Act No. 22 | Senate of the Philippines Legislative Reference Bureau

By authority of the President of the United States, be it enacted by the United States Philippine Commission, that:SECTION 1. The sum of one million dollars in the money of the United States is hereby appropriated to be paid out of any money, in the insular Treasury, not otherwise appropriated, to be immediately available and to be expended by the Military Governor, through the Chief Engineer, United States Army, for the Division of the Philippine Islands, for continuing the improvements of the harbor of Manila, including the outer harbor and the Pasig River from the Bridge of Spain to the mouth, in general accordance with the project adopted and partly carried out by the Spanish Government, the plans and specifications for which are on file in the office of the Chief Engineer.SEC. 2. The appropriation shall be first used to finish the break waters already partially built, and to dredge within them so that all shipping, of whatever draft, frequenting this port may be able to be under their protection, to clear and dredge the present canal connecting the projected harbor with the Pasig River; and to keep dredged the Pasig River below the Bridge of Spain, and the bar at the mouth of the river.SEC. 3. After the work provided for in section two shall have proceeded so far that connection of the new port by a bridge with the business portion of Manila shall lie needed, the Chief Engineer, under the direction of the Military Governor, shall construct a suitable railroad, wagon, and passenger drawbridge across the Pasig River, near its mouth, so as to interfere as little as possible with navigation. The Chief Engineer shall acquire, either by purchase or by appropriation in the manner provided by law, the necessary land, not owned by the government of these Islands, for approaches and piers of the bridge. No purchase of lands herein directed shall be concluded until the title thereto shall be examined by the fiscal of the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands and be declared good and sufficient, and the terms of the purchase shall be approved by the Military Governor.SEC. 4. Such minor structures, permanent or temporary and such inside quay walls may be constructed or continued, where partially constructed, as will, as far as practicable, give relict to the present overcrowded condition of the port of Manila and which do not unduly interfere with, delay, or injure the final improvements contemplated by this Act.SEC. 5. The work herein provided tor shall, as far as practicable, be done and the necessary materials purchased by contract or contracts with private individuals or corporations. Bids tor doing the same shall be advertised for and the contracts for doing the same shall be awarded to the lowest bidder or bidders except as hereinafter provided.When the Chief Engineer shall decide that public exigency requires the immediate delivery of any article or performance of any service, the article or service required may be procured by open purchase or hire at the places and in the manner in which articles are usually bought and sold or such services engaged between individuals, provided the price of such article or service does not in any single instance exceed five thousand dollars Mexican.The Chief Engineer may advertise and contract for the doing of the work prescribed by this Act either as a whole or in parts, as he may deem most advantageous to the public interests.In making such advertisements or contracts he shall observe the following general rules and regulations, viz.:(a) Advertisements shall be made by him in some newspaper or newspapers of general circulation in the cities of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco in the United States, in Manila and in such other places as he may deem advantageous, for the period of thirty days, specifying therein the nature and character of the work to be let, stating that the plans and specifications for the same can be examined at the office of the Chief Engineer in Manila, and, in his discretion, at other designated points, soliciting bids for doing the same or so much as shall be specified in the advertisement and fixing the time or places when and where the bids shall be opened: Provided, That whenever the Chief Engineer shall advertise for a minor part of said work which will not involve a cost of more than fifty thousand dollars, he shall not be required to make such advertisements in the United States, if, in his judgment, so doing would be productive of unnecessary expense or delay. (b) At the time and place or places fixed in the advertisement, all bids for doing the work or the part advertised to be done, shall be opened by the Chief Engineer, who shall award the contract for doing the same to the lowest responsible bidder, provided the Chief Engineer deems the bid reasonable. (c) If the Chief Engineer considers the lowest responsible bid to be excessive, he is hereby authorized to reject the same and he may, in the same manner, again advertise, one or more times, for new bids and open the same and award the contract as in the first instance to the lowest responsible bidder, if in his judgment the same is reasonable and if not he shall reject the same, provided that after once advertising without obtaining a satisfactory bid, the Chief Engineer, if he considers it more, economical and advantageous to the public interests, shall report the fact to the Military Governor, who shall, if he considers further advertising undesirable, order the work to be done directly by the Chief Engineer under such rules as the Military Governor may establish for the purchase of materials, employment of labor and other details.(d) The Chief Engineer shall furnish, on application, to any person desiring it, all information in regard to the nature and character of the work advertised to be let and shall permit the examination of the plans and specifications and in general shall furnish any person desirous to bid upon the work, such information as will enable him to bid understandship. (e) No person shall be informed directly or indirectly by the Chief Engineer or his subordinates, of the name of any bidder or one intending to bid or of any one to whom any information has been given. (f) Bids shall be prepared in duplicate or triplicate, if required, in strict accordance with the requirements of the advertisement and specifications, and shall refer to the advertisement and to the plans or specifications. Each bid shall give the place of residence and post-office address of the bidder and shall be signed by him with his usual signature in full.(g) A bid by a person who affixes to his signature the word "president," "secretary," or "agent," or other designation without disclosing his principal, shall be considered as the bid of the individual; a bid by a corporation shall be signed in the name of the corporation, followed by the signature of the president, secretary, or other person authorized to bind it in the matter, who shall file evidence of his authority to do so; a bid by a firm shall be signed in the firm's name, either by a member thereof or an agent, who shall also state the names of the members thereof. If an agent signs, he shall file evidence of his authority to bind the firm. (h) In all bids, numbers and prices shall be written in words as well as expressed in figures. It will be sufficient if specifications are referred to and are declared to form a part of the bid.(i) Erasures or interlineations shall be explained by the bidder in the bid over his signature. (j) A guaranty, signed by two responsible persons, that such bidder, if the work be awarded to him, will enter into contract and give bond for the performance of such work and that upon failure of the bidder to do so after ten days' notice of the acceptance of his bid, the guarantees shall be bound for the increased amount of any contract with another party, entered into by the Chief Engineer for the doing of such work, shall be required to accompany such bid, whenever, in the opinion of the Chief Engineer, it is necessary to protect the public interests, and when so required, no bid, unaccompanied by a guaranty, made in the manner and form as directed in the advertisement, shall be considered. (k) The guaranty shall be in duplicate or in triplicate if required by the Chief Engineer and shall be made out with the necessary justification in accordance with blank forms furnished by him. The guarantors must severally justify in double the amount of penalty of the guaranty. The affidavit of justification may be taken before any person authorized by the laws of the United States or the Philippine Islands to administer an oath. The justification will be followed by the certificate of a judge or clerk of a United States court, a United States commissioner or by a judge or clerk of any court of record in the Philippine Islands, with the seal of the court attached, that the guarantors are known to him and to the best of his knowledge and belief each is worth, over and above debts and liabilities, the sum stated in the guaranty. If necessary separate certificates may be furnished to each guarantor. (l) Bids, with their guaranties, shall be securely sealed in suitable envelopes, indorsed and addressed as required in the advertisement, and must be in the possession of the officer addressed before the hour appointed for the opening. No responsibility shall attach to an officer for the premature opening of any bid not so indorsed as clearly to show its character. (m) Whenever the Chief Engineer awards any contract for doing any work herein provided for, he shall reduce it to writing in due form, it shall contain all provisions necessary to secure proper performance of the work and shall be signed by him and the person to whom the contract is awarded, and acknowledged b the latter either before a judge or clerk of a United States court a United States commissioner, or a judge or clerk of any court of record in the Philippine Islands, who shall in due torn, certify that such acknowledgment was made before him, under the seal of such court or office. (n) Any contract herein provided for shall be made and executed in triplicate. One copy shall be retained by the Chief Engineer, one shall he filed with the .Military Governor, and the third shall be retained by the other contracting party. (o) Bond or bonds for the faithful performance of any contract so entered into by the Chief Engineer as hereinbefore provided, shall be given by the person to whom the contract is awarded, with two good and sufficient sureties, where the sureties are individuals, in the penal sum of not less than one-tenth nor more than the full contract price of the work, and conditioned for the faithful performance of the contract according to its tenor and effect, which bond or bonds shall be executed and acknowledged and the sureties justified as provided in subsection (k) hereof. (p) Any company duly incorporated under the laws of the United States or any State of the United States, authorized to become surety on bonds under the laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of the War Department, may be accepted as surety. (q) Individuals offering themselves as sureties shall not be accepted unless they shall be citizens of the United States or residents of the Philippine Islands owing allegiance to the United States who can justify as required in subsection (o), or subjects or citizens of other governments, residents in the Philippine Islands, having sufficient property therein subject to execution to meet the obligation of the bond. No contract or bond shall be binding on the Government until approved by the Military Governor. (r) Transfers of contracts or of interest, in contracts are forbidden. (s) All contracts to be made under this Act shall contain a provision by which, there shall he retained from all partial payments at least ten per cent of the amount due until the acceptance of the work under contract and the final payment therefor, as additional security for the performance of the contract.SEC. 6. The Chief Engineer is authorized and directed, so soon as he can do so without interfering with the work above provided to be done, to revise the Spanish plans and specifications, and recommend to the Commission, through the Military Governor, such amendments and modifications thereof as in his judgment, would be advisable.SEC. 7. The Chief Engineer shall make to the Military Governor detailed monthly reports of the progress of the work directed hereunder, containing a statement of expenditures made during the month, together with suggestions of further legislation, if he thinks any to be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Act. The Military Governor shall transmit the Chief Engineer's reports to the Commission with such recommendations and comments as he shall deem proper. The reports shall be filed in the office of the secretary of the Commission and shall be open to public inspection.SEC. 8. The Military Governor is authorized to draw warrants for the amount herein provided, and the Insular Treasurer is directed to pay the same.SEC. 9. This Act shall take effect on its passage.Enacted, October 15, 1900.

Source: Supreme Court E-Library