Law Summary
Prohibited Acts Regarding Palay, Rice, and Corn
- It is unlawful to destroy or obstruct production or milling to raise prices.
- Hoarding or monopolizing these commodities is prohibited.
- Charging prices above those fixed by law is illegal.
- Possessing or selling quantities exceeding permitted limits is forbidden.
- Conspiring to restrict production, importation, harvesting, milling, storage, or distribution to raise prices is banned.
Definitions of Monopoly and Hoarding
- Monopoly or hoarding exists when a person (other than a dealer or industrial user) possesses more than reasonably needed for personal use.
- For merchants or agents, possession of quantities exceeding ordinary business requirements during a reasonable period indicates hoarding.
- Removal of products from the market to manipulate prices constitutes hoarding.
- Exceptions include planters or cooperative associations stowing their own production.
Penalties for Violations
- Violations carry a fine of up to 5,000 pesos, imprisonment for up to 2 years, or both.
- Corporate managers or administrators are criminally liable for company violations.
Appropriation and Emergency Fund Usage
- The Emergency Board can appropriate funds for purchasing and distribution operations under the Act.
- Authorization includes funds to cover losses from government or government agent operations related to controlling these commodities.
Appropriation of Funds
- Two million pesos is appropriated from the Insular Treasury to augment the Emergency Board's funds for 1919.
Proclamation and Temporary Suspension of Inconsistent Laws
- The Governor-General may declare the Act's application by proclamation when public interest demands.
- Laws inconsistent with this Act are temporarily suspended during this period.
- Termination of the proclamation ends the Act's application and reinstates suspended laws.
- Prosecution of offenses committed during the application period may continue even after termination.
Effectivity
- The Act takes effect immediately upon approval.