[ Act No. 2682, March 09, 1917 ]

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS TWO, FIVE, SEVEN, EIGHT, AND FIFTEEN OF ACT NUMBERED TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-THREE, ENTITLED "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE MUTUAL INSURANCE OF WORK ANIMAL."

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Legislature assembled and by the authority of the same:SECTION 1. Section two of Act Numbered Twenty-five hundred and seventy-three is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 2. The management of the association shall be vested in a board, to be known as the Insurance Board, consisting of the Director of Agriculture, as chairman, and two citizens of the Philippine Islands, one of them acquainted with and interested in agriculture and the other in cattle breeding, as members. The Insular Treasurer shall be treasurer and the chief of the insurance division of the Bureau of Agriculture secretary of the association. Said members shall be appointed by the Governor-General, by and with the consent of the Senate, and shall receive six pesos for each day of attendance at the meetings of the board and be entitled to reimbursement of their actual and necessary traveling expenses when engaged in the performance of their duties for the purposes of this Act."The Insurance Board, with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall promulgate the regulations or by-laws governing the association and adopt any other measures for the attainment of the purposes of this Act. It may appoint agents for the examination, valuation, appraisal, identification, registration, branding, and certification of the death of any work animal insured, and assign a reasonable compensation to such agents; it shall determine the amount of the insurance premiums, which shall in no case be less than four nor more than six per centum of the value of the animal insured ; and shall establish schedules of insurance premiums, taking into account the various regions of the Archipelago, according to the use made of the work animals."

SEC. 2. Section five of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 5. Whenever any person desires to become a member of said society, he shall, in addition to paying the above-mentioned membership fee, file with the municipal treasurer a detailed description on blanks furnished by the Insurance Board of each animal which he desires to insure. Upon compliance with all the requirements prescribed by the regulations issued by the Insurance Board, the municipal treasurer shall notify the person interested of the admission or rejection of the animals which it is desired to insure. In case of admission the owner, upon the request of the municipal treasurer, shall pay the entire amount of the insurance premiums to the said municipal treasurer, who shall issue the proper policies. The insurance premiums shall be payable annually in advance, and whenever a member fails to make "such payment he shall by that act cease to be a member of the association: Provided, however, That the insurance provided for herein shall not take effect or be in force until at least ten thousand work animals have been listed for insurance. As soon as this number has been listed, the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall issue a formal statement fixing the date on which the insurance shall take effect and shall direct the municipal treasurers to collect the amount of all insurance premiums."

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

"SEC. 7. After a work animal has been accepted for insurance hereunder it shall not thereafter be rejected on account of age, but a carabao above twenty years of age or under three years of age, or a vaca above twelve years of age or under three years of age, shall not in the first instance be accepted for insurance hereunder."

SEC. 4. Section eight of said Act Numbered Twenty-five hundred and seventy-three is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 8. For the purposes of this Act work animals are hereby appraised as follows: carabaos, three to five years of age, fifty to one hundred pesos; five to ten years of age, one hundred to one hundred and fifty pesos; ten to fifteen years of age, fifty to one hundred pesos; fifteen to twenty years of age, twenty-five to fifty pesos; over twenty years of age, no value. Work cattle, three to five years of age, fifty to ninety pesos; five to eight years of age, eighty to one hundred and twenty pesos; eight to to twelve years of age, fifty to eighty pesos; over twelve years of age, no value. Said Board shall arrange a schedule of values within the limits prescribed in this section. When an animal reaches the age limit in any of the above-mentioned classes it shall automatically pass to the succeeding class."

SEC. 5. Section fifteen of said Act Numbered Twenty-five hundred and seventy-three is hereby amended to read as follows:SEC. 15. The sum of thirty thousand pesos is hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the proper operation of this Act; of this sum, five thousand pesos shall be set aside for the expenses of organizing the association and the remaining twenty-five thousand pesos shall be set aside for insurance or reserve funds: Provided, That this sum shall be reimbursable to the Insular Treasury as soon as the association has sufficient funds, in the discretion of the Insurance Board.

"So far as this Act imposes duties upon public officials such duties shall be a part of the public duties of said officials, and shall be performed without additional compensation."

SEC. 6. This Act shall take effect on its approval.Approved, March 9, 1917.

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