[ Act No. 3280, November 30, 1926 ]

AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE PROVINCE AND CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES OF CAMARINES SUR TO ISSUE BONDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF RAISING FUNDS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS, AND AUTHORIZING ALSO AN INSULAR GOVERNMENT BOND ISSUE SECURED BY SAID PROVINCIAL AND MUNICIPAL BONDS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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. Pursuant to the provisions of section eleven of 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," as amended by the Act of Congress approved May thirty-first,  nineteen hundred  and twenty-two,  the Province of Camarines Sur and certain municipalities thereof, hereinafter named, are hereby authorized  to negotiate a loan  to  be used  for  the construction of  permanent improvements, in the sums  hereinafter set forth: Province of Camarines  Sur, for waterworks and for  reimbursement of  the Insular loan, one hundred and sixty thousand  pesos;  municipality  of  Naga, for  waterworks and reimbursement of Insular  loan,  thirty-seven  thousand five hundred pesos; municipality  of Magarao, for waterworks,  fifteen thousand pesos; municipality of Canaman, for waterworks, five thousand pesos; municipality of Camaligan.  for waterworks, five thousand pesos, making a total sum  of two  hundred  and twenty-two thousand five hundred pesos.

The  Governor-General  of the Philippine Islands is hereby authorized to issue the necessary bonds for said  loan, in the name and  behalf  of  the  aforesaid province  and municipalities of Camarines Sur.   The bonds so authorized shall be issued and shall  bear such date as may  be determined  by  the Governor-General,  with the consent of  the presiding  officers of both Houses of the Legislature,  and shall bear such annual interest as said officials may determine payable quarterly  or semiannually, in  gold coin of the United  States  or its equivalent, in  the discretion of the Insular  Treasurer, and shall  be redeemable  after  ten years, when directed by the provincial board of Camarines Sur or the  councils of  the municipalities above  specified, and payable  thirty years after issue, in gold  coin of  the United States or its equivalent,  in the  discretion of  the Insular Treasurer.  Said bonds  shall be  registered  or coupon bonds convertible into  either form and  shall be issued  in  convenient  denominations,  and the  registered bonds shall  be registered and transferable in  the office of the Insular Treasurer at Manila where the capital  and interest shall be payable.

SEC. 2.  The Governor-General  is  further authorized to sell said bonds  upon such terms and  conditions as may be Most advantageous  to the Province of Camarines Sur and the municipalities  herein  mentioned, or  to   assign  and transfer said bonds to  the Government  of the Philippine Islands for  a consideration, charging the same to the net proceeds of the sale  of  the bonds of the Government of the Philippine Islands issued  in an equivalent amount, as provided in  section four of this  Act, and  to  deposit the proceeds of said sale or assignment  in  an  authorized depository of  the Government  of  the Philippine  Islands. The proceeds of the sale  or assignment to the Insular Government of  said bonds  shall  be  applied by  the Insular Treasurer to the payment of the outstanding indebtedness of the province and municipalities herein mentioned  to the Insular Government,  and the  balance shall be credited to the "Public Works Bond Issue Fund of the Province and four municipalities of Camarines  Sur," and be withdrawn only for the purposes set forth in  this Act.

SEC. 3. Beginning with the fiscal year in which the bonds are issued, and each year thereafter until such bonds shall have been  redeemed  in  their entirety, a standing annual appropriation  is hereby authorized,  out of  any funds in the Insular  Treasury not otherwise appropriated, of such sum as may be necessary to  pay the annual  interest accrued on the provincial and municipal bonds issued under this Act and to provide for a sinking fund for the payment of said bonds.  The sinking fund hereby created shall be adjusted annually in such manner that  the total amount thereof at  each annual  due  date  of  the bond issue shall be  equal to the total  of an  annuity of one hundred and ninety-three pesos and seventy-one centavos for each ten thousand pesos of bonds outstanding, accrued at  the rate of interest  of  three and one-half  per centum  per annum. Said fund shall be under the custody of the Treasurer of the Philippine Islands, who shall  invest the  same, in such manner as  the Secretary of Finance may approve,  in accordance with the provisions  of the Act governing the investment of sinking funds, and shall charge all the expenses of such investment to said sinking fund.

SEC.  4. The Secretary of War  is  hereby authorized to issue in the name and behalf of the Government  of the Philippine Islands, bonds to  the  amount of one  hundred and eleven thousand two hundred and fifty dollars, United States  currency, for a  term  of thirty  years, redeemable after ten years, in the  discretion of the Insular Government,  and bearing such date as he may  determine, secured by  the bonds  of the Province and  four municipalities of Camarines  Sur herein authorized  and assigned and transferred  to the  Insular Government as provided in section two.  The  Secretary of War  shall determine  the form of the  bonds  and the rate and  dates of payment of the interest thereon.  The bonds may  be  coupon  bonds or registered bonds,  convertible, in the discretion of the Secretary of  War, into  either  form, and the registered bonds shall be  registered in the Treasury of  the United States, where the principal and interest shall be payable in  gold coin of the United  States.

The  Secretary of war is further  authorized to sell said Insular bonds  upon  such  terms  and conditions as in his judgment  are most  favorable to the Government  of the Philippine Islands, and he shall deposit the proceeds of the sale  thereof  in an authorized depository  or  depositories of the Government of the Philippine Islands in the United Stares, to the credit of the Treasurer of the Philippine Island;.

SEC. 5.  The sinking fund provided for in section three of this Act  shall  constitute the  sicking fund for the payment of the Insular bonds issued under the provisions hereof.

SEC. 6.  The Insular, provincial and municipal bonds hereby authorized to be issued shall be exempt  from  taxation by the Government of  the United States, by  the Government of the Philippine Islands or any political or municipal subdivision  thereof, or by  any  State  or territory of the United  States, or  by any county,  municipality, or other municipal  subdivision of  any  State or territory of the United States,  or  by the  District of Columbia, which fact shall be stated upon their face by virtue of section one of the Ac: of Congress approved February sixth, nineteen hundred and five,  according to which Act as well as in accordance vi:h the Act  of Congress approved on August twenty-ninth, nineteen  hundred and sixteen, as amended, and in accordance with this Act the said bonds are issued.

SEC. 7.  An appropriation is hereby made out of the proceeds of the sale  of the Insular  bonds authorized to  be issued by this Act, for the payment of  the bonds issued  by the  Province of  Camarines Sur and its  four municipalities, assigned and transferred as  security for the aforesaid Insular Government bonds.

SEC. 8.  An appropriation is hereby made out of the general  funds in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated, of a sufficient sum to cover the  expense of the issue and  sale of the Insular,  provincial, and  municipal bonds authorized by this Act. and for the payment of the interest on said Insular bonds and the expense of investing the sinking fund.   The Insular Government shall be reimbursed by the Province of Camarines  Sur and its four municipalities tor tire sums  so disbursed for the formation, maintenance and investment of  the  sinking fund provided for in section three of  this Act, within thirty  days after payment Oi said expenses and sinking fund by the Insular Government. The reimbursement  shall be made In proportion to the indebtedness contracted by the Province of Camarines Sur  and its four municipalities.  In  case the  provincial board of  Camarines  Sur and the municipal councils concerned .shall fail to make such reimbursement, the Collector oi Internal Revenue and the provincial treasurer of Camarines Sur are hereby authorized  and directed to withhold from the revenues of said province and the municipalities herein mentioned  that may  come into  their possession  an amount sufficient to make said reimbursement or any other reimbursement above provided and shall deposit  said sum with the Treasurer of the Philippine Islands, to the credit of the general funds of the Insular Government.

SEC. 9.  The Director of Public Works of the Philippine Islands shall have  charge and exclusive control of all work to be done and  improvements to be made under the provisions o: this Act.

SEC. 10.  The administration,  control, operation, maintenance, and improvement of the waterworks established with proceeds of the sale  of  the  bonds authorized by this Act shall be vested  in the provincial board of Camarines Sur and a waterworks board of said province, composed of the provincial treasurer, who shall be chairman of the board, and the district health officer and district engineer, who shall be members.  Said provincial board of Camarines Sur shall exercise its powers and authority and the waterworks board hereby created  shall perform its functions in accordance with the regulations made or that may in future be made jointly by the Chief of the Executive Bureau and the  Director of  Public Works,  with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce and Communications.  All income derived from the waterworks shall be credited to a special fund which may be used, with the approval of the provincial board of Camarines Sur only for the following purposes, in the order stated: first, for the payment of the refunds mentioned in section eight of this Act; second, for  the operation and maintenance of the waterworks; third, for the improvement and extension of the system, providing the plans therefor have been approved by the Director of Public Works,  and fourth, in case there is a surplus of the receipts not required for said purposes, such surplus may be used for the general purposes of said Province  and four municipalities  of  Camarines Sur, the division to be made on the basis of the total consumption of water in each municipality during the year in which the surplus accrued.

SEC. 11.  This Act shall take effect on its approval.

Approved, November 30, 1926.