[ Act No. 920, October 03, 1903 ]

AN ACT APPROPRIATING THE SUM OF EIGHTY-FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS, IN MONEY OF THE UNITED STATES, FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR OF ROADS AND BRIDGES.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:

SECTION 1. The sum of eighty-four thousand dollars, in money of the United States, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the same to be charged to the Congressional, relief fund, for the purpose of constructing and repairing the following roads, including the necessary bridges thereon:

(a) For the Vigan-Bangued road, Provinces of Ilocos Sur and Abra, forty thousand dollars.

(b) For the Bacon-Bulusan road, connecting the Pacific Ocean and China Sea, via Sorsogon, Gubat, and Barcelona, in the Province of Sorsogon, forty thousand dollars.

(c) For the Padre Juan Villaverde trail, Bayombong to San Nicolas, Provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Pangasinan, four thousand dollars.

SEC. 2. The money hereby appropriated, or so much thereof as may be necessary, shall be disbursed by the provincial treasurers of the provinces in which the specified road is located, unless the Civil Governor shall designate another person to act in that capacity upon giving proper bond. The provincial treasurer, or other disbursing officer, as the case may be, shall pay all bills for labor and material upon presentation of proper vouchers approved by the superintendent hereinafter provided for.

SEC. 3. The Civil Governor may direct the payment, either in money or in rice, of such parts of the expenses incurred for labor money, and material as in his discretion he may deem for the best interests of the inhabitants.

SEC. 4. The Consulting Engineer to the Commission shall have general supervision of the road construction herein provided for. He shall appoint a superintendent subject to the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Police. The superintendent shall have immediate charge of the work of construction; he shall appoint his assistants and determine their compensation, subject to the approval of the Consulting Engineer to the Commission; he shall make detailed monthly reports of the progress of the work, including a statement of expenditures made during the preceding month, and the purposes thereof, to the Consulting Engineer, who shall forward the same to the Secretary of Commerce and Police.

The employees provided for in this section shall not necessarily be subject to the provisions of the Civil Service Act and Acts amendatory thereof, but employees belonging to the classified service may be temporarily transferred to the work without losing their status in the classified service.

SEC. 5. The superintendent shall purchase the necessary tools, supplies, and material, with the approval of the Consulting Engineer to the Commission. He may make purchases by contract, in the open markets, through the Insular Purchasing Agent, or otherwise, when, in the opinion of the Civil Governor, such purchases are necessary for the economical and speedy prosecution of the work.

SEC. 6. The roads constructed or repaired under this Act shall thereafter be kept in repair by the provincial supervisor under supervision and direction of the Consulting Engineer, and the cost of such repair shall be paid out of the treasury of the province in which the repair is made.

SEC. 7. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

SEC. 8. This Act shall take effect on its passage.

Enacted, October 3, 1903.