[ REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1411, September 10, 1955 ]
AN ACT APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR PUBLIC WORKS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
Section 1. Long-range Program of Capital Improvements.—For the purpose of implementing the 1955-1956 phase of the long-range program of capital improvements of the Administration as contained in Appendix A hereof the following sums or so much thereof as may be necessary are hereby appropriated out of the General Funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for projects indicated opposite the General Revenue (GR) Finance Method, subject to the provisions hereinafter set forth, for the purposes mentioned hereunder: Provided, That in the allocation of funds for projects in this section, priority shall be given to projects already commenced or are continuing in character:
[Itemized items omitted due to lack of space]
| Total |
(₱810,000.00) |
|
|
============== |
|
| Total for Miscellaneous |
₱3,620,000.00 |
|
|
________________ |
|
| Total for Section 1 |
₱36,786,200.00 |
|
|
============== |
|
Section 2. Short-term Projects.—The following sums or so much thereof as may be necessary are hereby appropriated out of the General Funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for short-term projects, subject to the provisions hereinafter set forth, for the purposes mentioned hereunder: Provided, That all waterworks and artesian wells projects herein authorized shall be undertaken by the National Waterworks and Sewerage Authority:
[Itemized items omitted due to lack of space]
| Total for Section 2 |
₱22,211,700.00 |
|
Section 3. School Building Program Under Republic Act No. 836.—For the purpose of implementing Republic Act Numbered Eight hundred and thirty-six, the provision of the same as to method of financing to the contrary notwithstanding, the Secretary of Finance is hereby authorized to borrow the necessary funds to carry out the purposes of said Act under the authority granted by either Republic Numbered Two hundred and forty-five or Republic Numbered One thousand. The schedules herein itemized are approved in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act Numbered Eight hundred and thirty-six and the sums indicated thereunder are hereby appropriated:
[Itemized items omitted due to lack of space]
| Total |
₱96,000.00 |
|
|
============== |
|
| Total for Section 3 |
₱20,000,000.00 |
|
|
============== |
|
Section 4. Public Works Projects To Be Financed From Bond Issue.—The following sums or so much thereof as may be necessary are hereby appropriated from the proceeds of the sales of bonds to be issued under Republic Act Numbered One thousand, and/or from loans, that may be negotiated under existing laws, to be allocated by the
President of the Philippines under the terms thereof and subject to such rules and regulations as he may prescribe:
[Itemized items omitted due to lack of space]
| Total for Portworks |
₱8,828,000.00 |
|
|
============== |
|
| Total amount authorized from Bond |
| Issue |
₱222,266,000.00 |
|
|
============== |
|
Section 5. Apportionment of Portworks Special Fund.— The following sums or so much thereof as may be necessary are hereby apportioned and authorized to be released °ut of the construction portion of the Portworks Special Fund that have accrued under Act Numbered Three thousand five hundred and ninety-two, as amended by Commonwealth Act Numbered One hundred and thirty, not otherwise apportioned and released, for portworks projects contained in the 1955-1956 phase of the Five. year Program of Capital Improvements and indicated opposite Financing Method "130", to be disbursed by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications pursuant to the provisions hereinafter set forth, for the purposes mentioned hereunder:
[Itemized items omitted due to lack of space]
| Total Appropriations from Portworks Fund |
₱4,875,000.00 |
|
|
============== |
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SPECIAL PROVISIONS
Section 6. Authority to Parent-Teacher Associations to Undertake Work on School Building Projects.—Any school building project for which funds amounting to four thousand pesos or more have been allocated shall be executed through public bidding in accordance with the usual contract procedures of the Bureau of Public Works. If there are no bidders or if the project can be executed at a reasonably lower cost than the lowest bid, such project shall be executed by administration, upon the approval of the highway district engineer without the necessity of securing the usual permit from the Office of the President through the Secretary of Public Works and Communications and the General Auditing Office. Provided, That in such case, preference shall be given to members of Parent-Teachers Associations in the construction thereof, and the work shall be undertaken with the intervention of the District Highway Engineer's Office only in an advisory capacity and to acquire such data or information as to enable him to prepare a cost-performance report thereon: Provided, further, That in communities where there is adequate supply of local materials, the Parent-Teacher Associations concerned may supply such construction materials as may be found advantageous in the prosecution of the work.
Section 7. Self-help Projects.—Projects of local character for the improvement and benefit of the rural areas are hereby declared as self-help projects if done by administration, and the wage rate of laborers employed in such projects, if and when claimed by them, shall not be less than prescribed by law for agricultural laborers who shall he given preference in employment in such projects.
Section 8. Suspension of Work by Administration Before General Elections.—Within the period of forty-five days before every general elections, no laborer shall be employed or money spent on any project authorized under this Act, even if the money is already actually released at the beginning of such period except for:
a. Work awarded by contract before or during the period: Provided, That work undertaken under the so-called "takay" or "paquiao" system shall not be considered as work by contract.
b. Payment for the usual costs of preparation of working drawings, specifications, bills of materials, estimates, and other procedures preparatory to actual construction, including the purchase of materials and equipment, and all incidental expenses for wages of watchmen and other laborers employed for such work in the central offices and field storehouses before the beginning of such period: Provided, That the number of such laborers shall not be increased beyond that employed when the project or projects were commenced.
c. Emergency work necessitated by the occurence of a public calamity within the 45-day period.
Section 9. Engineering Surcharges.—All provincial engineering surcharges on projects provided herein shall not exceed four per cent.
Section 10. Program of Work Required Before Prosecuting Public Works.—Before prosecuting any public works the district, city or project engineer concerned shall prepare a program of work including, among other things, the total cost of materials and of the labor required, the anticipated duration of the work in men-days, the margin of contingencies above his estimates if the work is to be undertaken by administration, and in addition, an estimate of what he deems is a reasonable profit for the contractor if the work is to be undertaken by contract. In no case, however, shall this margin of contingencies be more than ten per cent of the cost of the work if undertaken by administration, or more than fifteen per cent if undertaken by contract. He shall, however, be allowed to submit a revised program of work before the completion of the project if, due to unfor-seen fluctuation in price of labor and materials or other such circumstances, it becomes evident that he cannot successfully accomplish his original program. With the exception of projects the estimated cost of which is four thousand pesos or less, under no circumstance shall the district or city engineer start work without first obtaining approval of said program from the Head of the Bureau concerned, or his representative, not lower in rank than that of a Division Engineer, and no program of work for individual projects requiring site investigation and survey and the preparation of special construction plans based thereon shall be approved unless such plans are made the basis of the program. The Auditor General or his authorized representative shall have access to the program of work or other data required in this section.
Section 11. Purchase of Building Sites Included in Appropriations.—Any appropriation herein authorized for the construction of buildings shall be understood as including the acquisition or purchase of sites, if such acquisition or purchase is necessary for the prosecution and completion of the project.
Section 12. Use of Public Works Funds to Pay Overdraft or Purchase of Automobiles Prohibited.—No appropriation herein authorized shall be used to pay obligations or overdraft previously incurred, and no such appropriation shall be made available for the purchase of office equipment supplies and automobiles or station wagons, neither shall such appropriations be used to pay salaries of employee except those directly connected with the work or project and as otherwise specifically provided in Title I, Sec. 1 of this Act.
Section 13. Purchase of Materials, Equipment and Supplies for Buildings, Waterworks and Artesian Wells.—The sums necessary for the Purchase of materials, equipment and supplies, including galvanized iron or other roofing materials and other common-use building materials, for the construction of the various individual projects for buildings under Title A, for artesian wells under Title C, for waterworks systems under Title D, and particularly asphalt cement and reinforcing steel for highways under Title B of section one of this Act may be released in advance and pooled in lump sum and disbursed by the Disbursing Officer of the Bureau concerned so that wholesale purchases may be made, instead of the usual piecemeal acquisition of materials, equipment and supplies by individual projects, in order to effect a reduction in prices and avoid delays in construction resulting from the testing of every piecemeal purchase. After such wholesale purchase are made, the Head of the Bureau concerned shall distribute the materials, equipment and supplies in accordance with individual project needs; Provided, however, that in no case may an allotment for any project for any district be reduced or transferred to any project outside the district.
Section 14. Re-adjustment of Contracts.—All constructs for the furnishing of materials, supplies and equipment, or for the construction, reconstruction, improvement or repair of any building, road, bridge, or other structure authorized in this Act, executed by the government with private persons, associations or corporations shall contain a provision that should the government at any time during the effectivity of any such contract impose or abolish any tax, customs duties, license, imposts, fee or other similar charges, or enact, amend or repeal any law affecting the number of hours of labor permissible a day or the wages or salaries to be paid to laborers, which directly increase or decrease the cost of materials, supplies and equipment or the cost of the construction work, beyond or under the amount stipulated in the contract, the said amount shall be readjusted by adding thereto or subtracting therefrom a sum equivalent to the increase or decrease represented by the tax, duty, license, impost, fee or other charge, or the difference in the cost of labor as a result of the change in the number of working hours or of the wage hours or salary.
Section 15. Status of Five-year Capital Improvement program.—The Five-year Capital Improvement Program and Estimates annexed hereto as Appendix A is hereby an proved and shall serve as the official guide of the proper Department Head in undertaking constructions, investigation, survey and preliminary studies, including design and preparation of final estimates, plans and specifications for individual structures that may be undertaken in advance with funds authorized under sub-title a of Title I of section one and under section five of this Act; in determining special fund allocation; and for future recommendation for implementation of public works projects programmed for subsequent years thereunder.
Section 16. Authority to Collect Tolls.—The Secretary of Public Works and Communications is empowered to authorize the collection of the necessary tolls in projects mentioned in Apendix A which are to be financed exclusively from tolls.
Section 17. Reports.—On or before the opening day of every regular session of Congress the proper Department Head shall make a report to the Congress and to the President, in printed and bound form, which shall include a detailed statement of the work done, final estimates of cost for completion and status of each individual project, including project sites and right-of-way acquired, tolls collected, and amortizations paid on loans for projects financed thru bond issue, releases of project funds made during the fiscal year against the sums appropriated under this Act, and the unexpended balances and unreleased portions of said appropriations as of date of said report, including a statement of the extent of the relief of unemployment effected by the prosecution of public works during the year and a summary of performance by classes of public works indicating in such summary the percentages of work accomplished and work yet to be done to accomplish the program, together with his recommendations, if any, for transfers of appropriations or for program changes to be incorporated in the next Public Works Appropriation Act be enacted during the ensuing session of Congress.
Section 18. Public Works Appropriations Under This Act Are National Disbursing Funds; Exceptions.—Any provision of existing law to the contrary notwithstanding, all funds appropriated under the provisions of this Act shall, when released, be carried in the account books of the treasurers as national disbursing funds and all the projects herein provided are classified as national projects unless such funds are appropriated specifically as aid to provinces, chartered cities and municipalities, as the case may be: Provided, That all projects in the City of Manila financed by national funds shall be undertaken by the Bureau of public Works, the provisions of any law or the city charter to the contrary notwithstanding.
Section 19. Authority to finance projects programmed under Appropriation from General Revenue with proceeds from the issue of bonds under Republic Act No. 1000.—The President of the Philippines is authorized to modify the financial program contained in Appendix A hereof, so as to enable the Department concerned to undertake projects with the proceeds from the sales of bonds issued under Republic Act No. 1000 should sufficient amounts be unavailable in the National Treasury for the complete execution of the projects authorized under this Act to be financed from the general funds, and for such purpose the necessary sums are appropriated from said proceeds: Provided, That the project or projects for which funds shall be provided from said proceeds are certified to by the National Economic Council as self-liquidating and/or revenue-producing or as a project or projects sufficiently studied as among those which will be revenue-producing in a few years.
Section 20. Release of Project Funds.—Upon request of the Department Head concerned, the sums appropriated under sections one and two hereof shall be released by the Commissioner of the Budget, who is hereby authorized to give Priority to any project provided for in this Act over authorized appropriations other than for the ordinary operation of the National Government: Provided, That in releasing funds and in initiating public works projects under this Act, not more than sixty per centum of the amount appropriated under section one shall be released until after the entire amount appropriated under section two hereof shall have been released, except the amount appearing under Title I, section one, or so much thereof as the Secretary of Public Works and Communications may determine, which shall have precedence over all other releases, Provided further, That when a project is not divisible, and release of funds by quarter will operate to delay unnecessarily the execution of the work, the funds appropriated for such projects shall be released in whole the provisions of the Republic Act No. 992 and similar provisions of Republic Act No. 1150 and other appropriation Acts to the contrary notwithstanding.
Section 21. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.1a⍵⍴h!1
Enacted, without Executive approval, September 10, 1955.
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