Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Sections one hundred ninety-two, one hundred ninety-two (b), and two hundred one of the Administrative Code, as amended by Republic Act Numbered One hundred sixty-four, are hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 192. Office of register of deeds.—There shall be one register of deeds for each city and one for each province except in the Mountain Province, where there shall be two: one for the Subprovince of Benguet and another for the rest of the province: Provided, however, That the register of deeds of the City of Baguio or who ever performs his duties shall be ex officio register of deeds for the Subprovince of Benguet, and that the register of deeds of a province whose capital is a chartered city or whoever is acting in his place shall likewise be ex officio register of deeds for said city.

"There shall be one deputy register of deeds in each of the registries of the City of Manila, Quezon City, the provinces of Cebu, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Pangasinan and Rizal, and also in each registry with a yearly average collection of more than thirty thousand pesos, whenever in the judgment of the Secretary of Justice the needs of the service so demand. The deputy register of deeds shall be in the classified service and shall be appointed by the Secretary of Justice, upon recommendation of the Chief of the General Land Registration Office."

"SEC. 192(b). Salaries of registers of deeds.—The salary of the register of deeds of the City of Manila shall be seven thousand two hundred pesos per annum; (1) that of the registers of deeds of the Provinces' of Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Rizal, and Quezon City, six thousand pesos per annum; (2) that of the register of deeds of the Province of Pangasinan, five thousand four hundred pesos per annum; (3) that of the registers of deeds of the Provinces of Bulacan, Cebu, Nueva Ecija, Quezon, and Tarlac, and Pasay City, four eight hundred pesos per annum; (4) that of the registers of deeds of the Provinces of Batangas, Camarines Sur, Capiz, Cavite, Davao, Ilocos Norte, Isabela, and Laguna, four thousand two hundred pesos per annum; (5) that of the registers of deeds of the Provinces of Antique, Bataan, Bohol, Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Cotabato, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Leyte, Mindoro Oriental, Misamis Oriental, Negros Oriental, Nueva Vizcaya, Sorsogon, Zambales, and Zamboanga del Norte Cities of Baguio, Dagupan, Lipa, Ormoc, San Pablo, Zamboanga, three thousand six hundred pesos per annum: and (5) that of the registers of deeds of other cities and provinces, three thousand pesos per annum.

"The salary of the deputy register of deeds in the City of Manila shall be five thousand four hundred pesos per annum, and those of the deputy registers of deeds in other cities or provinces shall be three rates lower than those of their respective principals in the scale of salaries herein provided.

"From time to time but not oftener than once every five years the rates of salary of the registers of deeds except in the City of Manila, shall be revised and fixed by the Secretary of Justice in accordance with the following schedule; (a) Six thousand pesos per annum for the registers of deeds whose yearly average collections during the last three years immediately preceding the year in which the revision is made have been seventy-five thousand pesos or more; (b) five thousand four hundred pesos per annum for those whose yearly average collections during the same period have been fifty thousand pesos or more but less than seventy-five thousand pesos; (c) four thousand eight hundred pesos per annum for those whose yearly average collections during the same period have been thirty thousand pesos or more but less than fifty thousand pesos; (d) four thousand two hundred pesos per annum for those whose yearly average collections during the same period have been fifteen thousand pesos or more but less than thirty thousand pesos; (e) three thousand six hundred pesos per annum for those whose yearly average collections during the same period have been five thousand pesos or more but less than fifteen thousand pesos; and (f) three thousand pesos per annum for those whose yearly average collections during the same period have been less than five thousand pesos. The rates of salary so revised and fixed shall be included in the General Appropriation Act for the fiscal year next following the year in which the revision is made: Provided, however, That the salary of the register of deeds of the City of Baguio shall be fixed on the basis of the consolidated yearly average collections of the registries of the City Baguio and the Subprovince of Benguet, and that salary of the register of a province who is ex officio register of deeds for the city which is the capital of said province shall likewise be fixed on the basis of the consolidated yearly average collections of the registries of said province and city.

"SEC. 201. Discharge of duties of register of deeds in case of vacancy, etc.—Until a regular register of deeds shall have been appointed for a city or province, or in case of vacancy in the office, or upon the occasion of the absence, illness, suspension, or inability of the register of deeds to discharge his duties, said duties shall be performed by the following officials, in the order in which they are mentioned below, unless the Secretary of Justice designate another official to act temporarily in the place:

"(a) For the city or province where there has been appointed a deputy register of deeds, by the said deputy register of deeds;

"(b) For the City of Baguio, by the city attorney, assistant city attorney, city treasurer or assistant city treasurer of Baguio;

"(c) For cities which are not provincial capitals, by the city attorney, assistant city attorney, city treasurer or assistant city treasurer;

"(d) For provinces in general, by the provincial fiscal, assistant provincial fiscal, provincial treasurer, or assistant Provincial treasurer.

In case of absence, disability or suspension of the register of deeds, without pay, or in case of vacancy in the position, the Secretary of Justice may, in his discretion, authorize the payment of an additional compensation the official acting as register of deeds, such compensation with his actual salary shall not exceed the salary for the position thus filled by him."

SEC. 2. The sum of one hundred thousand pesos much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any funds existing in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be made available for carrying into effect the salary increases provided for in this Act.

SEC. 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, June 16, 1954.