AN ACT AMENDING ACT NUMBERED SEVEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-SEVEN, ENTITLED "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT OF THE MORO PROVINCE," AS AMENDED, AND PROVIDING THAT THE PROPERTY ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE POWER TO PURCHASE MERCHANDISE AND SUPPLIES FOR USE OF THE PROVINCIAL AND DISTRICT GOVERNMENTS, COURTS OF FIRST INSTANCE, AND SO FORTH, HERETOFORE BY LAW DEVOLVING UPON THE ENGINEER OF THE MORO PROVINCE SHALL BE ASSUMED AND EXERCISED BY THE TREASURER OF THE MORO PROVINCE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

• Sections: 9

Section 1

SECTION 1. Section seven of Act Numbered Seven hundred and eighty-seven, as amended, is hereby amended so as to read as follows :

"SEC. 7. The provincial treasurer shall he the chief financial officer of the province; he shall supervise the appraisement and assessment by the district treasurers and their deputies of all property in the province required by law to be assessed for taxation; he shall supervise the collection by the district treasurers of all taxes imposed in the province, either by the Insular Government, the provincial government, or the municipalities in the province, except only the customs duties, which shall be collected as now by the collectors of customs under the direction of the Insular Collector of Customs; lie shall give a bond for the faithful discharge of his duties and accounting for all moneys coining into his custody and for the lawful disbursement thereof: he shall be the custodian of all the funds of the province deposited in the provincial treasury and shall pay no money out; of the treasury of the province except upon warrants drawn in accordance with law, which, duly indorsed by the payee named therein, shall be his voucher for the payment; he shall, on or before the tenth day of each month, render an account of the transactions of his office for the preceding month to the legislative council, hereinafter created, who by committee, shall examine such accounts and the cash, and if said accounts are found correct shall so cert if v on the face of the accounts. He shall forward one copy of each monthly account-current to the district auditor accompanied by supporting vouchers, receipts, and abstracts. The books, accounts, papers, cash, and all records of the provincial treasurer shall at all times be open to the inspection of the district auditor or his deputy.

"The provincial treasurer shall render such further accounts as the district auditor may require of him and as the Insular Auditor may by general regulations require of all such treasurers. Copies of all contracts approved by the legislative council shall be forwarded to the district auditor. He shall perform all other duties which may be provided by law of the legislative council.

"The provincial treasurer shall purchase all supplies, equipment, or property required for the official use of the provincial and district governments, for the Courts of First Instance, and for customs officials in the Moro Province upon the order of the legislative council. He shall certify that the money to pay for such supplies, equipment, or properly has been duly appropriated, and that there are or will be funds available out of the revenues of the Moro Province to pay for same.

"Requisitions for material, equipment, and supplies for the construction or repair of public buildings, roads, bridges, or other public works shall be prepared by the provincial engineer; all requisitions for school equipment, supplies, or property shall be prepared by the superintendent of schools: and the provincial engineer and the superintendent of schools shall submit all such requisitions to the provincial treasurer for approval, who will in turn present the same to the legislative council for action, and upon the order of the council purchase the required property. The provincial treasurer shall keep a property account, in which he shall charge all responsible officials with supplies, equipment, or properly delivered, held, or used by them, and shall render such returns and account for same as the Insular Auditor shall require, and shall comply in this respect with all the conditions and requirements proscribed in Act Numbered Seventeen hundred and ninety-two.

''Provided, however, That, in the execution of public works outside of the provincial capital, the provincial treasurer on recommendation of the provincial engineer, may authorize the provincial engineer or his accredited deputy to purchase public works supplies or materials as the exigencies of the construction work may require. The vouchers for such purchases shall state that said purchase were made in interest of economy, of time, or of money, and shall require subsequent approval of the provincial treasurer.

''He shall make his purchases of supplies through the Purchasing Agent, except where otherwise expressly authorized in writing by the legislative council or by the governor of the province, such authorization to be granted only in those cases where, in the opinion of the legislative council or of the governor of the province, substantial financial loss would be avoided thereby: Provided, however, That all purchases to be, made in the United States shall be made through the Purchasing Agent."

Section 2

SEC. 2. Section eight of said Act, as amended, is hereby amended so read as follows:

"SEC. 8. The provincial engineer shall have supervision over the construction, repair and maintenance of the roads, bridges, ferries, public buildings, and other public improvements of the province. It shall be the duty of the engineer to make reports to the legislative council at least once a quarter, and oftener if deemed necessary by the council, of the condition of the roads, bridges, public buildings, and other improvements of the province, to recommend the repair and new construction which are necessary. Before a contract is let for the work it shall be the duty of the engineer to prepare plans and specifications and to make an estimate of the cost thereof and to submit the same to the legislative council. All contracts for such construction, repair, or maintenance shall be let by the engineer with the approval of the legislative council hereinafter created, and no payment, partial or for any contract made for such public work shall be authorized except upon the certificate of the engineer that the same is due."

Section 3

SEC. 3. Section fifteen of said Act, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 15. In each district of the Moro Province, there shall be appointed by the provincial governor, with the consent of the legislative council, a district governor and a district secretary. The office of district governor may be filled by proper detail of an Army District treasurers, officer with the consent of the legislative council. There shall also be a district treasurer who shall be appointed and his salary fixed by the provincial treasurer with the approval of the legislative council in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Laws and Rules. Whenever the legislative council shall decide that the duties of any district treasurer can be more economically or more efficiently performed by the provincial treasurer, or a deputy provincial treasurer, it may abolish the office of district treasurer in that district and require the duties thereof to he performed by the provincial treasurer, and may reestablish said office when it shall deem such action expedient. The governors and secretaries of the districts may be appointed without previous examination, but they shall be able after eighteen months of service to pass a satisfactory examination in the principal local dialect of their respective districts, and a failure to pass such an examination shall be sufficient cause for removal from office. All deputy provincial and deputy district treasurers shall be appointed by the provincial treasurer subject to the Civil Service Laws and Rules."

Section 4

SEC. 4. Section seventeen of said Act, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 17. The secretary of the district shall be the custodian of the public records and documents of the district: he shall attest all official acts of the governor of the district and shall record all of those acts which are required by law to be recorded, and shall discharge generally all the duties usually appertaining to the office of secretary: he shall on demand furnish certified copies of all public records and documents of the district, for which he shall charge, to any private person but not to any public official needing the same for a public purpose, the amount of ten centavos for each one hundred words including the certificate, which amount shall be paid into the provincial treasury. In case of a vacancy in the office of governor, or of his absence from the district, or of his disability, the secretary shall perform the duties of district governor; he shall inspect civil affairs in the district and acquaint himself as far as possible with the language, and customs of the Moros and other non-Christian tribes living therein: when public works or public repairs are begun by direction of the legislative council, he shall, under direction of the engineer and as his deputy, supervise them, and see that the contracts under which they are being carried out are complied with: he shall discharge the duties of his office, other than those of deputy engineer, under the orders and supervision of the district governor; and he shall discharge all other duties within the district which may be imposed upon him by acts of the legislative council or by executive order. When the district governor is absent from the capital but: present in the district, the secretary shall perform such duties of the district governor as may be delegated to him in writing by the governor."

Section 5

SEC. 5. Section eighteen of said Act, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 18. The treasurer of the district shall make collections of all taxes due and collectible under the law within his district, except such taxes or imposts as may be imposed by the municipal council and are collectible from day to day or from week to week. He shall have such agents or deputies as the legislative council shall by law provide. He shall perform the duty of registrar of Chinese when so designated by the Insular Collector of Customs and shall receive the same compensation therefor as provincial treasurers when so designated. lie shall within ten days after the close of each month render accounts-current to the district auditor supported by proper vouchers showing all collections and disbursements made by him during the preceding month, as well as all transfers of money from or to him, and shall forward a duplicate copy of said accounts-current to the provincial treasurer. The district treasurer shall, as be may be ordered by the provincial treasurer, retain custody of the money which he has collected or forward the same, or any part thereof, to the provincial treasury.

"He shall pay over to the municipal treasurers of his district such amounts as may be due the latter according to law, taking a receipt therefor, and shall advise the president and the council of the municipality of the payments which he has thus made to the municipal treasurer. He shall act as disbursing officer under Disbursing officer the provincial treasurer to pay the salary of the district governor, the district secretary, his own salary, and the salaries of the employees whose employment is lawfully authorized by the legislative council. His accounts, books, papers, cash, and all records, shall at all times be open to inspection by the provincial treasurer or his deputy, and by the district auditor or his deputy. In case he shall be found on examination to be in default, the district auditor or the provincial treasurer, or the agent of either, shall be authorized to seize his office, the books, papers, cash, and all records, and hold the same until the amounts due from him as such treasurer can he si a led. In case of the decease of the district treasurer, the same procedure shall obtain. When the account shall be stated, the office, public papers, and records shall be turned over to his lawful successor.

"The district treasurer shall have the custody of all public properly and of all public buildings except the property and buildings appertaining to the customs and school departments, which shall he in the custody of the collector of customs and the superintendent of schools, respectively. When in his opinion a more insular Auditor's satisfactory accounting of property may be had, the Insular Auditor may make the district treasurers, collectors of customs in the Moro Province, and the superintendent of schools accountable as well as responsible for the property in their custody; in such cases these officials will be required to fake up and account for all property in their custody and all property received from the provincial treasurer in the same manner as required of the provincial treasurer the provincial treasurer will then be allowed to drop such property from his property return. The district treasurer shall discharge other duties of such other duties as may be imposed upon him by acts of the legislative council. The district treasurer shall receive such documents relating to lands within his district as may be presented to him and shall forward the same to the register of deeds for the province at Zamboanga, where the registry of deeds for the province shall be located, but such receipt of documents by the district treasurer shall not be deemed a filing or registration thereof."

Section 6

SEC. 6. Section twenty-two of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

''SEC. 22. No contract for construction of a road, bridge, a public building or other public improvement shall be entered into until the provincial treasurer shall, in writing, certify to the legislative council that there is an appropriation to cover the amount of said contract, and the same can be paid from revenues of the Moro Province upon maturity of the obligations to be incurred : Provided, That nothing in this section shall be so construed as to prohibit the construction of public improvements from funds loaned to the Moro Province by the Insular Government".

Section 7

SEC. 7. Section twenty-throe of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 23. All repair or construction work, except repair or construction of roads, involving a greater cost than two thousand pesos, shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder after ten days' public notice of the letting, by advertisement in a paper of general circulation in the province, or if there be no such paper, by a notice posted for ten days at the main entrance of the provincial building at the capital of the province, and at the door of the office of the secretary of the district in which the work is to be done. In addition to giving the public notice above required, the legislative council, if it deem best, may direct the engineer to advertise for bids in a newspaper published in the city of Manila, or other papers outside of the province. In the repair or construction of roads, work may be done by day labor, and there need be no advertising if or bidding, unless it seems desirable to the legislative council, in which case the regulations for advertising for the repair or building of other public works hereinbefore mentioned shall be followed. The provincial engineer, with the approval of the legislative council, may reject any or all bids, and the legislative council may authorize hint to purchase the material, hire the labor, and execute the work."

Section 8

SEC. 8. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

Section 9

SEC. 9. This Act shall take effect on its passage.

Enacted, October 10, 1908.