Act No. 2713, approved on March 17, 1917, amends Section 2 of Act No. 2613, which focuses on improving tobacco production and export in the Philippines. The amendment prohibits tobacco planters from curing or treating uncured tobacco outside of designated facilities constructed as per Bureau of Agriculture specifications, with exceptions for small-scale producers. Additionally, the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may grant temporary exemptions for municipalities facing compliance difficulties. For three years post-approval, the Director of Forestry will provide free licenses for timber cutting to build tobacco curing warehouses.
March 17, 1917
ACT NO. 2713
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION TWO OF ACT NUMBERED TWENTY-SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN, ENTITLED "AN ACT TO IMPROVE THE METHODS OF PRODUCTION AND THE QUALITY OF TOBACCO IN THE PHILIPPINES AND TO DEVELOP THE EXPORT TRADE THEREIN"
Section two of Act Numbered Twenty-six hundred and thirteen is hereby amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 2. It shall be unlawful for any tobacco planter or other person who has in his possession uncured or incompletely cured leaf tobacco, to cure, dry, ferment or treat same in any other manner, otherwise than in a building or curing shed constructed in accordance with the specifications of the Bureau of Agriculture: Provided, That this provision shall not apply to those who produce tobacco on a small scale: And provided further, That on recommendation of the Director of Agriculture, the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may, by administrative order, exempt the tobacco planters of any municipality from the compliance with the provisions of this section until January first, nineteen hundred and nineteen, if it can be shown that it was impossible for the planters of said municipality to comply with said provisions on account of the distance of their properties from the public forests or for other good cause shown. During a period of three years after the passage of this Act, the Director of Forestry shall issue to any producer of tobacco a gratuitous license to cut timber of the first group for the construction of warehouses exclusively for the curing of tobacco."
SECTION 2. This Act shall take effect on its approval.
Approved: March 17, 1917