An Act Annexing the Province of Abra to the Province of Ilocos Sur

February 28, 1905

ACT NO. 1306

AN ACT ANNEXING THE PROVINCE OF ABRA TO THE PROVINCE OF ILOCOS SUR, MAKING APPROPRIATION FOR THE PAYMENT OF CERTAIN OUTSTANDING LIABILITIES OF THE PROVINCE OF ABRA, AND PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE SETTLEMENTS OF NON-CHRISTIAN TRIBES IN THE PROVINCE OF ILOCOS SUR

SECTION 1. The territory hitherto comprised in the Province of Abra, as organized under Act Numbered Two hundred and six and enlarged by Act Numbered Two hundred and ninety-three declaring the rancheria of Tubo to be a part of the Province of Abra, is hereby annexed to and included in the Province of Ilocos Sur, as organized by Act Numbered Two hundred and five, and shall be known as the subprovince of Abra.

SECTION 2. There shall be a lieutenant-governor for the subprovince of Abra who shall be appointed by the Governor-General, with the advice and consent of the Philippine Commission, and who shall be a member of the provincial board of Ilocos Sur and shall reside and have his office at the municipality of Bangued. The lieutenant-governor of Abra shall receive compensation at the rate of two thousand four hundred pesos per annum, payable monthly. Subject to the supervision of the governor of the Province of Ilocos Sur, the lieutenant-governor of Abra shall, with respect to that part of said subprovince now organized under the Provincial Government Act and the Municipal Code, exercise the powers conferred and perform the duties imposed upon the governor of the Province of Ilocos Sur by Act Numbered Two hundred and five, and its amendments.

SECTION 3. The inhabitants of the territory hereby annexed to and made a part of the Province of Ilocos Sur, except members of non-Christian tribes, shall enjoy the same rights and privileges as if said province had been originally incorporated in the Province of Ilocos Sur; and the municipal officers of the municipalities included in the territory so annexed shall, subject to the provisions of section two of this Act, have the same relations to the provincial officers of the Province of Ilocos Sur as are prescribed for the municipal officers of the municipalities of said province by the Provincial Government Act and by Act Numbered Two hundred and five, and the amendments thereof.

SECTION 4. The government heretofore established for the non-Christian residents of the Province of Abra by Acts Numbered Four hundred and forty-five and Five hundred and forty-six shall continue in effect and is hereby extended to the non-Christian settlements of the Province of Ilocos Sur: Provided, That with respect to the non-Christian tribes of the sub-province of Abra and of Ilocos Sur the lieutenant-governor of the sub-province of Abra shall exercise the powers conferred and perform the duties imposed upon the provincial governor of Abra by Act Numbered Four hundred and forty-five, entitled "An Act providing for the establishment of civil governments in the settlements of the non-Christian tribes of the Province of Abra:" Provided further, That the powers and duties prescribed by Acts Numbered Four hundred and forty-five and Five hundred and forty-six for the provincial secretary-treasurer, the provincial supervisor, the provincial fiscal, and the provincial board of Abra, respectively, shall be conferred upon and discharged by the provincial secretary, the provincial treasurer, the provincial supervisor, the provincial fiscal, and the provincial board of Ilocos Sur, respectively: And provided, further, That in case of vacancy in the office of the lieutenant-governor of Abra, or the absence of the lieutenant-governor from the Province of Ilocos Sur, the governor of Ilocos Sur shall discharge the duties of such lieutenant-governor during such vacancy or absence. It shall be the duty of the provincial governor of Ilocos Sur to attend the annual meeting of the presidents of the several settlements of non-Christian tribes of the Province of Ilocos Sur and the subprovince of Abra which shall be held at Bangued in the subprovince of Abra on the first day of January of each year and shall be presided over by the lieutenant-governor of Abra.

SECTION 5. All property and assets of the Province of Abra, including uncollected taxes, and all contracts and obligations except such as are hereinafter specifically referred to as canceled, are hereby transferred to the Province of Ilocos Sur.

SECTION 6. The loans of two thousand dollars and three thousand dollars, United States currency, respectively, made by the Insular Government to the Province of Abra, under the provisions of Acts Numbered Five hundred and forty-one and Seven hundred and sixty-one, are hereby declared canceled, and there is hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated, an amount sufficient to pay any and all salaries and wages which may be due to the officers and employees of the Province of Abra up to the time of the taking effect of this Act, the amount due from said province to the Insular Purchasing Agent, and all other outstanding liabilities of the province except the loan of six thousand pesos made by the Insular Government to the Province of Abra from the Congressional relief fund under the provisions of Act Numbered One thousand and seventy-six, for the construction of public schools, which shall be assumed by the Province of Ilocos Sur upon the terms provided by said Act.

SECTION 7. Act Numbered Two hundred and six, entitled "An Act extending the provisions of the Provincial Government Act and its amendments to the Province of Abra," and all other Acts or parts of Acts in conflict herewith, are hereby repealed.

SECTION 8. 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.

SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect on April first, nineteen hundred and five.

ENACTED, February 28, 1905.