Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 4138)
The primary purpose of Republic Act No. 4138 is to grant the San Luis Warehousing Corporation a franchise to construct, maintain, and operate floating bonded warehouses, cold storage facilities, and conveyor piers in Manila Bay and other nearby navigable waters for commercial storage and cold storage purposes.
The franchise is granted for a period of twenty-five years from the approval of the Act.
All apparatus and appurtenances must be modern, safe, and first-class in every respect. They must also be changed or altered at the grantee's expense if the authorities determine that public interest requires it.
The grantee, San Luis Warehousing Corporation, shall hold the national and municipal governments harmless from all claims, demands, or actions arising out of accidents or injuries or damages caused by the construction or operation of the bonded warehouses, cold storage, and conveyor pier.
The President of the Philippines has the power to permit the construction of the warehouses, cold storage, and conveyor pier on navigable waters under terms and conditions prescribed by the President.
No, the grantee cannot lease, transfer, grant usufruct, sell, assign, or merge the franchise or rights without the prior approval of the Congress of the Philippines.
Yes, the grantee and its successors or assigns shall be subject to existing or future corporation laws of the Philippines.
The grantee shall be liable to pay the same taxes on its real estate, buildings, and personal property (excluding the franchise) as other persons or corporations by law.
Yes, the provisions of Title V, Book II of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, if not inconsistent with this Act, shall be suppletory to this Act.
Yes, the franchise is subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by Congress when the public interest so requires.