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[ Act No. 2584., February 04, 1916 ]
AN ACT REGULATING SPONGE FISHERIES IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Legislature, that:
SECTION 1. Except as provided in this Act, it shall be unlawful to fish, to collect, or gather sponges from the sea bottom or reefs within a radius of three marine leagues from any land within the territorial limits of the Philippine Islands.
SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Interior may grant concessions for the fishing for, collecting or gathering of sponges in any waters of the Philippine Islands, to the following:
(a) Citizens of the United States or of the Philippine Islands.
(b) Honorably discharged soldiers or sailors of the Army or Navy of the United States.
(c) Corporations duly organized under the laws of the Philippine Islands.
(d) Persons who have under and by virtue of the Treaty of Paris acquired the political rights of natives of the Philippine Islands.
SEC. 3. All applications for concessions shall be made to the Secretary of the Interior and be accompanied by a description giving latitude and longitude indicated upon a chart of the region desired, the latest published charts of the United States Geodetic Survey being taken as the basis of the plot. Such applicants must- take oath in proper form that the said area does not conflict in any way with any concession already granted or occupied. If the Secretary of the Interior should become satisfied of the financial responsibility of the applicant, the concession may be granted, subject to the proper erection and location of marks and buoys. All concessions must be marked at each corner with properly anchored buoys, and in shallow water, description of boundary marks must be submitted.
All persons working under a concession or permit must at all times carry in their possession copy of such con- n cession or permit ready to exhibit the same upon demand by any peace officer or other persons designated by the Secretary of the Interior to enforce the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 4. The annual concession fee shall be twenty-five pesos per square kilometer. Concessions granted in accordance with this Act shall be for the sponging privilege exclusively, shall run for a period of not to exceed ten years, and shall not interfere with the free passage over the area under concession of boats or vessels, nor in any way prevent the unrestricted fishing, by other persons over the said area, for marine forms other than sponges: Provided, however, That, subject to confirmation by the t Secretary of the Interior, the Director of Education or his authorized representatives may select from any concession, without charge, adequate areas of foreshore and waters for the cultivation of sponges or other marine forms for the purpose of any government school or schools located on or adjacent to any concession.
SEC. 5. The Collector of Internal Revenue shall collect the fees and charges fixed by virtue of the provisions of this Act. The annual concession fees shall be due on the first of January of each year and, if tendered in quarterly installments, on or before the twentieth of January, April, July, and October, or on or before the last days of said months in remote provinces, in the discretion of the Collector of Internal Revenue, shall be received without penalty; but any person first beginning to fish, collect, or gather sponges under a concession, shall pay the first quarterly installment before his concession shall be valid. If the fee due on any concession is not paid within the period in which the payment may be received without penalty, the amount of same shall be increased by ten per centum, the increment to be a part of the fee. Should the concession fee remain delinquent fifty days after the same becomes due, the concession shall be cancelled, without prejudice to criminal proceedings against the delinquent concessionaire under section twelve hereof.
Of the sums collected under and by virtue of this Act, twenty per centum shall accrue to the Insular Treasury and forty per centum to the province and municipality, respectively, in which the concession is located. In case a concession should be included within two or more provinces or municipalities, the distribution between the different provinces and municipalities shall be made in proportion to the areas of the concession included within the respective municipalities and provinces as aforesaid.
SEC. 6. A temporary written permit to prospect for sponges in any waters of the Philippine Islands, not under concession, may be granted by any provincial treasurer with the concurrence of and countersigned by the provincial governor, upon payment of a fee of five pesos. This temporary prospector's permit shall not be valid for a longer period of time than three months from date it is issued, and shall not be subject to renewal. Such permit may be issued to any person or corporation subject to the provisions of section two hereof.
Under no circumstances shall more than fifty kilos of cleaned sponges be gathered under such temporary permit. Should any such temporary prospector's permits be found with defaced, erased, or illegible date of issue, they shall be taken up at once by the first peace officer who becomes aware of this fact. At the end of the period for which these temporary prospector's permits are issued, they shall be returned to the issuing treasurers, who shall keep the same on file marked "cancelled."
SEC. 7. Holders of a sponge concession shall have the privilege of erecting the necessary plant for the development and exploitation of the sponge industry such as houses, drying racks, corrals, landings, etc., on the shore convenient to the concession for the proper curing of sponges: Provided, however, That the previous approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Police should be had in accordance with the provisions of Act Numbered Sixteen hundred and fifty-four before erecting structures herein referred to.
SEC. 8. All sponges shipped from the Philippine Islands shall be graded as to variety and size and such grades must be placed in separate sacks and truthfully marked. It shall be the duty of the Insular Collector of Customs to enforce the provisions of this section in accordance with rules and regulations issued under this Act.
SEC. 9. Under penalty of the forfeiture of the concession and confiscation by the Government of the entire shipment in which found, no commercial sponge of less than ten centimeters through any diameter shall be taken from the waters of the Philippine Islands except for purposes of sponge culture within Philippine waters. This penalty shall be imposed by the Secretary of the Interior after such investigation as he may deem necessary in each case, without prejudice to any punishment that may be imposed by the Court in accordance with the provisions of section twelve of this Act.
SEC. 10. The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and empowered to make and prescribe, and from time to time to change, such rules and regulations as may be required to carry out the provisions of this Act, other than those fixing the manner for the collection of the fees and charges prescribed hereunder, and otherwise to conserve and promote the sponge industry in the Philippine Islands. Such rules and regulations when approved by the Governor-General shall have the force of law and any violation thereof shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 11. It is hereby prohibited and declared unlawful:
(a) To transfer any concession or permit granted or issued under the provisions of this Act, except with the consent of the Secretary of the Interior.
(b) To fish, collect, or gather any sponges growing on the sea bottom or reefs within the boundary of a concession occupied by another person, and granted under the provisions of this Act, or by a concessionaire outside the boundary of his concession.
(c) To engage in the practice of "loading" or impregnating sponges with foreign substance of any sort or character whatsoever for the purpose of increasing the apparent weight of said sponges and thereby deceiving purchasers of said sponges as to their true weight.
(d) To ship from or attempt to ship from the Philippine Islands any sponges taken from the waters thereof except through the Custom House at one of the ports of entry of the Philippine Islands.
(e) To possess Philippine commercial sponges, unless holding a concession or permit in accordance with this Act or a bill of sale traceable from a concessionaire.
(f) To remove, deface, destroy, or in any way interfere with the location marks of any concession granted under the provisions of this Act.
(g) To possess undersized sponges, or sponges" less than ten centimeters through any diameter.
(h) To take from the waters of the Philippine Islands any commercial sponge by the use of any dredge or "gan-gara" except in waters of more than thirty fathoms in depth.
SEC. 12. Any person violating the provisions of this Act or any regulations issued by the Secretary of the Interior as provided for in this Act shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty pesos and not more than five hundred pesos for each offense, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
In case any association or corporation shall violate or cause to be violated any provision of this Act, such association or corporation, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred pesos and not more than one thousand pesos for each offense, and any person, member, or employee of any association or corporation who shall violate or cause to be violated any provision of this Act, or shall aid, abet, or assist in such violation, or shall voluntarily permit the same, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred pesos for each offense, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
SEC. 13. Violations of this Act may be prosecuted in any Court of First Instance of any province, but the court first lawfully taking cognizance thereof shall have jurisdiction of the same to the exclusion of all other courts.
SEC. 14. The Governor-General may, by executive order, designate the Governor of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu to perform the duties and powers devolving upon the Secretary of the Interior under this Act within the territorial limits of said Department.
SEC. 15. Act Numbered Two hundred nine of the former Legislative Council, entitled "An Act for the preservation and regulation of the sponge fisheries of the Moro Province, and for other purposes," is hereby repealed: Provided, however, That nothing in this Act provided shall be construed to impair any right or obligation acquired or imposed under the provisions of said Act Numbered Two hundred nine for sponge concessions existing at the time of the passage of this Act.
All records carried by the Government of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu under the provisions of said Act Numbered Two hundred nine are hereby transferred to the office of the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 16. The provisions of this Act shall not apply to persons gathering sponges outside of the limits of the concessions, provided the daily amount of sponges gathered by them does not exceed five kilograms.
SEC. 17. This Act shall take effect on its passage.
Enacted, February 4, 1916.
SECTION 1. Except as provided in this Act, it shall be unlawful to fish, to collect, or gather sponges from the sea bottom or reefs within a radius of three marine leagues from any land within the territorial limits of the Philippine Islands.
SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Interior may grant concessions for the fishing for, collecting or gathering of sponges in any waters of the Philippine Islands, to the following:
(a) Citizens of the United States or of the Philippine Islands.
(b) Honorably discharged soldiers or sailors of the Army or Navy of the United States.
(c) Corporations duly organized under the laws of the Philippine Islands.
(d) Persons who have under and by virtue of the Treaty of Paris acquired the political rights of natives of the Philippine Islands.
SEC. 3. All applications for concessions shall be made to the Secretary of the Interior and be accompanied by a description giving latitude and longitude indicated upon a chart of the region desired, the latest published charts of the United States Geodetic Survey being taken as the basis of the plot. Such applicants must- take oath in proper form that the said area does not conflict in any way with any concession already granted or occupied. If the Secretary of the Interior should become satisfied of the financial responsibility of the applicant, the concession may be granted, subject to the proper erection and location of marks and buoys. All concessions must be marked at each corner with properly anchored buoys, and in shallow water, description of boundary marks must be submitted.
All persons working under a concession or permit must at all times carry in their possession copy of such con- n cession or permit ready to exhibit the same upon demand by any peace officer or other persons designated by the Secretary of the Interior to enforce the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 4. The annual concession fee shall be twenty-five pesos per square kilometer. Concessions granted in accordance with this Act shall be for the sponging privilege exclusively, shall run for a period of not to exceed ten years, and shall not interfere with the free passage over the area under concession of boats or vessels, nor in any way prevent the unrestricted fishing, by other persons over the said area, for marine forms other than sponges: Provided, however, That, subject to confirmation by the t Secretary of the Interior, the Director of Education or his authorized representatives may select from any concession, without charge, adequate areas of foreshore and waters for the cultivation of sponges or other marine forms for the purpose of any government school or schools located on or adjacent to any concession.
SEC. 5. The Collector of Internal Revenue shall collect the fees and charges fixed by virtue of the provisions of this Act. The annual concession fees shall be due on the first of January of each year and, if tendered in quarterly installments, on or before the twentieth of January, April, July, and October, or on or before the last days of said months in remote provinces, in the discretion of the Collector of Internal Revenue, shall be received without penalty; but any person first beginning to fish, collect, or gather sponges under a concession, shall pay the first quarterly installment before his concession shall be valid. If the fee due on any concession is not paid within the period in which the payment may be received without penalty, the amount of same shall be increased by ten per centum, the increment to be a part of the fee. Should the concession fee remain delinquent fifty days after the same becomes due, the concession shall be cancelled, without prejudice to criminal proceedings against the delinquent concessionaire under section twelve hereof.
Of the sums collected under and by virtue of this Act, twenty per centum shall accrue to the Insular Treasury and forty per centum to the province and municipality, respectively, in which the concession is located. In case a concession should be included within two or more provinces or municipalities, the distribution between the different provinces and municipalities shall be made in proportion to the areas of the concession included within the respective municipalities and provinces as aforesaid.
SEC. 6. A temporary written permit to prospect for sponges in any waters of the Philippine Islands, not under concession, may be granted by any provincial treasurer with the concurrence of and countersigned by the provincial governor, upon payment of a fee of five pesos. This temporary prospector's permit shall not be valid for a longer period of time than three months from date it is issued, and shall not be subject to renewal. Such permit may be issued to any person or corporation subject to the provisions of section two hereof.
Under no circumstances shall more than fifty kilos of cleaned sponges be gathered under such temporary permit. Should any such temporary prospector's permits be found with defaced, erased, or illegible date of issue, they shall be taken up at once by the first peace officer who becomes aware of this fact. At the end of the period for which these temporary prospector's permits are issued, they shall be returned to the issuing treasurers, who shall keep the same on file marked "cancelled."
SEC. 7. Holders of a sponge concession shall have the privilege of erecting the necessary plant for the development and exploitation of the sponge industry such as houses, drying racks, corrals, landings, etc., on the shore convenient to the concession for the proper curing of sponges: Provided, however, That the previous approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Police should be had in accordance with the provisions of Act Numbered Sixteen hundred and fifty-four before erecting structures herein referred to.
SEC. 8. All sponges shipped from the Philippine Islands shall be graded as to variety and size and such grades must be placed in separate sacks and truthfully marked. It shall be the duty of the Insular Collector of Customs to enforce the provisions of this section in accordance with rules and regulations issued under this Act.
SEC. 9. Under penalty of the forfeiture of the concession and confiscation by the Government of the entire shipment in which found, no commercial sponge of less than ten centimeters through any diameter shall be taken from the waters of the Philippine Islands except for purposes of sponge culture within Philippine waters. This penalty shall be imposed by the Secretary of the Interior after such investigation as he may deem necessary in each case, without prejudice to any punishment that may be imposed by the Court in accordance with the provisions of section twelve of this Act.
SEC. 10. The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and empowered to make and prescribe, and from time to time to change, such rules and regulations as may be required to carry out the provisions of this Act, other than those fixing the manner for the collection of the fees and charges prescribed hereunder, and otherwise to conserve and promote the sponge industry in the Philippine Islands. Such rules and regulations when approved by the Governor-General shall have the force of law and any violation thereof shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 11. It is hereby prohibited and declared unlawful:
(a) To transfer any concession or permit granted or issued under the provisions of this Act, except with the consent of the Secretary of the Interior.
(b) To fish, collect, or gather any sponges growing on the sea bottom or reefs within the boundary of a concession occupied by another person, and granted under the provisions of this Act, or by a concessionaire outside the boundary of his concession.
(c) To engage in the practice of "loading" or impregnating sponges with foreign substance of any sort or character whatsoever for the purpose of increasing the apparent weight of said sponges and thereby deceiving purchasers of said sponges as to their true weight.
(d) To ship from or attempt to ship from the Philippine Islands any sponges taken from the waters thereof except through the Custom House at one of the ports of entry of the Philippine Islands.
(e) To possess Philippine commercial sponges, unless holding a concession or permit in accordance with this Act or a bill of sale traceable from a concessionaire.
(f) To remove, deface, destroy, or in any way interfere with the location marks of any concession granted under the provisions of this Act.
(g) To possess undersized sponges, or sponges" less than ten centimeters through any diameter.
(h) To take from the waters of the Philippine Islands any commercial sponge by the use of any dredge or "gan-gara" except in waters of more than thirty fathoms in depth.
SEC. 12. Any person violating the provisions of this Act or any regulations issued by the Secretary of the Interior as provided for in this Act shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty pesos and not more than five hundred pesos for each offense, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
In case any association or corporation shall violate or cause to be violated any provision of this Act, such association or corporation, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred pesos and not more than one thousand pesos for each offense, and any person, member, or employee of any association or corporation who shall violate or cause to be violated any provision of this Act, or shall aid, abet, or assist in such violation, or shall voluntarily permit the same, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred pesos for each offense, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
SEC. 13. Violations of this Act may be prosecuted in any Court of First Instance of any province, but the court first lawfully taking cognizance thereof shall have jurisdiction of the same to the exclusion of all other courts.
SEC. 14. The Governor-General may, by executive order, designate the Governor of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu to perform the duties and powers devolving upon the Secretary of the Interior under this Act within the territorial limits of said Department.
SEC. 15. Act Numbered Two hundred nine of the former Legislative Council, entitled "An Act for the preservation and regulation of the sponge fisheries of the Moro Province, and for other purposes," is hereby repealed: Provided, however, That nothing in this Act provided shall be construed to impair any right or obligation acquired or imposed under the provisions of said Act Numbered Two hundred nine for sponge concessions existing at the time of the passage of this Act.
All records carried by the Government of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu under the provisions of said Act Numbered Two hundred nine are hereby transferred to the office of the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 16. The provisions of this Act shall not apply to persons gathering sponges outside of the limits of the concessions, provided the daily amount of sponges gathered by them does not exceed five kilograms.
SEC. 17. This Act shall take effect on its passage.
Enacted, February 4, 1916.