Amendment to Section 13 of C.A. No. 146 (Public Service Act) Re: Definition of "Public Service" and "Person"

June 14, 1955

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1270

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION THIRTEEN OF COMMONWEALTH ACT NUMBERED ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SIX, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE PUBLIC SERVICE ACT, AS AMENDED BY COMMONWEALTH ACT NUMBERED FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FOUR

 Section thirteen of Commonwealth Act Numbered One hundred and forty-six, otherwise known as the Public Service Act, as amended by Commonwealth Act Numbered Four hundred and fifty-four, is further amended to read as follows: acd

"SEC. 13. (a) The Commission shall have jurisdiction, supervision, and control over all public services and their franchises, equipment, and other properties, and in the exercise of its authority, it shall have the necessary powers and the aid of the public force: Provided, That it shall have no authority to require steamboats, motorships and steamship lines, whether privately owned, or owned or operated by any Government controlled corporation or instrumentality, to obtain certificates of public convenience or to prescribe their definite routes or lines of service; cd

"(b) The term "public service" includes every person that now or hereafter may own, operate, manage, or control in the Philippines, for hire or compensation, with general or limited clientele, whether permanent, occasional or accidental, and done for general business purposes, any common carrier, railroad, street railway, traction railway, sub-way, motor vehicle, either for freight or passenger, or both, with or without fixed route and whatever may be its classification, freight or carrier service of any class, express service, steamboat, or steamship line, pontines, ferries, and small water craft, engaged in the transportation of passengers and freight, shipyard, marine railway, marine repair shop, warehouse, wharf or dock, ice plant, ice-refrigeration plant, canal, irrigation system, sewerage, gas, electric light, heat and power, water supply and power, petroleum, sewerage system, telephone, wire or wireless telegraph system and broadcasting radio stations: Provided, however, That a person engaged in agriculture, not otherwise a public service, who owns a motor vehicle and uses it personally and/or enters into a special contract whereby said motor vehicle is offered for hire or compensation to a third party or third parties engaged in agriculture, not itself or themselves a public service, for operation by the latter for a limited time and for a specific purpose directly connected with the cultivation of his or their farm, the transportation, processing, and marketing of agricultural products of such third party or third parties, shall not be considered as operating a public service for the purposes of this Act.

"(c) The word "person" includes every individual, copartnership, joint-stock company or corporation, whether domestic or foreign, their lessees, trustees or receivers, as well as any municipality, province, branch or agency of the Government of the Philippines, and whatever other persons or entities that may own or possess or operate public services.

SECTION 2. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 14, 1955

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 51, No. 7, p. 3344 in July 1955