Covered appropriations and funding sources
- Section 1 appropriates sums out of the proceeds of the excise tax collected on coconut oil shipments to the United States now deposited in the Treasury of the United States, credited to the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
- Section 2 appropriates sums out of the general funds in the Philippine Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
- Section 3 appropriates sums out of the “Port Works Fund” under Act 3592, as amended by Commonwealth Act No. 130, not otherwise appropriated.
- Section 1 appropriations are for categories including Sanitation, Public Buildings, Roads, Flood Control and Sea Protection Works, Construction and Improvement of Telegraph and Cable Lines and Radio Stations, and Miscellaneous.
- Section 2 appropriations are for categories including Construction, Alteration, and Improvement of Public Buildings and Other Unclassified Projects, Investigation and Survey of Roads and Bridges, and Hydraulic Investigations.
Appropriation amounts and totals
- Section 1 provides a total available amount of P88,688,100.00 to be paid out of the “Excise Tax Fund.”
- Section 2 provides a total available amount of P5,263,200.00 to be paid out of the General Fund.
- Section 3 contains the port works-related appropriation items under the Port Works Fund and states a Grand Total of P96,351,300.00 for the appropriation made in the Act.
- The appropriations are expressed as “so much thereof as may be necessary” in each section’s respective funding source.
Expenditure releases, authority over funds
- Section 6 directs that specified sums must be distributed by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications with the approval of the President of the Philippines.
- Section 6 states that all sums appropriated under Section 2 and Section 3 are released only after certification by the Secretary of Finance and the Auditor General to the President of the Philippines.
- Section 6 requires that the certifications confirm sufficient funds derived from current revenues in excess of authorized appropriations for the ordinary operating expenses of the National Government to warrant the release.
- Section 6 provides that sums appropriated in certain specified paragraphs under Section 1 are available for expenditure directly by the Director of Public Works, rather than through the President-approval distribution mechanism.
- Section 6 provides that all constructions required for the National Defense must be accomplished under the direction of the Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army, notwithstanding any conflicting provision of existing law.
Reversions of unexpended balances by date
- Section 4 requires that all balances of appropriations under Section 1 remaining unexpended on December thirty-first, nineteen hundred forty-one revert to the portion of the consolidated General Fund in the Philippine Treasury derived from the coconut oil excise tax collected in the United States.
- Section 4 states that reverted balances from Section 1 thereafter shall not be available for expenditure except upon appropriation by the National Assembly.
- Section 4 requires that all balances of appropriations under Section 2 remaining unexpended on December thirty-first, nineteen hundred thirty-nine revert to the General Fund in the National Treasury, and thereafter shall not be available for expenditure except upon appropriation by the National Assembly.
- Section 4 requires that all balances of appropriations under Section 3 remaining unexpended on December thirty-first, nineteen hundred forty-one revert to the “Port Works Fund” created by Act Numbered Three Thousand Five hundred and Ninety-two, as amended by Commonwealth Act Numbered One Hundred Thirty, and thereafter shall not be available for expenditure except as provided in that Act.
Toll roads, bridges, ferries—authorization and exemptions
- Section 5 authorizes the President of the Philippines, whenever necessary for the proper maintenance of any national road, to designate the road (or part thereof), or any bridge or ferry built or to be built or maintained as part thereof, as a toll road, bridge, or ferry.
- Section 5 authorizes the President, upon recommendation of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, to fix toll rates and regulate the collection of such tolls.
- Section 5 allows the Secretary of Public Works and Communications to erect toll gates or equip ferries, and to employ persons necessary to operate them.
- Section 5 requires that toll proceeds be applied to the repair and maintenance of the roads, bridges, or ferries for which the collections are made.
- Section 5 provides that when the President decides that toll collection may be discontinued without injury to the public welfare, the President shall order discontinuance and thereafter the road, bridge, or ferry becomes free for public use.
- Section 5 prohibits collecting tolls or ferriage authorized under the section from:
- (a) officers or enlisted men of the United States Army or Navy or other employees of the United States Government in the Philippines
- (b) officers or enlisted men of the Philippine Army
- (c) members of the police forces
- (d) national, provincial, or municipal officers on official business
- (e) any person traveling on foot or mounted on an animal, bicycles, motorcycle, alone or accompanying animals
- (f) vehicles engaged primarily in carrying mail
- (g) animal-drawn vehicles
Presidential control over appropriations
- Section 7 authorizes the President of the Philippines to suspend or otherwise stop expenditure of any amount appropriated for any purpose, or any portion thereof, whenever the President considers that the public interest so requires.
- Section 7 provides that funds affected by such suspension or stoppage become available for any other authorized expenditure as the President may determine.
Effectivity and approval
- Section 8 provides that the Act takes effect upon its approval.
- The Act was approved on June 18, 1938.
Amendments and legal linkage
- The Act is recorded as amended by C. A. Nos. 390, 475, 506, 562, and 610.