Republic Act No. 1286, enacted on June 15, 1955, amends Section 2(d) of Republic Act No. 401 by extending the deadline for voluntary payment of prewar obligations without interest to December 31, 1956. This provision applies to debtors who were unable to fulfill their obligations due to the control of their creditors' assets by enemy forces during the war. If debtors voluntarily pay the entire unpaid principal by the deadline, any accumulated interest from January 1, 1946, until the payment date will be condoned. The Act took effect upon its approval and was published in the Official Gazette in July 1955.
June 15, 1955
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1286
AN ACT AMENDING SECTION TWO (d) OF REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED FOUR HUNDRED AND ONE, AS AMENDED, BY EXTENDING UP TO DECEMBER THIRTY-ONE, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SIX, THE VOLUNTARY PAYMENT WITHOUT INTERESTS OF PREWAR OBLIGATIONS
SECTION 1. Section two (d) of Republic Act Numbered Four hundred and one, as amended by Republic Acts Numbered Six hundred seventy-one and Nine hundred nineteen, is hereby further amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 2. (d) When the debtor was unable to pay an obligation which became due and demandable, or the interest which should have been paid during the said period because the assets of the creditor were under the control of the enemy and/or administered through the so-called Enemy Alien Property Custodian or other enemy instrumentality, and the debtor paid the interests to it in the belief that such payment was valid and effective payment to the creditor or because of fear that failure to comply with the demand would lead to reprisals on his person or property.
"If the debtor, however, makes a voluntary payment of the entire prewar unpaid principal obligation on or before December thirty-one, nineteen hundred and fifty-six, the interests on such principal obligation corresponding from January one, nineteen hundred and forty-six to the date of payment are likewise hereby condoned."
SECTION 2. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Approved: June 15, 1955
Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 51, No. 7, p. 3357 in July 1955