Pursuant to the provisions of Commonwealth Act Numbered One hundred thirty-nine, and by virtue of the powers conferred upon me by said Act, I, Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Philippines, do hereby authorize and direct the transfer to the Department of Labor, of the existing immigration division of the Bureau of Customs, together with its personnel, supplies, records, equipment or any other property, and appropriation.

Until such time as the Department of Labor will be provided with adequate facilities, the Bureau of Customs officials in Manila as well as in the subports shall continue to furnish the necessary transportation and other facilities to the said Department in carrying out the functions pertaining to the administration of the Philippine Immigration Laws; and shall cooperate with the Department of Labor in every way possible in the handling of immigrants, specially in the subports where at the present time the Department of Labor does not employ sufficient personnel. The collectors of customs at the subports are hereby deputized as chief immigration officers thereat, representing the Secretary of Labor, with authority to designate the necessary personnel from among their employees to act as immigration officers and members of the boards of special inquiry. In the case, however, of subports located in provinces where there are public defenders of the Department of Labor, the public defender shall act as chairman of the boards of special inquiry.

Done at the City of Manila, this twenty-eighth day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and thirty-six, and of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the second.


By the President:

ELPIDIO QUIRINO
Secretary of the Interior