An Act Abolishing the Bureau of Navigation and Transferring to Other Bureaus Certain Property, Equipment, Functions, and Duties Hitherto Appertaining thereto; Providing for the Sale of Certain Property, Authorizing the Sale or Lease of the Marine Railway and Repair Shop, and Repealing Certain Provisions of Law Relating to the Bureau of Navigation

December 19, 1913

ACT NO. 2308

AN ACT ABOLISHING THE BUREAU OF NAVIGATION AND TRANSFERRING TO OTHER BUREAUS CERTAIN PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT, FUNCTIONS, AND DUTIES HITHERTO APPERTAINING THERETO; PROVIDING FOR THE SALE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY, AUTHORIZING THE SALE OR LEASE OF THE MARINE RAILWAY AND REPAIR SHOP, AND REPEALING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF LAW RELATING TO THE BUREAU OF NAVIGATION

SECTION 1. The Bureau of Navigation is hereby abolished and the property, equipment, functions, and duties appertaining to said Bureau are hereby transferred to the Bureau of Customs and to the Bureau of Public Works, in the following manner:

(a) to the Bureau of Customs:

 The construction, repair, maintenance, and operation of vessels appertaining to or in charge of the Bureau of Navigation; the maintenance, lighting, inspection, and superintendence of lighthouses, and the care and maintenance of buoys, beacons, light-ships, navigation marks, and their appurtenances; the jurisdiction over navigable rivers, bays, and other navigable waters, except such jurisdiction as is designated by law to the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey; and the functions and duties heretofore performed by the superintendent of interisland transportation: Provided, However, That the dredges fitted up as vessels shall, in view of the nature of their functions, be transferred to the Bureau of Public Works.

(b) To the Bureau of Public Works:

 The construction of lighthouse towers and buildings appertaining thereto; the construction of wharves, docks, jetties, retaining walls, and all other port works; the work of reclaiming land from the sea by dredging, filling in, or otherwise, and the construction of all structures in connection with the improvement of the facilities for loading and unloading vessels, and the construction, repair, and maintenance of bridges crossing navigable waters: Provided, However, That when a bridge is constructed across navigable waters, the project for the construction thereof shall be prepared with the concurrence of the Bureau of Customs and in case of disagreement with the Bureau of Public Works, the Governor-General shall decide: And Provided Further, That all funds appropriated for such work shall be transferred to the Bureau of Public Works to be expended thereon.

SECTION 2. All property, work under way, plans, and documents now in possession of the several divisions of the Bureau of Navigation shall be inventoried and transferred to the Bureau of Customs and of Public Works, respectively, pursuant to the provisions of the next preceding section. All property, equipment, and materials which the Collector of Customs or the Director of Public Works shall consider unnecessary or not required for the public service, shall be sold at public auction or private sale, subject to the approval of the Governor-General.

SECTION 3. The time and the services of the several employees of the division of port works of said Bureau of Navigation are hereby made available for the general purposes of the Bureau of Public Works, as provided in this Act. The time and the services of the various officers and employees of the division of vessels and lighthouse division of the said Bureau of Navigation are hereby made available for general purposes of the Bureau of Customs, as herein provided: Provided, However, That said Bureaus shall retain the services of only such officers and employees of said Bureau of Navigation as may be deemed necessary: And Provided Further, That it is not the purpose of this Act to affect the rights and liabilities of officers and enlisted men under the provisions of Act Numbered Nineteen hundred and eighty.

SECTION 4. The division of the Bureau of Navigation known as marine railway and repair shop is hereby placed under the Bureau of Customs until the consummation of the sale or lease authorized by this Act. The Secretary of Finance and Justice is hereby authorized to sell or lease such marine railway and repair shop to any person or private concern, subject to such conditions as he may deem in the public interest, and with the approval of the Governor-General: Provided, However, That one of the conditions of such sale or lease shall be that any construction or repair work turned over by the Government to the marine railway and repair shop shall be done at the cost of materials and labor with a surcharge of only such per centum as may be fixed in the contract of sale or lease and given preference over all other work.

SECTION 5. The transfer of the several divisions of the Bureau of Navigation as herein provided, shall be effected in accordance with the orders of the Secretary of Commerce and Police, with the approval of the Governor-General, so as to prevent loss by reason of the non-completion of construction and repair work now under way.

SECTION 6. So much as may be necessary of the unexpended funds of the Bureau of Navigation for the current fiscal year, is hereby made available for expenditure by the Bureau of Public Works and the Bureau of Customs and the share of each of said Bureaus shall be determined by the Governor-General, on the basis of the adjustment made of the duties transferred from the Bureau of Navigation to said Bureaus of Customs and Public Works, respectively.

SECTION 7. Upon the transfers provided for in this Act, the control and executive supervision now vested in the Department of Commerce and Police with regard to the part of the Bureau of Navigation transferred to the Bureau of Customs shall be transferred to the Department of Finance and Justice.

SECTION 8. Section fourteen (a), fourteen (b), fourteen (c), sixteen (a), and sixteen (b) of Act Numbered Fourteen hundred and seven; the subsections of section one of Act Numbered Fourteen hundred and sixteen, beginning with "Marine railway and repair shop, Bureau of Navigation," and ending with "marine railway and repair shop are hereby transferred from account of other appropriations of the Bureau of Navigation to this account;" Acts Numbered Thirteen hundred and thirty-nine, Fifteen hundred and sixty-eight, and Seventeen hundred and ninety-six, and all other Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, though not especially mentioned herein, are hereby repealed.

SECTION 9. All funds derived from the sale or lease of the marine railway and repair shop and the sale of other property authorized by this Act shall be paid into the Insular Treasury, from part of the general funds and be available for appropriation by Act of the Philippine Legislature and in no other manner.

ENACTED, December 19, 1913.