ACT NO. 3149 An Act Authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources to Execute, on Behalf of the Insular Government, under Certain Conditions, a Lease for a Certain Piece of Public Land to the Corporation Known as "Teatro Cervantes De Manila, Inc."

March 6, 1924

ACT NO. 3149

AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO EXECUTE, ON BEHALF OF THE INSULAR GOVERNMENT, UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, A LEASE FOR A CERTAIN PIECE OF PUBLIC LAND TO THE CORPORATION KNOWN AS "TEATRO CERVANTES DE MANILA, INC."

SECTION 1. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources is hereby authorized to execute, on behalf of the Insular Government and in favor of the Corporation "Teatro Cervantes de Manila, Inc." a lease for a certain piece of public land described in section four of this Act, or for such part thereof as may be necessary, for the construction of a theater and its accessories, subject to the following terms and conditions:

1st. The term of the lease shall be for fifty years, beginning with the date of the approval of this Act. TcAECH

2nd. The rental shall be fifteen hundred pesos per annum.

3rd. The land covered by the lease shall be used exclusively for the construction of a theater building and its accessories: Provided, That the building so constructed and the accessories thereof shall be used only for theatrical functions, public lectures, civic acts, industrial expositions, and analogous purposes compatible with the purposes of the lessee.

4th. The lessee shall bind itself to invest not less than four hundred thousand pesos in the construction of the theater building and its accessories. To this end, and in order that the building the construction of which is hereby authorized, may be in accordance with the general plan of improvements for the City of Manila, the Director of Public Works shall have full power to locate the theater on the land leased, require a suitable arrangement of the parts of said land not occupied by the building, approve the plans and specifications of said building and its accessories, and enforce strict compliance with said approved plans and specifications, for which purpose he may appoint a representative if he so see fit, to inspect the work at any time while the same is in progress. The Director of Public Works shall also have full power to require the proper upkeep of the building and its grounds. The work shall be begun not later than December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and twenty-four, and completed not later than December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and twenty-five, saving fortuitous events or force majeure.

5th. Upon the termination of the lease, the improvements on the land shall become the property of the Government of the Philippine Islands upon payment by the latter to the lessee of the value thereof, which shall not be in excess of the original cost of the building and shall be fixed by a committee composed of the Director of Public Works, the Director of Lands, and a representative of the lessee. In case the Insular Government should not desire to acquire the aforesaid improvements, the lease shall be understood to be extended for a term of twenty-five years, under the conditions specified in subsections second and third of this section.

6th. The provisions of the next preceding subsection to the contrary notwithstanding, the Insular Government shall be entitled at any time, upon one year's notice to the lessee, to purchase all the stocks of the Corporation at par, plus a premium of ten per centum. cACEaI

7th. The stockholders of the lessee shall not be entitled to receive directly or indirectly any dividends exceeding, during any one year, ten per centum of the par value of their stock.

8th. Any other clauses not incompatible with the provisions of this Act may be inserted in the lease; but no restrictions other than those prescribed herein shall be imposed upon the lessee.

SECTION 2. The lessee shall not alienate or transfer any rights he may acquire under this Act without the express consent of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

SECTION 3. Any violation by the lessee of any of the conditions of this Act shall be sufficient cause for the cancellation of the contract hereby authorized.

SECTION 4. The land covered by the lease contemplated by this Act and the technical description and plan of which shall be included in the lease, is described approximately as follows:

It is bounded on the NW by Calle Colgante; on the NE by Calle Arroceros; on the S by the "Drive through Garden;" and on the W by Calle Burgos, and as specified in the Burnham Plan, with an area of approximately twelve thousand square meters.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on its approval.

Approved, March 6, 1924.