REPUBLIC ACT No. 1598
An Act Granting the Philippine National Exposition, Inc. a Franchise to Hold, Conduct and Operate National Expositions and Carnivals in the City of Manila
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress Assembled:
Section 1. The Philippine National Exposition, Inc., hereinafter also referred to as the grantee, is hereby granted for a period of twenty-years a franchise to hold, conduct and operate in the City of Manila a national exposition and carnival every year, if practicable, for not more than sixty days, beginning with the calendar year nineteen hundred and fifty-seven.
Section 2. The Philippine National Exposition, Inc., is hereby granted authority to use, free of charge, any public park, whether belonging to the National Government or to the Government of the City of Manila, as shall be appropriate and necessary for its purposes, unless such park is actually used or needed for certain purposes by the Government to which it belongs.
The Philippine National Exposition, Inc., is authorized to charge and receive compensation or fees for admission to such exposition and carnival held and conducted in said park, and for the sale or renting of space therein for exhibition or other privileges; to hold exhibits of agriculture, horticultural, industrial and commercial products, inventions and other articles, livestock, chickens and domestic animals, in such exposition and carnival and to give certificates or diplomas of excellence, and generally to do, perform and carry out all matters, acts and businesses usual or proper in connection with expositions and carnivals; but this enumeration of particular powers shall not be in derogation of or limit any special provision of the articles of incorporation of the said corporation.
Section 3. For the holding, conducting and operation of every national exposition and carnival, as herein provided, the Philippine National Exposition, Inc., shall pay in full within thirty days from the opening of such exposition and carnival to the Government of the City of Manila a municipal license fee of five hundred pesos.
Section 4. Twenty per centum of the total gross receipts collected and realized by the grantee from the holding, conducting and operation of such national exposition and carnival during any year shall be turned over to the Treasurer of the Philippines for distribution as aid among such charitable institutions in the Philippines as shall be chosen by the President of the Philippines.
Section 5. To guarantee the compliance of the conditions set forth in sections three and four hereof, the Philippine National Exposition, Inc., shall execute a bond in the amount of one hundred thousand pesos in favor of the Philippine Government in a form and with sureties satisfactory to the Secretary of Commerce and Industry. If the grantee shall fail to execute such bond and hold, conduct and operate the exposition and carnival in nineteen hundred and fifty-seven, this franchise shall be ipso facto cancelled.
Section 6. Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, no tax or fee, in addition to the license fee required in section three and the percentage of the total gross receipts mentioned in section four, shall be levied by either the National Government or the Government of the City of Manila upon the Philippine National Exposition, Inc., for holding, conducting and operation of a national exposition and carnival as provided in this Act.
Section 7. Nothing in this Act shall be held or construed to authorize or permit the grantee to carry on, conduct, supervise, permit or suffer any gambling in any form whatsoever prohibited by law or ordinance of any political subdivision in the Philippines within the grounds of the national exposition and carnival herein authorized, except traditional games like bingo, wherein prizes in the form of merchandise or commodities and not money or cash shall be given.1avvphi1 The violation of this section shall operate automatically to forfeit the franchise granted in this Act.
Section 8. The various bureaus and offices of the National Government, including corporations owned or controlled by the Government, as well as the province and chartered cities, including their instrumentalities, and all public institutions are hereby authorized and enjoined to participate in the national exposition and carnival herein authorized, and for this purpose they may use any unexpended balance of their respective appropriations or funds.
Section 9. The grantee shall keep an account of the gross receipts of the business transacted by it, and shall furnish to the Auditor General and the Treasurer of the City of Manila a copy each of such account. For the purpose of auditing accounts surrendered to the Auditor General and Treasurer of the City of Manila, all the books and accounts of the grantee, and duplicates thereof, shall be subject to the official inspection of the Auditor General or his authorized representatives.1awp++i1 The audit and approval of such accounts by the Auditor General shall be final and conclusive evidence as to the amount of said gross receipts, except that the grantee shall have the right to appeal to the courts of the Philippines under the terms and conditions provided in the laws of the Philippines.
The words "gross receipts" are hereby defined as the total receipts obtained by the grantee from its operation under this franchise.1âшphi1
Section 10. This franchise shall not be valid unless the grantee accepts the same within four months after its approval, filing such acceptance in writing with the Secretary of Commerce and Industry.
Section 11. This franchise is granted under the condition that it shall be subject to amendment, alteration or repeal by the Congress when the public interest so requires and shall not be interpreted as an exclusive grant to the privileges herein granted.
Section 12. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Approved: June 17, 1956.
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