Act No. 296 | 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. There is hereby created, under the Department of Public Instruction, a Bureau of Public Printing, which shall have charge of and execute the printing required by the Insular Government, and such other printing as it may by law or by the order of the Civil Governor be authorized to undertake, anything in prior acts of the Commission to the contrary notwithstanding.SEC. 2. There shall be a Chief of the Bureau of Public Printing, who must be a practical printer and versed in the art of bookbinding, who shall receive an annual salary of three thousand five hundred dollars and who shall be known as the Public Printer.The duties of the Public Printer shall be:

To take charge of all matter which is to be printed, engraved, lithographed, or bound; to keep an account thereof in the order in which it is received; to cause, the work to be promptly executed, and to assign any employee of any department of the Public Printing Office temporarily to another department, thereof, providing the interests of the public service will thereby be advanced.
To superintend all printing, engraving, lithographing, and binding done at the Philippine Public Printing Office; to see that the sheets or volumes are promptly delivered to the person who is authorized to receive them, and the receipt of the person authorized to receive them shall be a sufficient voucher for their delivery.
To make an annual report to the Civil Governor, through the Secretary of Public Instruction, and in it to specify the titles and the number of copies of each form, sheet, document, pamphlet, or volume printed, indicating in each case the authority under which the printing was done, and also to specify in said report the exact number of copies of books bound, giving the titles of the books and indicating in each case the authority under which the binding was done, and showing in detail at the same time the cost of the printing done under the orders of each of the several officers having authority to approve orders or requisitions for printing, and giving account of stock and supplies used and the amount on hand, and to make such other reports from time to time as the Secretary of Public Instruction shall require.
To employ workmen who are thoroughly skilled in their respective branches of industry as shown by trial of their skill under his direction, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Act.
To deposit in the library of the Commission two copies of each document, pamphlet, or volume printed, which shall be properly bound, indexed, and preserved in this library; also to preserve in the office of the Public Printer one copy of each form, sheet, document, pamphlet, or volume printed, numbered according to the numbers of the orders under which they are printed; also to forward to the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, District of Columbia, one copy of each publication of a public nature.

SEC. 3. The Public Printer shall give a bond in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars conditioned faithfully to discharge all the duties of his office and to account for all moneys and other property coming into his hands as such Public Printer.SEC. 4. There shall be a chief clerk of class four, in the Bureau of Public Printing, appointed by the Public Printer subject to the confirmation of the Civil Governor, who shall be a practical printer and versed in the art of bookbinding; one foreman of composing room, one foreman of bookbindery, one foreman of press room, and one chief electrican-machinist, of class five, all of whom must be practically and thoroughly acquainted with their respective trades; a chief proof reader, who must be a practical printer; an electrotyper, who must also be skilled in the process of stereotyping; a photo-engraver, and an estimate clerk, who must be a practical printer, of class six; an assistant foreman of composing room, an assistant foreman of bookbindery, an assistant foreman of press room, an electrotype finisher, and a compositor in charge of making up and imposing, of class seven; a clerk in charge of stores and paper warehouse, a stenographer and typewriter, and one clerk, of class nine; two watchmen, Class D; two messengers, at an annual salary of one hundred and fifty dollars each; and such other laborers, skilled and unskilled, as may, from time to time, be recommended as necessary by the Public Printer and approved by the Secretary of Public Instruction.SEC. 5. The Public Printer shall cause to be stereotyped or electrotyped all matter when the Secretary of Public Instruction shall certify that there is reason to believe that a large number of copies will be needed, or that there will be a demand for the printing of other copies after the first order shall have been exhausted.SEC. 6. On or before the twenty-fifth day of December the Public Printer shall submit to the Secretary of Public Instruction an estimate of paper and supplies of all kinds which will be required for the Public Printing Office during the half year beginning with the first of July following, and on or before the twenty-fifth of June a similar estimate for the half rear beginning with the first of January following.SEC. 7. All moneys received during any month from sales of copies of forms, sheets, documents, pamphlets, or volumes, and of all paper shavings and other waste and condemned material, shall, be deposited by the Public Printer in the Insular Treasury within the first five days of the succeeding month, together with a detailed statement of the moneys so received and deposited, and a detailed statement of the moneys so received and deposited shall be included in his annual report to the Civil Governor, and no sales shall be made on credit.SEC. 8. All printing offices belonging to the Insular Government which are now in operation or may hereafter be put into operation shall by law be considered a part of the Philippine Public Printing Office, and shall be under the control of the Public Printer, who, with the approval of the Secretary of Public Instruction, may abolish any of these offices whenever, in his judgment, the economy of the public service would be hereby advanced.SEC. 9. All work done in the Public Printing Office shall be ordered on blanks prepared for that purpose by the Public Printer, and these blanks shall be numbered consecutively in a series for the Civil Governor and one for each Department, and must be signed by the Civil Governor or the Secretary of the Department for which the work is to be done, as the case may be, and the Governor or the Secretary signing the requisition shall specify and determine the number of copies to be printed and shall lie held responsible for all work thus ordered. The Public Printer is authorized to execute all printing necessary for the conduct of his office and include an account of the same in his annual report.SEC. 10. The foremen of the several departments of the Public Printing Office shall make out estimate of the quantity and kind of material required for their respective departments and file written requests therefor with the Public Printer, stating the time when it will be needed. The Public Printer may furnish to the foremen supplies on these requisitions, and they shall receipt to him and be held accountable for all material so received.SEC. 11. If the Public Printer, chief clerk, any foreman, or other employee shall, by himself, or through others, corruptly collude, or have any secret understanding with any person to defraud the Insular Government or whereby the Insular Government shall be made to sustain a loss, he shall, on conviction thereof before any court of competent jurisdiction, forfeit bis office and be imprisoned for a term of not more than seven years and lined in a sum not exceeding three thousand dollars.SEC. 12. Neither the Public Printer, chief clerk, any foreman, nor any of their assistants shall, during continuance in office, have any interest, direct or indirect, in the publication of any newspaper or periodical, or in any printing, binding, engraving, or lithographing of any kind, or in any contract for furnishing paper or other material connected with the public printing, binding, lithographing, or engraving; and for every violation of this section the party offending shall, on conviction before any court of competent jurisdiction, be imprisoned for a term of not less than one nor more than five years and shall be lined in a sum not exceeding two thousand dollars.SEC. 13. The Public Printer is hereby authorized, whenever the warehouse space at his disposal is inadequate to contain supplies that must be stored, to procure suitable storage room as near the Public Printing Office as practicable for the temporary storage of papers and other supplies for the Public Printing Office: Provided, That no contract for lease of buildings or accommodations for this purpose shall be made or entered into for a longer period than one year, and that every such contract shall be first submitted to the Civil Governor for his approval and be approved by him.SEC. 14. in ease of the death, resignation, absence, or sickness of the Public Printer, the chief clerk of the Public Printing Office shall perform the duties of the Public Printer until a successor is appointed or such absence or sickness shall cease; but the Civil Governor may, in his discretion, authorize and direct any other office of the Insular Government, whose appointment is vested in the Civil Governor, to perform the duties of the vacant office until a successor is appointed or the sickness or absence of the Public Printer shall cease.SEC. 15. The Public Printer shall furnish to all applicants giving notice before the matter is put to press, not exceeding two hundred and fifty to any one applicant, copies of bills, reports, and documents, said applicants paying in advance the cost of such printing, with ten per centum added: Provided, That such requests shall have received the approval of the Secretary of Public Instruction: And provided, furthermore, That the work necessary to satisfy the requests shall not interfere with the printing for the Government.SEC. 16. The Public Printer shall cause work to be done for the Insular Government in the Public Printing Office at night as well as through the day when the exigencies of the public service require it: Provided, That the pay of all employees engaged on night work, between the hours of five postmeridian and eight antemeridian shall be twenty per centum in addition to the amount paid for day labor.SEC. 17. The Public Printer may employ such a number of apprentices or pupils from the Manila Trade School as in the judgment of the Secretary of Public Instruction will be consistent with the economical service of the office, and this number shall be determined by the Secretary of Public Instruction.SEC. 18. The forms and style in which the printing or binding ordered by the Civil Governor, or by the Secretary of any Department, shall be executed and the material and the size of type to be used shall be determined by the Public Printer, subject to the supervision of the Secretary of Public Instruction, having proper regard for economy, workmanship, and the purposes for which the work is needed.SEC. 19. Wherever in this Act sums of money are mentioned they are stated in money of the United States, but they may be paid either in money of the United States or in local currency, as the appropriating Act may provide.SEC. 20. 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.SEC 21. This Act shall take effect on its passage.Enacted, November 7, 1901.

Source: Supreme Court E-Library