Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 2306)
The Governor-General is authorized to sell, grant, and convey the buildings, machinery, vehicles, equipment, and supplies of the Insular Cold-Storage and Ice Plant, excluding the land itself, but can lease the land on which the plant is located.
The Governor-General can lease the land to the buyer of the plant for a term not exceeding fifty years.
Advertisement must be published twice each week for one month in at least three representative journals in the United States and two newspapers in the Philippines (one in English and one in Spanish), announcing the sale and lease terms and conditions, with sealed bids to be received within a time frame no earlier than six weeks and no later than four months after the last publication.
Each bid must be accompanied by a certified check payable to the Government of the Philippine Islands for five percent of the amount of the bid as security for contract fulfillment.
At least one-third of the sum offered must be paid in money within thirty days of notification, and before conveyance, the purchaser must enter into a contract to pay the remainder in not more than two equal annual installments with six percent interest, secured by a mortgage to the Government.
The Governor-General is authorized to readvertise for new bids or accept any other satisfactory offer under the terms prescribed by the Act.
The Governor-General may lease the plant and land for up to twenty years, subject to the same advertising conditions and requiring the lessee to maintain the plant in satisfactory condition and post a bond for faithful performance.
They must take over and assume all existing contracts between the Government and third parties and be subrogated to all rights, liabilities, and obligations under those contracts, with renewals allowed for up to two years at the discretion of the contracting parties.
The Government may enter the plant anytime for inspection, ensure cleanliness and sanitary operation, prescribe reasonable sanitary rules, and destroy any deleterious or unwholesome substances or products found on the premises at the expense of the owners or lessees.
The Government may access the owners' or lessees' books, fix minimum storage space for the public, set maximum rates for storage and products (water, ice, etc.), and require uniform rates and conditions.
Yes, these conditions attach to the plant and follow all subsequent owners or lessees, ensuring continuous Government supervision as a quasi-public industry.
Definite boundaries must be ascertained; a committee will appraise the property and its equipment; a schedule of property and equipment included in the sale or lease must be made and incorporated into the contract.
All proceeds are turned over to the Insular Treasury, become part of the general funds, and are available for use only by acts of the Philippine Legislature.