Administrative control and inspection powers
- Section 2 requires the Director of Agriculture, when the best interests of the service so require, to inspect and certify all plant materials or parts thereof, and soil or any material whatsoever used for packing or covering such plant materials intended for exportation.
- Section 5 requires the Director of Agriculture to cause to be inspected promptly all importations of plant materials to determine the presence or absence of injurious insects and diseases, or to take other necessary action.
- Section 5 authorizes the Director of Agriculture (or representatives) to enter at any time into any car, warehouse, pier, depot, or onto any ship or other vessels within Philippine jurisdictional territory or water—whether in the stream, at the dock, wharf, mole, or any other place—where plant materials are received.
- Section 5 authorizes the Director of Agriculture (or representatives) to fumigate and disinfect plant materials determined or suspected to be infested, with fumigation and disinfection at the expense and responsibility of the importer and under the supervision of a representative of the Director of Agriculture.
- Section 5 authorizes, for plant materials infested with extremely dangerous insects or diseases, the Director of Agriculture to cause return to the country of origin or destruction at the port of entry according to the importer’s wishes, with cost borne by the importer.
- Section 7 authorizes the Director of Agriculture to prohibit entirely the importation of certain classes of plants (including parts of plants) or other possible carriers of infestation, whether visibly infested or not, when information shows that dangerous insects or diseases exist in countries of origin (including places where the material was raised and also those where it has gone through) and such presence cannot be readily and economically determined on incoming plant materials.
Customs declaration and notice duties
- Section 3 requires importers (or their agents) to make a declaration on a regular official form to the Collector of Customs at or before the time of entry.
- Section 3 requires the declaration to show:
- the names and addresses of the consignor and the consignee;
- the nature and quantity of the plant materials intended to be imported;
- the country and locality where the plant materials were grown;
- the place and date of embarkation; and
- the registered name of the vessel carrying the consignment.
- Section 4 imposes on the Collector of Customs the duty, at the port of entry, to promptly notify the Director of Agriculture (or authorized representative) of the arrival of any plant materials.
- Section 8 imposes on the Director of Posts the duty to promptly notify the Director of Agriculture of the arrival in the mails of plant materials from foreign countries.
- Section 8 requires the Director of Agriculture to cause prompt examination of the mail plant materials reported, with necessary action consistent with the Act’s provisions, and requires such examination to be made in the presence of the postmaster or another person designated by the Director of Posts.
Controlled movement within the Philippines
- Section 10 addresses dissemination from infested areas by requiring that, where dangerous insects or diseases have already become established in a restricted locality or in but few localities and where further dissemination would cause serious economic losses, the Director of Agriculture shall—subject to approval of the Department Secretary—make and enforce rules and regulations to protect agricultural interests in any district.
- Section 10 further authorizes the Director of Agriculture, under Section 10, to regulate or entirely prohibit the movement of affected plant materials or other materials that serve as dissemination means from infested localities, provinces, or islands to unaffected localities, provinces, or islands.
- Section 11 requires that regulations governing importation and internal movements of plant materials be issued as administrative orders of the Director of Agriculture, approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Authority support and enforcement assistance
- Section 12 requires assistance in enforcement by the Chief of Constabulary and provincial and municipal officials when the Director of Agriculture requests such assistance for enforcement of administrative orders promulgated under the Act.
Introduction under progress conditions
- Section 9 permits, notwithstanding other provisions, introduction of plant materials from foreign countries to promote progress in agricultural industries.
- Section 9 requires that introductions under this permission be made under due and necessary precautions to exclude dangerous insects and diseases and noxious weeds.
- Section 9 authorizes persons, firms, or corporations desiring to introduce such foreign plant materials to be permitted at the discretion of the Director of Agriculture and under directions prescribed by the Director of Agriculture.
Quarantine governance and advisory board
- Section 14 establishes a Plant Quarantine Board of five members to be appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources upon the Director of Agriculture’s recommendation from the Bureau of Agriculture and other bureaus of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
- Section 14 provides that the board members serve without additional compensation but are allowed necessary expenses for travel and subsistence in performing duties.
- Section 14 assigns to the Plant Quarantine Board the duty to advise the Director of Agriculture regarding necessary administrative orders and carrying out the Act’s terms.
Funding allocation and fiscal reversion
- Section 15 appropriates PHP 6,000 annually out of funds in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated for expenses of the Director of Agriculture and the Plant Quarantine Board.
- Section 15 requires that unused funds revert to the Insular Treasury at the end of each fiscal year.
Offenses and criminal penalties
- Section 13 penalizes violations of any provisions of the Act.
- Section 13 also penalizes forgery, counterfeiting, alteration, defacement, or destruction of any certificate, regulation, or other legal paper issued by virtue of the Act.
- Section 13 imposes, upon conviction, a fine not exceeding PHP 1,000, or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both, at the discretion of the court.
Repeal and effectivity
- Section 16 repeals Act Numbered Twenty-five hundred and fifteen.
- Section 17 states that the Act takes effect on its approval.
- The Act was approved on March 8, 1922.