Section 19
SEC. 19. The Commission shall exercise the following powers and authority over duly declared slum areas: (a) To prohibit the owner or agent of a parcel of land to use, or to rent to, or permit its use by others, for any building which the Commission may declare to be unfit for use or habitation because of being unhygienic, unsanitary, dangerous to life or property, or of a type or character prohibited by the sanitary or building regulations of the Commission or of the city or municipality in which situated. (b) To prohibit the owner or agent of a parcel of land to use to rent to, or permit its use by others for more buildings or dwelling than permitted by ordinance or regulations, and to prohibit the owner or agent of a house abutting on a private alley to use, to rent to, or permit its use for a building, unless (1) the site is provided with adequate surface drainage by means of concrete, tile, metal or masonry canals, gutters, or pipes emptying into a public drain, estero, or other suitable body of water so as to prevent the accumulation and stagnation of water on the site or lot, and unless (2) each dwelling abuts upon a public street or. alley or on a prh ate alley having the minimum width hereinafter prescribed, so constructed and maintained with stone, gravel, cinders, bricks, cement, or other equally suitable material, that surface water will flow there from and that garbage collectors and others rendering public service may conveniently pass thereon. The minimum width for public and private streets and alleys for the purposes of this Act shall be three meters when the length thereof does not exceed thirty meters or the length thereof between intersecting streets or alleys does not exceed fifty meters. In all other cases the minimum width shall be five meters. (c) To cause any building deemed unfit for use or habitation for the causes stated in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section to be demolished at the cost and expense of the owner, unless the same be brought into conformity with the requirements ox the Commission within a reasonable time which shall be not less than fifteen days from the date of the order of the Commission declaring said building to be unfit. (d) To defray the cost of demolition if the owner of the building fails or refuses to demolish the same or to bring it into such conformity in due time, or to defray the cost of such demolition from the value of any salvaged materials resulting from the demolition of the building. (e) To pay to the owner of a building demolished by virtue of this section such an amount as the Commission may determine to be just but not exceeding the assessed value of the building, when in the opinion of the Commission such payment will be less expensive and will be more apt promptly to accomplish the purposes of this Act than the withholding of such payment, and may stipulate how such payment shall be applied to further the purposes of this Act, including the application to arrears in rental due to the owner of the land when the building is owned by a tenant, when the Commission is able to supply the dispossessed tenant with other housing suitable to his income and is satisfied that the owner of the land is fully cooperating In the Commission's program of slum clearance. (f) When the owner or agent of a property or proper ties has been notified under this section to bring the same into conformity with the requirements of the Commission and fails or neglects to do so within the time stipulated in the order of the Commission, the Commission may in its discretion cause the work to be done which it deems necessary to bring the property or properties into conformity with the requirements of the Commission and the cost thereof, plus a surcharge of not to exceed ten per centum for overhead expense, shall be a lien against the property affected superior to all other liens except tax liens, and the Commission may proceed against the owner or against the property, or both simultaneously, to recover such cost and surcharge. The power of the Commission to bring a property into conformity with its requirements includes the power to repair or remodel existing structures when the cost thereof does not exceed fifteen per centum of the assessed or reason able market value, whichever is the lesser. Should the owner make a showing to the Commission that his failure or neglect to bring the property into conformity with the requirements of the Commission is due to his lack of means, the Commission may in its discretion authorize reimbursement of the cost and surcharge incurred by it hereunder over a period of years, with interest not exceeding six per centum per annum. (g) Should any person do or refrain from doing any act or thing in violation of any municipal or city ordinance or order of the Commission, the Commission may apply to the court of first instance for an order enjoining1 the person against doing or ordering him to do the act or thing complained of, and if upon due hearing the court shall find the complaint of the Commission to be justified it shall issue and enforce the corresponding order, and in such case the sheriff or any officer of the Commission appointed by the court in lieu of the sheriff shall enforce such order of the court. In such cases the applicable provisions of the Rules of Court shall be availed of. (h) Should the order of the Commission involve the filling of lowlands in the City of Manila, the owner of the land or the Commission may avail themselves of the provisions of Act Numbered Thirty-three hundred and fifty-two, as amended, known as the Lowland Improvement Act, and upon petition of the Commission, or at the request of the owner made within fifteen days after receipt of an order of the Commission requiring the filling of his land, the Mayor of Manila shall, if there be sufficient money available for expenditures in the fund created by said Act, condemn the land complained of and require that it be filled pursuant to said Act.