Abolition of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes

October 24, 1936

COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 75

AN ACT ABOLISHING THE BUREAU OF NON-CHRISTIAN TRIBES AND MAKING THE NECESSARY PROVISIONS FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUSTMENTS RESULTING THEREFROM, INCLUDING THE CREATION OF THE POSITION OF COMMISSIONER FOR MINDANAO AND SULU

SECTION 1. The Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes is hereby abolished as a separate Bureau and all the powers, functions, and duties conferred upon it by existing laws shall hereafter be exercised by the Secretary of the Interior.

SECTION 2. There shall be in the Department of the Interior a Commissioner for Mindanao and Sulu with the rank and salary of Undersecretary of Department who shall perform such duties as may be assigned to him by the Secretary of the Interior and such as may be imposed upon him by law in the administration of the special provinces, municipalities, and municipal districts in Mindanao and Sulu. His seat of office shall be at Lanao or at such other place in Mindanao and Sulu as may be designated by the President according to the requirements and exigencies of the service.

SECTION 3. Besides his administrative functions, the Commissioner shall also be charged with the duty of directing the general development work in Mindanao and Sulu and such other activities as may, from time to time, be authorized by the National Government for the development of said region. To coordinate the development work, the Commissioner shall call upon the authorized representatives of the executive offices in Mindanao and Sulu for consultation in matters pertaining to their respective activities.

SECTION 4. The public funds and property of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes shall be transferred to the Department of the Interior, which is hereby authorized to make the necessary transfers thereof to the proper branches of the public service. The Secretary of the Interior is further authorized, subject to the approval of the President, to make arrangements as to the details and other items of the general and special appropriations for the non-Christian population and the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes for the fiscal years nineteen hundred and thirty-six and nineteen hundred and thirty-seven specifying the positions to be continued or created in the Department of the Interior, and fixing their respective titles and compensations. The total expenditure shall not exceed the sums now appropriated and available for said purposes.

SECTION 5. The officials of the National Government, with the approval of the proper Department Head, may be detailed, in addition to their actual duties, to perform the duties in connection with the supervision and control of the special provinces, municipalities, and municipal districts in Mindanao and Sulu.

SECTION 6. Chapter twenty-eight of the Revised Administrative Code is hereby repealed.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: October 24, 1936