[ Act No. 3209, December 06, 1924 ]

AN ACT GRANTING TO DEOGRACIAS CAMON A FRANCHISE TO INSTALL. OPERATE, AND MAINTAIN AN ELECTRIC LIGHT, HEAT, AND POWER SYSTEM IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF LA CARLOTA, PROVINCE OF OCCIDENTAL NEGROS, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

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. Subject to the conditions established in this Act and the provisions of Act Numbered Thirty-one hundred and eight applicable thereto, there is hereby granted to Deogracias Camon, his successors or assigns, for a period of fifty years from the approval  of this Act, the right, privilege, and authority to construct, maintain, and operate an electric light, heat, and power system, for the purpose of generating and distributing electric light, heat, and power for sale within the limits of the municipality of La Carlota, Province of Occidental Negros, and its surroundings and barrios.  The grantee shall further have the right and privilege to install, lay, and maintain on all the streets, public thoroughfares, bridges, and public places within said municipality and its surroundings and barrios, poles, conductors, interrupters, transformers, cables, wires, and other overhead appliances, and all other necessary apparatus and appurtenances for  the furnishing and distribution of electric current, and to supply, sell, and furnish such current to any person, corporation, or public or private concern to produce or furnish light, heat, or power, and for any other use to which electricity may be put, and to furnish electric light, heat, and power within said municipality for provincial, municipal,  domestic or manufacturing uses, and for any other use to which electricity may be put, and to charge and collect a schedule of prices and conventional rates for the use of same: Provided, That said rates  shall always be subject to regulation by act of the Philippine Legislature or by the entities or authorities authorized by law, and shall be in no case in excess of thirty centavos per kilowatt hour: Provided, further, That this franchise shall not take effect until the grantee shall have obtained from the Public Utility Commission  a certificate showing the public necessity and convenience of the same, in accordance with the purpose of subsection (i) of section fifteen of Act Numbered  Thirty-one hundred  and eight,  and shall have filed such certificate with the Secretary of Commerce and Communications upon accepting this franchise: And provided, further, That if the grantee does not file the proper application for said certificate  with the Public Utility Commission within three months from the date of the approval of  this Act, this franchise shall become null  and void.SEC. 2.  The concession of the right, privilege, and authority mentioned in the preceding section shall not take effect unless the grantee and his successors  or  assigns shall accept in writing and make part of this concession the following condition, to wit:

"That the grantee and his successors or assigns state in writing that they are informed of the message of the President of the United States  addressed to the Filipino people and communicated to said  people by the Governor-General of the Philippine Islands on the sixth day of October, nineteen hundred and thirteen, and of the  reply message of the Philippine Assembly made in the name of the Filipino people and approved and sent on October sixteenth, nineteen hundred and thirteen; that said grantee and his successors or assigns bind themselves not to engage  in or aid, by means of contribution  in cash or  otherwise,   any  propaganda directed against the policy of the Government of the United States outlined  in such message of the President and the aspirations  of the Filipino people  set  forth in  said reply message of the Philippine Assembly,  whether  under the pretext of vested interests  or under any other pretext, and that said grantee and his successors or assigns shall further bind themselves to exact a similar engagement from their administrators, agents, successors, and assigns."

SEC. 3. The poles erected by the grantee shall be of such a height as to maintain the wires stretched on the same at a distance of at least twenty feet above the level of  the ground, and shall be of such appearance as not to disfigure the streets, and shall be placed with due regard for  the public safety so as not to be a danger for the same, in accordance with a plan approved by the provincial or municipal authorities concerned,  represented by the provincial governor of Occidental Negros or the municipal president of La Carlota, as the case may be, and said grantee shall supply electric power, heat, and  light to any applicant for the same, within fifteen days after the date' of his application, and as between such applicant and other like applicants, in the order of the date of his application up to the limit of the capacity of the plant of said grantee, to be determined by the electrical engineer of the Public Utility Commission on the application of said  grantee,  and should the demand for electric power, heat, and light at any time  increase  beyond the capacity  of  the  plant of said grantee to supply the same, the capacity of said plant shall be  increased by said grantee to meet such demand, upon authorization by the municipal council of La Carlota: Provided, however, That in case the point at which the electric-light, heat, or power is to  be supplied, is more than thirty meters from the lines or wires operated by  said grantee, the latter shall not be  obliged  to furnish said  service.SEC. 4. All apparatus and appurtenances  used  by  the grantee or thereafter by his successors or assigns shall be modern and first class  in every respect, and  the  electrical transmission wires shall be insulated and  carefully connected and fastened so as not to come in direct contact with any object through which a "ground" could be formed,  and shall be stretched so as not to interfere with the free use of said streets and public thoroughfares: Provided,  That the grantee  and  his successors or assigns shall, whenever the Philippine Legislature, upon recommendation of the Public Utility Commission or  its  legal successors, so  direct, place said wires in underground pipes or  conduits at their own expense, and without  any  cost or prejudice to the municipality of La Carlota.SEC. 5. Whenever it shall be necessary  in  the erection of  said poles to  take  up any portion of the pavement or sidewalks of the public streets  or thoroughfares or dig up the ground near  the  sidewalks or corners of the  public streets or thoroughfares, then the said grantee shall, after said poles are erected, without delay  replace said pavement or sidewalks in the proper manner, removing from the same all  rubbish, dirt,  refuse, or other material  which may have been  placed there, taken up or dug up in the erection of said poles, leaving them in as good condition as they were before the work was done;  and whenever it  shall become necessary, by reason of the  extension of  provincial roads determined upon by the provincial board of Occidental  Negros, or by  reason of the  extension of streets or plazas determined upon by the municipal council of La Carlota, to change the location of said poles, such change shall be made by the grantee, his successors or assigns, at their expense, without delay, and said poles shall be placed where directed by said provincial board  or  said municipal council.SEC. 6. Whenever any  person has  obtained  permission to use any of the streets or public thoroughfares  of the municipality of La Carlota for the purpose of removing any building  or in the prosecution of any municipal work or for any other just cause  whatsoever,  making it necessary to raise or remove any of said poles  or electric wires which may obstruct the  removal of said building or hinder the prosecution of said work, the  said  grantee, upon written notice by the municipal  president of La Carlota, served upon said  grantee at  least forty-eight hours in advance, shall raise or remove any  of  said  poles or wires which may hinder the prosecution  of such work or obstruct the removal of said building,  so as to allow the free and unobstructed  passage of said building and the free and unob- structed prosecution of said work, and the person or entity at whose request the  building has been moved  or the construction undertaken, shall pay one-half of the  actual cost of removing or" raising and  of replacing the poles,  wires or other  overhead  or underground conductors.  The notice shall be served in the usual form, and in case of the refusal or failure of the grantee to comply with such  notice, the municipal  president of La  Carlota,  after obtaining the proper approval of the municipal council of La Carlota, shall order such poles  or  wires to be raised or  removed at the expense of said grantee, for the  purposes  aforesaid: Provided, however, That the grantee may appeal from any such decision to the provincial  board of Occidental  Negros, whose decision shall be final.SEC. 7. The grantee shall  be liable to the municipality of La Carlota  for any  injury arising  from  any  claims caused by accidents to person or property by reason of the construction under this franchise or  of any neglect or omission to keep the said poles and wires in a safe condition. SEC. 8. Said grantee shall file his written acceptance of this franchise with the Secretary of Commerce and Communications within one hundred and twenty days from the date when he obtained the certificate  required" by section one of this Act, and shall  commence  work under the supervision and  subject to the approval of the electrical engineer of the  Public Utility Commission, within six  months' time from and after  the date  of  filing such acceptance, unless prevented by act of God or force majeure, usurped or military power, martial law, riot, civil commotion, or other inevitable cause, and shall complete the system and  have the same in operation within eighteen months from the date of such acceptance, and shall thereafter maintain a first-class electric light, heat, and power service: Provided, That in consideration of the franchise hereby granted, the grantee, his successors, or assigns shall pay quarterly into the municipal treasury of La Carlota one per  centum of the gross earnings of their business during the first twenty years, and two per centum during the remaining thirty years of the life of this franchise.SEC. 9. Upon the acceptance of this franchise, the grantee shall deposit in the Insular Treasury or with any of  its agents in the Province of Occidental Negros,  one thousand pesos, or negotiable bonds of the United States or other securities approved by the Secretary of Commerce and Communications, of the face value of one thousand pesos, was an earnest of good faith and a guarantee that he will begin the electric light, heat, and power  business and may be completely provided with the necessary equipment therefor and ready to begin operation in accordance with the terms of this franchise:  Provided, however, That if such deposit is in cash, it may  be  made in  some  official  depository of the Government in  the name  of the grantee and subject to the order of the Insular Treasurer, who shall retain the evidence of the deposit so made.   In this case,  as well as in the case of the deposit being made in negotiable bonds or other securities, as provided  in this section, the interest of the cash deposit or of the bonds or  securities,  if any, shall belong to the grantee.In case such grantee, his successors, or assigns shall fail, refuse, or neglect, unless prevented by fortuitous cause or force majeure, the public enemy, usurped or military power, martial law, riot, civil commotion, or  other inevitable cause, to commence the work for the electric light, heat, and power service within six months from the date of the  acceptance of this franchise,  or  shall fail to provide the necessary equipment and be  ready to  operate within eighteen months after the date of  such  acceptance, in accordance with the terms of this  franchise, then the deposit prescribed in this section and in the possession of the Insular Treasury, whether in cash,  bonds, or other securities, shall be forfeited to the municipal government of La Carlota, as damages for the breach of the implied contract involved in the acceptance of this franchise.  In case the grantee, his  successors, or assigns begin  to operate  the electric light, heat,  and power service, or  are ready for operation under this franchise, within the time  limits specified, the deposit provided for in this section shall, upon recommendation by the Public Utility Commission  or its legal successors, be returned by the  Insular Treasury to said grantee: Provided,  That the time during which  such grantee, his successors, or assigns have been prevented  by any of the causes above referred to from carrying out the terms  and conditions of this  franchise, shall be added to the time granted  by this franchise for  the fulfillment of its conditions.SEC.  10. The municipality  of  La Carlota  shall have the privilege, without compensation, of using the poles of the grantee  for  the purpose of installing,  maintaining,  and operating a telephone  or fire  and police alarm system; but the wires of such telephone or fire and police alarm system shall be placed and stretched in  such manner  as to cause no interference with or damage to the wires of the electric service of the grantee.SEC.  11. This franchise is granted with the understanding and upon the condition that it shall be subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal  by the Congress  of  the United States as provided  in  section twenty-eight of the Act of Congress approved August twenty-ninth, nineteen hundred and sixteen, entitled "An Act to declare the purpose of the people of the United States as to the future political status of the people of the Philippine Islands, and to provide a more autonomous government for those Islands," or by the Philippine Legislature,  and that  it  shall  be  subject, in all respects, to the limitations upon corporations and the granting of franchises  contained  in said Act of Congress, and that all lands or rights of use or occupation of  lands secured by virtue of  this franchise shall revert upon its termination to the Insular,  provincial, or municipal  governments which  were the owners thereof upon the date  on which this franchise was granted, and all  property of the grantee, his successors, or assigns used in connection with this franchise shall become  the property of the Insular Government.SEC. 12. The grantee of  this franchise is  forbidden to issue stock or bonds under this franchise except in exchange for actual cash or  for property at a fair valuation  equal to the par value of the stock or bonds issued and  upon prior authority of the Public Utility Commission.  Nor shall said grantee declare any stock or bond dividend.SEC. 13. The books and accounts of the  grantee  shall always be open to the inspection of the provincial treasurer or his  authorized  representative, and  it shall be the duty of the  grantee to submit to the provincial treasurer quarterly reports  in duplicate showing the gross receipts and the net receipts for the quarter past and the general condition of the business, one of which shall be forwarded by the provincial treasurer to the Insular Auditor, who shall keep the same on file.SEC. 14. The grantee shall pay  on his real  estate, buildings, plant, machinery, and other personal  property  the same taxes as are now or may hereafter be required by law from other persons.SEC. 15. The grantee herein may, with  the approval of the Public Utility  Commission  first had, sell,  lease, donate, convey, or give in usufruct  this franchise and all property and rights acquired  thereunder to any person or corporation:  Provided,  That for the purpose  of  such  sale,  lease, donation, conveyance, or giving in usufruct, it shall be necessary to file in the  office of the  Secretary of Commerce and Communications an  agreement in writing by   which  the person or corporation in whose favor such sale, lease, donation, conveyance, or giving  in usufruct is made, shall bind himself to comply with all the terms  and conditions  imposed  upon the grantee by this franchise, and to accept the same  subject to all existing terms  and conditions.SEC. 16. The Public Utility Commission or its legal successors, after hearing the interested parties, upon notice and order in writing, shall have the power to  declare the forfeiture of  this franchise and all rights and privileges inherent in the" same for failure on part of the  grantee to comply with  any of the terms and conditions  hereof, unless such failure  shall  have been directly and primarily caused by  the act of God, the public enemy, or force majeure. Against such declaration of forfeiture by the  Public Utility Commission  or its legal successors, the grantee  may apply for the remedies provided in section thirty-five of Act Numbered Thirty-one hundred and eight.SEC. 17. At  any time after twenty years from the  date of this Act, the Government of the  Philippine Islands or me' any political subdivision thereof to which the right may be assigned, may purchase, and the grantee shall sell all of his plant,  poles, wires, buildings, real  estate, and all other property  used  in the  enjoyment  of this  franchise, at a valuation  based upon the net  earnings of the grantee, the valuation  to be determined, after hearing evidence, by the Supreme Court of the  Islands, sitting as a board of arbitrators, whose decision, by  a majority of  the members thereof, shall be final.SEC. 18. Wherever in this franchise the term "grantee" is used, it shall be  understood to mean Deogracias Camon, his representatives,  successors, or assigns.SEC. 19. This Act shall take effect on  its approval.Approved, December 6, 1924.

Source: Supreme Court E-Library