and make part of this concession the following condition, to wit:
"That the grantee, his successors or assigns, state in writing that they are informed of the message of the President of the United States addressed to the Filipino people and communicated to said people by the Governor-General of the Philippine Islands on the sixth day of October, nineteen hundred and thirteen, and of the reply message of the Philippine Assembly made in the name of the Filipino people and approved and sent on October sixteenth, nineteen hundred and thirteen; that said grantee, his successors or assigns, bind themselves not to engage in or aid, by means of contributions in cash or otherwise, any propaganda directed against the policy of the Government of the United States outlined in such message of the President and the aspirations of the Filipino people set forth in said reply message of the Philippine Assembly, whether under the pretext of vested interests or under any other pretext, and that said grantee, his successors or assigns, shall further bind themselves to exact a similar engagement from their administrators, agents, successors, and assigns."
Section 3. The aerial tramway shall be of the cable system, with necessary stations for power and for receiving and discharging sugar cane, and shall be constructed upon a right of way selected by the grantee and approved by the Director of Public Works: Provided, however. That should it be necessary in the construction thereof to occupy lands of private ownership, the same shall be occupied only after they have been legally acquired by the grantee.
Section 4. The tramway, including the stations, supporting towers, cables, cars, and other accessories, shall be so constructed as not to interfere with navigation upon the Hog River.
Section 5. The tramway shall be constructed in accordance with plans to be presented by the grantee and approved in writing by the Director of Public Works. These plans shall be presented within three months after the date of securing the certificate required in section one of this Act, and the failure to do so shall produce the avoidance or forfeiture of this franchise. In the construction of the tramway and accessories, the grantee shall use the utmost precaution and shall do nothing to either delay or endanger navigation.
Section 6. Before opening the said aerial tramway to the public, the grantee shall give written notice to the Director of Public Works to the effect that said tramway is ready for the transportation of passengers and merchandise. The Director of Public Works, upon receipt of this notice, shall forthwith order the immediate examination of said tramway, and if he finds the same to be constructed in accordance with the requirements of this Act and properly completed and safe for the public service, he shall so inform the Public Utility Commission and recommend that its operation be authorized.
Section 7. The grantee shall be under a continuing obligation to keep in good repair the aerial tramway and its structures.
Section 8. The construction, operation, and maintenance of the aerial tramway system herein provided for shall be subject to the following terms, conditions, and limitations:
(a) The grantee shall file a petition describing the land he desires to obtain from the public domain, showing that the land is properly necessary for the enjoyment of the franchise to construct and maintain the aerial tramway herein described, and praying that the same be conveyed to him for the uses and purposes of said franchise. This petition shall be accompanied by a plot and survey of the land described in the petition. The Director of Public Works, after an examination of the petition and the plot, and after taking evidence, if necessary, shall, if he finds that the land petitioned for is necessary and proper for the enjoyment of the franchise herein granted, approve the same. The Director of Public Works shall then forward the petition with his approval to the Director of Lands, who shall, after due investigation, determine whether the land sought is public land and shall certify his finding to the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, who, if satisfied as to the propriety and legality of granting the petition, shall grant the owner of the franchise permission to occupy and use said land for the purpose of the franchise.
(b) The permission to use the land shall be in writing and shall contain a clause providing for the reversion of the land to the Government of the Philippine Islands upon the expiration of the term of this franchise.
(c) The grantee, his lessees, successors, and assigns shall be required to adjust all breakdowns of the tramway with the utmost dispatch, when such breakdowns are dangerous to the public and interfere with navigation.
(d) The grantee shall hold the Government harmless from all claims, accounts, demands, or actions arising out of accidents or injuries or delays, whether to persons or property, caused by the construction or operation of the tramway.
Section 9. Within thirty days after the plans of the tramway furnished by the grantee are returned to him by the Director of Public Works finally approved, the grantee shall file with the Secretary of Commerce and Communications his acceptance in writing of the franchise hereby granted, together with the certificate of public necessity and convenience required in section one of this Act, and shall at the same time deposit in the Insular Treasury the sum of two thousand pesos, or negotiable bonds of the same value approved by the Secretary of Commerce and Communications. This deposit of two thousand pesos shall be made as an earnest of the good faith of the grantee and that he will begin the construction of said tramway within two months from and after the said acceptance and will complete it and have it in operation for the public service in its entire extent within six months from and after the date of said acceptance: Provided, That if said construction is begun within the time specified, the sum deposited may be returned to the grantee as the work progresses, in monthly installments, in the proportion which the work done bears to the entire project: Provided, further, That if the work to be done under this franchise has not been begun within the period specified or completed within the time prescribed, the aforesaid deposit shall be forfeited to the Insular Government as damages for the breach of the contract involved in the acceptance of the franchise, and this franchise shall become null and void.
Section 10. In consideration of the franchise hereby granted, one-fourth of one per centum of the gross earnings of the grantee during the first twenty years, and two and one-half per centum during the remainder of the franchise, shall be paid quarterly into the Insular Treasury in lieu of all Insular, provincial, and municipal taxes on the franchise and privileges granted hereunder, except the real-estate taxes.
Section 11. The books and accounts of the grantee, his lessees, successors or assigns shall at all times be open to inspection and examination by the Insular Auditor or his duly authorized representative, and after beginning the operation of said tramway, it shall be the duty of the grantee, his lessees, successors or assigns to send to the Insular Auditor and the Director of Public Works quarterly reports, in duplicate, showing the gross receipts and all expenses made on account of the tramway, and any other data that may be required by the Insular Auditor or the Director of Public Works, who shall keep the same on file.ℒαwρhi৷
Section 12. No stock or bonds shall be issued by the grantee, his lessees, successors, and 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, his successors or assigns, shall not declare any stock or bond dividend.
Section 13. The grantee may, with the prior approval of the Public Utility Commission or its lawful successors, sell, lease, give, grant, convey, or assign the franchise granted him by this Act and all property and rights acquired thereunder, to any person, company or corporation competent to carry on the business authorized therein, but no title to the franchise or to the property or rights acquired thereunder shall pass by sale, lease, donation, grant, conveyance, or assignment to the vendee, donee, assignee, or lessee, nor shall the same be enjoyed by him- until he shall have filed in the office of the Secretary of Commerce and Communications an agreement in writing binding himself to comply with all the terms and conditions imposed upon the grantee by the franchise and accepting the franchise subject to all its existing terms and conditions.
Section 14. This franchise is hereby granted with the understanding and upon the condition that it shall be subject in all respects to the limitations upon corporations and the granting of franchises contained in the Act of Congress approved August twenty-ninth, nineteen hundred and sixteen, entitled "An Act to declare the purpose of the people of the United States as to the future political status of the people of the Philippine Islands, and to provide a more autonomous government for those Islands."
Section 15. The Secretary of Commerce and Communications, on recommendation of the Director of Public Works, after hearing the grantee, shall have the power, with the approval of the Governor-General, to declare the forfeiture of this franchise for failure to comply with any of the terms and conditions thereof, unless such failure shall have been directly or primarily caused by act of God, the public enemy, or force majeure. Against such declaration of forfeiture the grantee may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for such relief as to him may seem proper, but if no such application is made within sixty days after the forfeiture has been declared by the Secretary of Commerce and Communications and approved by the Governor-General, the right to apply to the courts shall be considered waived.
Section 16. Whenever in this franchise the term "grantee" is used, it shall be held and understood to mean and represent the said Juan Vidaurazaga, his representatives, successors, or assigns.
Section 17. This Act shall take effect on its approval.
Approved, March 2, 1918.
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