[ Act No. 3595, November 29, 1929 ]
AN ACT TO REGULATE THE MANUFACTURE, IMPORTATION, AND SALE OF GALVANIZED IRON, BARBED WIRE, AND NAILS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
SECTION1. For the purposes of this Act, the word "person" shall include corporations, companies, societies, associations, and other commercial or legal entities. The term "galvanized iron" shall mean any iron or steel sheet coated with zinc.
SEC. 2. It shall be unlawful for any person, whether as principal or agent, to manufacture, import, sell, offer for sale, or expose for sale, in the Philippine Islands any galvanized iron, unless each and every sheet thereof is indelibly, conspicuously, and plainly marked or stamped with a mark or stamp showing the gauge and size of the sheet and the amount of zinc coating, as well as the name and address of the manufacturer and a brand registered with the Bureau of Commerce and Industry, if so registered. The amount of zinc coating shall be expressed in ounces avoirdupois per square foot and the gauges shall be as follows:
Weight per square foot ounces avoirdupois `
Provided, however, That the method of expressing the amount of zinc coating and the specifications for the various gauges may, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, be changed by executive order of the Governor-General to conform to standard practices.
It shall be the duty of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources to specify from time to time such tolerances as may be allowed in gauge and in zinc coating and to prescribe methods for testing.
The possession of any galvanized iron not properly labeled as provided in this Act by any person dealing in said articles shall be considered prima facie evidence that the same is kept by such person in violation of the provisions of this Act and shall be punishable under it.
SEC. 3. It shall be unlawful for any person, whether as principal or agent, to import, manufacture, sell, offer for sale, or expose for sale in the Philippine Islands, any reel of barbed wire, unless the same is indelibly, permanently, and plainly marked or tagged in a conspicuous place with a mark or tag bearing the net weight and length of barbed wire, as well as the name and address of the manufacturer, and a brand registered with the Bureau of Commerce and Industry, if so registered. The possession by any person dealing in said articles of any barbed wire not properly marked as provided in this section shall be considered prima facie evidence that the same is kept by such person in violation of the provisions of this Act and punishable under it.
SEC. 4. It shall be unlawful for any person, whether as principal or agent, to manufacture, import, sell, offer for sale, or expose for sale in the Philippine Islands, any closed package of nails unless the same is stamped or labeled permanently and plainly in a conspicuous place with the length of the nails and the net weight of the package, as well as the name and address of the manufacturer, and a brand registered with the Bureau of Commerce and Industry, if so registered. The possession of any closed package of nails not properly marked as provided in this section by any person dealing in said articles shall be considered prima facie evidence that the same is kept by such person in violation of the provisions of this Act and shall be punishable under it.
SEC. 5. Once an article has been admitted into the Philippine Islands under the provisions of this Act, it shall be unlawful for any person, whether as principal or agent, to alter, change, or modify in any way the mark or other identification required by the provisions of this Act for the admission of such article.
SEC. 6. It shall be the duty of the Collector of Customs to refuse the admission of any sheet of galvanized iron, reel of barbed wire, or package of nails, which shall be found to be not properly marked, stamped, or tagged within the meaning of this Act.
SEC. 7. It shall be the duty of the Director of the Bureau of Science, or his duly authorized agents, to make proper inspection of galvanized iron sheet sold or offered for sale in the Philippine Islands. Toward this end he or his authorized deputies may secure without payment from any one dealing in galvanized iron samples of each brand of galvanized iron sheet sold or offered for sale by him, and may make or cause to be made an analysis of the same according to the methods prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and a certified statement of the results of such analysis shall be received in the courts and all other places as prima facie evidence in any legal action within the Philippine Islands concerning such brand of galvanized iron.
SEC. 8. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources to see that the provisions for of this Act are complied with, and to cause all violations thereof to be prosecuted in the courts of justice in accordance with the ordinary procedure; and to prescribe and enforce such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary for carrying into effect the full intent and meaning of this Act.
SEC. 9. Any person hindering or obstructing the Director of the Bureau of Science, the Collector of Customs, the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, or any of their duly authorized deputies, in the discharge of the authority or duty conferred or imposed upon them by this Act, or any person violating any of the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred pesos and not more than five thousand pesos, or by imprisonment of not more than one year, or by both, in the discretion of the court, and after second conviction, the guilty party shall be debarred from further using in the Philippine Islands, the brand or trade mark used on the misbranded sheets of galvanized iron, reels of barbed wire, or packages of nails.
Any lot of galvanized iron, reel of barbed wire, or closed package of nails found to be mislabeled shall be confiscated by the Government and turned over to the Bureau of Supply, which shall dispose of the confiscated article by destruction or sale, and the proceeds thereof, if sold, less the legal cost and charges, shall be paid into the Treasury of the Philippine Islands.
SEC. 10. This Act shall take effect on January thirty-first, nineteen hundred and thirty-one.
Approved, November 29, 1929.