[ Act No. 3027, March 08, 1922 ]
AN ACT TO PROTECT THE AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS FROM INJURIOUS PLANT PESTS AND DISEASES EXISTING IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES AND FURTHER TO REGULATE THE DOMESTIC MOVEMENT OF PLANT MATERIALS IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE THE INJURY FROM PESTS AND DISEASES ALREADY INTRODUCED
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. The importation into the Philippine Islands of all plant materials or parts thereof, or of soil or any material whatever either by itself or used as packing or covering material which may be a source or medium of infection or infestation by diseases or insects or other animals destructive to agriculture or a medium for the introduction of noxious weeds, is hereby prohibited, except through such ports as may be designated, and subject to such rules and regulations as may from time to time be prescribed by the Director of Agriculture and approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.ℒαwρhi৷
Section 2. The Director of Agriculture, if the best interests of the service so require, shall cause to be inspected and certified all plant materials or parts thereof, or soil or any material whatsoever used for packing or covering such plant materials intended for exportation.
Section 3. The importer or importers, or their agents of such plant materials shall make a declaration on a regular official form to the Collector of Customs at or before the time of entry. Such a declaration shall show the names and addresses of the consignor and the consignee, the nature and quantity of the plant materials which it is desired to import, the country and locality where the same was grown, the place and date of embarkation, and the registered name of the vessel carrying the consignment.
Section 4. It shall be the duty of the Collector of Customs, at the port of entry, promptly to notify the Director of Agriculture or his authorized representative of the arrival of any plant materials.
Section 5. It shall be the duty of the Director of Agriculture to cause to be inspected promptly all importations of plant materials to determine the presence or absence of injurious insects and diseases, or to take such other action as is necessary. For the purpose of enforcing this law, the Director of Agriculture or his representatives are hereby authorized and empowered to enter at any time into any car, warehouse, pier, depot, or upon any ship or other vessels within the jurisdictional territory or water of the Philippine Islands, whether in the stream or at the dock, wharf, mole or any other place where plant materials are received. The Director of Agriculture or his representative may cause to be fumigated and disinfected such plant materials as may be determined or suspected to be infested by such insects or diseases, and such fumigation and disinfection shall be at the expense and responsibility of the importer and under the supervision of a representative of the Director of Agriculture. In the case of plant materials infested with extremely dangerous insects or diseases, the Director of Agriculture is authorized to cause such plant materials to be returned to the country of their origin, or to be destroyed at the port of entry according to the wishes of the importer; in either case the cost shall be borne by the importer.
Section 6. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation, in any manner or by any means, to remove or carry any plant material from the place of landing, until such material has been inspected and passed by the Director of Agriculture or his authorized representative and so is free to enter.
Section 7. The Director of Agriculture is further authorized to prohibit entirely the importation of certain classes of plants or any or all parts of said plants, or other possible carriers of infestation whether visibly infested or not, when information has been received by him showing that dangerous insects or diseases exist in the countries of origin (including not only where the material was raised but also those where it has gone through), and the presence of said insects or diseases cannot be readily and economically determined on such incoming plant materials.
Section 8. It shall be the duty of the Director of Posts promptly to notify the Director of Agriculture of the arrival in the mails of plant materials from foreign countries. The Director of Agriculture shall cause the prompt examination of such plant materials as reported, and such necessary action thereon as is in accordance with the provisions of this Act: Provided, That such examination shall be made in the presence of the postmaster or such other person as may be designated by the Director of Posts.
Section 9. Tn order to allow the importation of plant materials which may promote progress in our agricultural industries, the Director of Agriculture, other provisions to the contrary notwithstanding, may introduce or cause to be introduced plant materials from foreign countries, under due and necessary precautions, to exclude dangerous insects and disease.s and noxious weeds. Persons, firms or corporations desiring to introduce such foreign plant materials may be permitted to do so at the discretion of, and under such directions as may be prescribed by, the Director of Agriculture.
Section 10. In cases where dangerous insects or diseases have already become established in a restricted locality, or in but few localities, and where further dissemination and general prevalence of the infestation would cause serious economic losses, the Director of Agriculture, shall, subject to the approval of the Department Secretary, make and enforce such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary to protect the agricultural interests in any district, and is further given authority to regulate or entirely prohibit the movement of affected plant materials or such other materials that may serve as a means of dissemination of infestation from such infested localities, provinces or islands to unaffected localities, provinces or islands.
Section 11. Regulations governing the importation and internal movements of plant materials shall be issued as administrative orders of the Director of Agriculture, with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Section 12. Upon the request of the Director of Agriculture it shall be the duty of the Chief of Constabulary and the provincial and municipal officials to assist in the enforcement of the administrative orders promulgated under this Act.
Section 13. Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate , any of the provisions of this Act, or who shall forge, counterfeit, alter, deface, or destroy any certificate, regulation or any other legal paper issued by virtue of this Act shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand pesos, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Section 14. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, there shall be appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, upon the recommendation of the Director of Agriculture, from the Bureau of Agriculture and other Bureaus of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, a Plant Quarantine Board of five members, who shall serve without additional compensation, but shall be allowed the necessary expenses for travel and subsistence in the performance of their duties under this Act. It shall be the duty of the Plant Quarantine Board to advise the Director of Agriculture regarding the necessary administrative orders and the carrying out of the terms of this Act.
Section 15. For the expenses of the Director of Agriculture and the Plant Quarantine Board under this Act, there is hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of six thousand pesos annually: Provided, That the unused funds are to revert to the Insular Treasury at the end of each fiscal year.
Section 16. Act Numbered Twenty-five hundred and fifteen is hereby repealed.
Section 17. This Act shall take effect on its approval.
Approved, March 8, 1922.
The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation
