An Act Amending that Portion of Act Numbered One Hundred and Two Which Relates to the Organization of the Postal Service, and for Other Purposes

July 25, 1901

ACT NO. 181

AN ACT AMENDING THAT PORTION OF ACT NUMBERED ONE HUNDRED AND TWO WHICH RELATES TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THE POSTAL SERVICE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

SECTION 1. Act Numbered One hundred and two, regulating the salaries of officers and employees in the Philippine civil service, is hereby amended by striking out sections eight, nine, and ten, and substituting therefor the following sections:

"SEC. 8. The Director-General of Posts for the Philippine Archipelago shall receive an annual salary of six thousand dollars. There shall be an Assistant Director-General of Posts, who shall receive an annual salary of three thousand two hundred and fifty dollars.

"There may be employed in the office of the Director-General of Posts: One inspector of class five; one custodian of stamps and supplies, of class five; one clerk of class six; one clerk and one printer of class seven; two clerks of class eight; three clerks of class nine; one clerk of class ten; one assistant printer of Class I; one janitor, one messenger, and one driver of an official conveyance at a compensation at the rate of one hundred and fifty dollars per annum each.

MANILA POST-OFFICE.

"SEC. 9. The postmaster of Manila shall receive an annual salary of three thousand five hundred dollars; the assistant postmaster of Manila shall receive an annual salary of two thousand two hundred and fifty dollars.

"There may be employed in the post-office at Manila: One superintendent of mails at an annual salary of two thousand dollars; one superintendent of the money-order divisions and one superintendent of the registry division at an annual salary of one thousand eight hundred dollars each; one superintendent of free delivery at an annual salary of one thousand six hundred dollars; one clerk of class seven; twenty-four clerks of class eight: Provided, That this number shall be reduced to fifteen as vacancies occur; fifteen clerks of class nine; fifteen clerks of class ten; ten clerks of Class A; two clerks of Class B; two clerks of Class C; four clerks of Class D; three clerks of Class E; eight clerks of Class F; eight clerks of Class G; five clerks of Class I; and eight porters and four drivers at a compensation at the rate of one hundred and fifty dollars per annum each: Provided, That the total amount of salaries of officers and employees for the Manila post-office shall not exceed seventy-two thousand dollars per annum. caITAC

"OTHER POST-OFFICES.

"SEC. 10. The postmaster in charge of the offices named below shall each receive an annual compensation as follows:

"Iloilo, two thousand dollars; Cavite, Cebu, Dagupan, and Vigan, one thousand six hundred dollars; Aparri, one thousand four hundred dollars; Bacolod, Jolo, Nueva Caceres, and Zamboanga, one thousand two hundred dollars; Angeles, Batangas, Cagayan de Misamis, Calamba, Catbalogan, Laoag, Legaspi, Lucena, San Fernando de la Pampanga, San Isidro, Santa Cruz de Laguna, and Tacloban, one thousand dollars.

"The Director-General of Posts is authorized to expend a sum not exceeding seven thousand five hundred dollars per annum for the employment of clerks in post-offices outside of Manila, who shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Act."

SECTION 2. The Assistant Director-General of Posts, the postmaster of Manila, and the assistant postmaster of Manila shall be appointed by the Civil Governor, by and with the consent of the Commission, until the time fixed in section twenty of the Civil Service Act, as amended, for the appointment of other officers therein mentioned, without reference to the restrictions of the Civil Service Act; but after the time fixed in section twenty, vacancies in these three offices shall be filled in accordance with the provisions and restrictions of the Civil Service Act. The Assistant Director General of Posts, the postmaster of Manila, and the assistant postmaster of Manila shall form part of the eligible list provided in section twenty of the Civil Service Act. ICHDca

SECTION 3. Whenever in the opinion of the Director-General of Posts the receipts of any post-office do not justify the payment of the salary fixed for the postmaster of such office, the Director-General is authorized to reduce the salary of such postmaster, or to employ a person as postmaster who shall be compensated on a basis of a percentage of the gross postal receipts of the office, exclusive of the money-order business, in accordance with the following schedule: On the first twenty-five dollars or less per month, one hundred per cent; on the next fifty dollars or less per month, fifty per cent; on the balance per month, forty per cent. No allowances shall be made to postmasters paid on a percentage basis for rent, light, or furniture. The appointment of postmasters of this class may be made without regard to the restrictions of the Civil Service Act, but the salaries of such postmasters shall in no case exceed seventy-five dollars per month. The Director-General of Posts shall notify the Auditor for the Philippine Archipelago of each appointment of a postmaster of this class, giving the name of the person appointed, the date of appointment, and such other facts as may be required by the Auditor for the purposes of auditing the accounts.

SECTION 4. The Director-General of Posts is authorized to establish post-offices at any places in the Islands where in his judgment the interests of the public will be subserved by the establishment of such offices, and to fix the salaries of the postmasters on the basis, fixed in section three, of a percentage of the gross receipts of the post-offices, exclusive of the money-order business. To facilitate the establishment of post-offices where it is not practicable to secure suitable persons not in the public service for appointment as postmasters, the Director-General of Posts is authorized to appoint persons employed in other branches of the Civil Service, with the approval of the head of the department or departments in which such persons are employed, and subject to the approval of the Civil Governor. A person in the public service who may be thus appointed shall, in addition to his salary in the branch of the service in which he is employed, receive the compensation hereinbefore provided for such postal service. TCAScE

SECTION 5. The Director-General of Posts is authorized to discontinue a post-office at any place where the safety and security of the postal service and revenues are endangered from any cause whatever, or where there is no longer a necessity for the continuance of such post-office.

SECTION 6. The Director-General of Posts is authorized to employ substitutes temporarily, whenever necessary, in the absence of regular employees who may be granted leave of absence under the provisions of Act Numbered Eighty, entitled, "An Act regulating the hours of labor, leaves of absence, and transportation of appointees under the Philippine civil service." The appointment of such substitutes shall be subject to the limitations of the Civil Service Act.

SECTION 7. Whenever the Commanding General of the Division of the Philippines shall request that a post-office be established at a post where it is not practicable to establish such an office under the provisions of this Act, the Director-General of Posts may establish a post-office at such post: Provided, That a person in the military service is designated to act as postmaster without compensation and without allowance for rent, light, or furniture.

SECTION 8. Postmasters and all other post-office employees shall be required to execute bonds on postal account, satisfactory to the Director-General of Posts, in amounts corresponding to the importance of the position held. Postmasters at money-order offices shall also be required to execute bonds on money-order account in amounts equal to the probable liability of the postmasters to the Government.

SECTION 9. The salaries now paid the postmasters outside of Manila shall continue until October first, nineteen hundred and one, when they shall be paid the salaries provided in this Act.

SECTION 10. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred. cTDaEH

SECTION 11. This Act shall take effect on its passage.

ENACTED, July 25, 1901.