Act No. 139

by the Government of the Philippine Islands

United States Philippine Commission

[ Act No. 139 ]

AN ACT EXTENDING THE PROVISIONS OF THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT ACT TO THE PROVINCE OF NUEVA ECIJA

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

SECTION 1.

All the provisions of an Act entitled “A general Act for the organization of provincial governments in the Philippine Islands,” enacted February 6, 1901, and its amendments, shall apply to and govern the establishment of a provincial government in that territory in the Island of Luzon heretofore known as the Province of Nueva Ecija. except the four towns of Umingan, Rosales, San Quintin, and Balungao, heretofore incorporated in the Province of Pangasinan by Act Numbered 86, passed February 16, 1901, with such exceptions, modifications, and supplementary provisions as are hereinafter contained.

SEC. 2.

The compensation to be paid provincial officers of the Province of Nueva Ecija, shall be at the following rate per year, money of the United States:

For the provincial governor, sixteen hundred dollars ($1,600);

For the provincial secretary, elven hundred dollars ($1,100);

For the provincial treasurer, two thousand dollars ($2,000);

For the provincial supervisor, sixteen hundred dollars ($1,600);

For the provincial fiscal, fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500).

The salary of provincial officers shall be payable monthly so that one-twelfth (${\tfrac {1}{12}}$) of the annual salary shall be paid on the last day of each calendar month.

Each provincial officer shall be allowed his necessary and actual traveling expenses, not exceeding three dollars ($3) per day, while absent from the capital of the province on official business. The allowance shall be made by the provincial board upon the certificate of the officer that the travel was necessary for the public business, and shall not be paid until the account, accompanied by the resolution of the board approving the same, shall be forwarded to the Insular Treasurer and by him approved.

SEC. 3.

The bond of the provincial treasurer shall be nine thousand dollars ($9,000), until the first day of March, 1902, when, in view of the collection of the land tax, the Commission may require a new bond or an additional bond to cover the probable increase of the funds of which the provincial treasurer shall have custody at any one time. The bond to be given shall be conditioned to secure on the part of the provincial treasurer that he shall account for the internal-revenue collections coming into his hands as internal-revenue collector, the taxes collected by him for each municipality, for the province, and for the Central Government. The form of the bond shall be prescribed by the Insular Treasurer. If, upon the request of the Commission, the Military Governor shall detail any military officer to fill a provincial office, no bond shall be required of him and no salary shall be paid him until after July 1, 1901.

SEC. 4.

The presidents or alcaldes of the municipalities of the province shall meet on the third Monday in May and November to consider improvements needed in the province and for the provincial government, and to make recommendations to the provincial board. The convention shall be called together by the provincial secretary, and shall elect a chairman for each semi-annual session. The provincial secretary shall act as secretary of the convention, and shall certify its recommendations to the provincial board.

SEC. 5.

The capital of the province shall be, as formerly, at the town of San Isidro, provided, however, That if at the semiannual meeting of presidents to be held on the third Monday of November, nineteen hundred and two, under the preceding section, a majority of all the presidents of the province shall vote to change the capital from San Isidro to some other town in the province, such town, after the first of January, nineteen hundred and three, shall then become the capital.

SEC. 6.

At the general election to be held in December, nineteen hundred and one, there shall be submitted to the qualified voters of each of the towns of Umingan, Rosales, San Quintin, and Balungao the question whether it shall be restored to the Province of Nueva Ecija or not. Ballots shall be furnished to the voter, bearing the legend: “For restoration to Nueva Ecija—Yes; For restoration to Nueva Ecija—No.” If a majority of the qualified voters of any of the four named towns voting at the election shall vote in favor of its restoration to Nueva Ecija, then the board of elections of such town shall certify this fact to the provincial governor of Pangasinan, to the provincial governor of Nueva Ecija, and to the Chief Executive of the Islands, and the governor of Nueva Ecija shall cause to be posted at the door of the municipal building and in each barrio a statement of the vote and a declaration that the town was thereby incorporated in Nueva Ecija, and thereafter the town shall be treated as a part of the Province of Nueva Ecija. If the result of the election is that the affirmative vote in favor of the restoration of the towns to Nueva Ecija is not a majority of the votes cast, then the result shall be certified by the board of election to the governor of Pangasinan, to the governor of Nueva Ecija, and to the Chief Executive of the Islands, and no further action be taken.

SEC. 7.

The provincial board of Nueva Ecija shall have authority to unite with the provincial boards of Tarlac, Pampanga, and Bulacan and with the manager of the Manila and Dagupan Railroad Company in the employment of a competent engineer or engineers to devise as economic a plan as possible for protecting the roads and agricultural lands and towns of the four provinces and the roads and bridges of the Manila and Dagupan Railroad from the destructive effect of floods in the Tarlac, the Bamban, and the Rio Grande de Pampanga Rivers by levees or other recognized means of protection against such floods, but the expenditure by the provincial board of Nueva Ecija in such joint arrangement shall be limited to five hundred dollars ($500). The engineer or engineers selected shall consult with the provincial supervisors of the four provinces and shall make a report to the provincial board of each province, which shall transmit the same, with its recommendations, to the Chief Executive of the Islands for further enabling legislation.

SEC. 8.

This Act shall take effect on its passage.

Enacted, June 11, 1901.