Amendments on Documentary Stamp Taxes

Location limits from public places

Section 2 prohibits establishing any night club, cabaret, dancing school, or dance hall within 1,000 lineal meters from any city hall or municipal building, provincial building, public plaza, public school, church, hospital, athletic stadium, public park, or any institution of learning or of charity.
The location limitation applies to the establishment of these venues.
The rule restricts proximity to both government/public buildings and institutions (including learning and charitable institutions).

Building, layout, and sanitation requirements

Section 3(a) requires each covered establishment to have a dancing space that is properly ventilated, well lighted, and maintained under sanitary conditions at all times while the establishment is open, leaving no dark corners, and the building must be safe for dancing purposes.
Section 3(b) requires the absence of private rooms or separate compartments, except lavatories, dressing rooms for ladies, bar, and kitchen.
Section 3(b) requires that where the dancing and dining hall is also authorized to operate a hotel, the dancing and dining hall must be on a floor separate from the lodging rooms.
Section 3(b) mandates at least two sets of lavatories: one exclusively for women and one for men.
Section 3(b) requires certification by the city or district engineer that the building is safe for dancing purposes.
Section 3(c) requires every establishment to be properly enclosed with a fence with only one entrance, with no direct or indirect communication whatever with any dwelling place, house, or building except through the entrance.
Section 3(c) requires proper parking places to avoid congestion and blocking of traffic, with parking being either an open ground or provided with one door for entrance and another for exit.

Days and hours of operation

Section 4 restricts operations to 5 o’clock p.m. to 12 o’clock midnight every day.
Section 4 allows exceptions: Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are treated as exceptions to the general rule.
Section 4 permits extended hours on Saturdays and days preceding official holidays and days falling on town fiestas, allowing operations until 2 o’clock in the morning of the following day.
Section 4 allows establishments also duly licensed to operate a regular restaurant, café or refreshment parlor to remain open before or after the stated hours to serve only meals or refreshments, without permitting dancing.
Section 4 applies to night clubs, cabarets, dancing schools, and dance halls as a group.

Who may be admitted or employed

Section 5(a) prohibits admitting or allowing to remain in any covered establishment (as a customer, employee, or under any capacity) minors under eighteen years of age, persons carrying deadly weapons or firearms of any description (except government officials performing their public functions), and intoxicated persons.
Section 5(a) allows persons under 18 to be admitted when they are in private parties and are accompanied by their parents or guardians.
Section 5(b) prohibits employing any woman as a professional hostess or dancer unless she is at least 21 years of age and has first obtained a written certificate from the District or City Health Officer that she is free from contagious or infectious diseases.
Section 5(b) allows employment of a woman 18 years of age or more but below 21 only with the written consent of her parents or guardians (while still requiring the certificate framework).
Section 5(b) requires removal from working as a professional hostess or dancer upon discovery by the District or City Health Officer that she is suffering from any contagious or infectious disease or after conviction of any disorderly, immodest or immoral conduct, or violation of any provision of the Order.
Section 5(b) requires the medical certificate to be obtained once every three months.

Enforcement, supervision, and local policing

Section 6 places covered establishments under the supervision of the Department of the Interior, which is charged with enforcement of the Executive Order.
Section 6 authorizes the mayor of the concerned city, municipality, or municipal district to assign one or more policemen to maintain peace and order in or around the premises and enforce the Executive Order and other municipal or sanitary regulations when public interest so requires or at the request of the operator.
Section 6 ties enforcement authority to peace-and-order and regulatory compliance within and around the premises.

Permits, licenses, and fees

Section 7 requires that permits for opening or operation of covered establishments be issued by the city or provincial treasurer or his duly designated representative.
Section 7 prohibits issuance of any permit unless the applicant has complied with the provisions of the Executive Order.
Section 8 requires that, in addition to the permit, the operator obtain a license from the treasurer of the concerned city, municipality, or municipal district for operation.
Section 8 sets the license fee at not less than two hundred pesos annually or fifty pesos quarterly.
Section 8 preserves existing ordinances prescribing higher fees than two hundred pesos annually or fifty pesos quarterly, keeping them in force until otherwise provided for by the President.
Section 8 authorizes a city or municipal council to impose a higher fee upon approval of the President.
Section 8 makes the permit and license distinct requirements for lawful operation.

Complaints, investigations, and decisions

Section 9 authorizes any person who believes a covered establishment is established or located in a place not authorized by the Executive Order to file a protest with the Secretary of the Interior.
Section 9 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, after proper investigation, to decide the case or cancel the permit and license.

Appeals and finality

Section 10 provides that any action by the city, provincial, or municipal treasurer under Sections 7 and 8 may be appealed to the Secretary of the Interior.
Section 10 provides that the Secretary of the Interior’s decision is final.

Revocation for gambling or prohibited games

Section 11 requires the Secretary of the Interior to revoke any permit or license granted under the Executive Order upon satisfactory evidence that gambling or playing of any prohibited game has taken place within the premises of a covered establishment.

Consequences for regulatory violations

Section 12 requires that upon violation of any regulation, the permit for operation be withdrawn by the Secretary of the Interior and the license be revoked.
Section 12 provides that revocation of the permit and license results in forfeiture to the concerned city or municipality of all sums paid therefor.

Transitional coverage for existing establishments

Section 13 grants establishments operating on January 1, 1941 that are within the prohibited zones or distances under Section 2, or that do not comply with Section 3 building requirements a one year’s notice to close, transfer, or otherwise comply.
Section 13 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, with the approval of the President, to authorize continuance in their present location in special cases for justifiable reasons.

Issuance, authority, and effectivity

This regulation is issued as Executive Order No. 319 dated January 25, 1941, titled “REGULATING THE OPERATION OF NIGHT CLUBS, CABARETS, DANCING SCHOOLS, AND DANCE HALLS.”
The Executive Order is issued by the President, Manuel L. Quezon, acting under powers vested by Commonwealth Act Numbered Six hundred and one to regulate the establishment, maintenance, and operation of places of amusement in chartered cities, municipalities, and municipal districts.
It takes effect by promulgation of the rules governing operation, supervision, permits, licenses, and compliance requirements for covered establishments.