An Act Appropriating the Sum of One Hundred Thousand Pesos for the Purpose of Establishing a Reimbursable Fund for the Promotion of Agricultural Pursuits upon Certain Haciendas and Parcels of Land, Commonly Known as "Friar Lands," and for the Extension of the Cultivated Area Thereof

October 2, 1907

ACT NO. 1736

AN ACT APPROPRIATING THE SUM OF ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING A REIMBURSABLE FUND FOR THE PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS UPON CERTAIN HACIENDAS AND PARCELS OF LAND, COMMONLY KNOWN AS "FRIAR LANDS," AND FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE CULTIVATED AREA THEREOF

SECTION 1. There is hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of one hundred thousand pesos for the purpose of establishing a reimbursable fund, under the direction and control of the Director of Lands except as hereinafter provided, which shall be known as the "friar lands loan fund," and which shall be made available in accordance with the provisions hereinafter specified, for the making of mortgage loans upon growing crops and salable commodities manufactured therefrom, work animals, warehouses, mill houses and machinery, and other property, both real and personal, belonging to actual and bona fide cultivators of the so-called friar estates, for the encouragement of agricultural pursuits and the extension of the cultivated areas of the said estates. AIDSTE

SECTION 2. The Secretary of the Interior shall designate to the Director of Lands the maximum amount of the friar-lands loan fund which may be loaned in accordance with the provisions of this Act within any given period of time, the rate of interest which such loans shall bear, the term within which the mortgages shall be redeemed, the estate or estates to which the provisions of this Act shall be extended, the kind or kinds of crops or salable commodities manufactured therefrom, and the class or classes of buildings, animals, or other property, both real and personal, which may become subject to mortgage as herein provided, the manner in which advances of loans shall be made, and the maximum amount shall be advanced for each hectare under cultivation: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That in no case shall the maximum mount so advanced exceed one hundred pesos for each hectare cultivated by the mortgagor.

SECTION 3. The Director of Lands shall, under the direction and approval of the Secretary of the Interior, promulgate such regulations and issue such forms and instructions as may become necessary to secure the Government against loss and to carry out the purposes of this Act. He shall likewise cause to be kept a full and complete record of all transactions regarding loans and payments thereof, and shall keep such books and render such accounts, approved by the Insular Auditor, as may be necessary for the proper accounting for said fund, and loans made therefrom, together with interest on such loans.

SECTION 4. By and with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, the Director of Lands is hereby empowered, for and on behalf of the Government of the Philippine Islands, to make such loans as are authorized by this Act, and to execute as mortgage, acting for and on behalf of the Government of the Philippine Islands, the necessary mortgages executed under this Act shall be executed to the Director of Lands, mortgagee, acting for and on behalf of the Government of the Philippine Islands.

SECTION 5. For the purposes of this Act the Director of Lands shall be the trustee for all mortgagors for the purpose of disbursing amounts advanced in consideration of the mortgages, and shall have custody of all mortgages and other securities for the mortgage debts pending their final satisfaction and release. He shall approve or disapprove all applications for loans, either wholly or in part, and such approval or disapproval shall be final and conclusive: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That the Secretary of the Interior shall indorse upon each mortgage his approval thereof before said mortgage shall be considered as valid and effective.

SECTION 6. In case the mortgagor has failed or neglected to discharge the mortgages in accordance with the agreement therein specified, the Director of Lands shall, upon the maturity of the mortgage notes, proceed to the foreclosure of the mortgages in the manner provided by law. Whenever, in his opinion, the interests of the Insular Government are in jeopardy through the failure or neglect of the mortgagors properly to observe the conditions of the mortgage agreements, the Director of Lands shall likewise proceed to the foreclosure of all mortgages, or shall take such other action as may to him seem necessary in the premises.

SECTION 7. The actual and necessary expenses arising from the administration of the friar-lands loan fund shall be advanced from the general appropriations made for the Bureau of Lands, and shall be reimbursed thereto from the interest and profits realized from the mortgage loans which may be made in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 8. Upon the repayment and satisfaction of all mortgage debts the principal of the loans shall be reimbursed to the friar-lands loan fund as established by section one of this Act, and all net profits from said loans shall likewise accrue to and become a part of said fund, and may be available for any or all of the purposes for which said fund may be used.

SECTION 9. 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 10. This Act shall take effect on its passage.

ENACTED, October 2, 1907.