An Act Providing for the Establishment of Provincial Boards of Health and Fixing Their Powers and Duties

December 2, 1901

ACT NO. 307

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PROVINCIAL BOARDS OF HEALTH AND FIXING THEIR POWERS AND DUTIES

SECTION 1. There shall be a provincial board of health in each of the several provinces of the Philippine Islands, which board shall be organized at such time as the Board of Health for the Philippine Islands may direct, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.

SECTION 2. Each provincial board of health shall consist of a president, who shall be a duly qualified physician; the president of the municipal board of health of the capital of the province, and the provincial supervisor. The provincial secretary shall act as secretary of the board. With the authority of the proper military or naval commander, the senior medical officer of the Army or Navy on duty at the capital of the province shall be an honorary and consulting member of the provincial board of health, but shall not be entitled to a vote. The provincial fiscal shall be the legal adviser of the board.

SECTION 3. The president of each provincial board of health shall be appointed by the Civil Governor of the Philippine Islands, with the advice and consent of the Commission.

SECTION 4. The salaries of presidents of provincial boards of health shall be fixed by the Commissioner of Public Health, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and shall be payable monthly in money of the United States: Provided, That they shall not exceed ¾

(a) In the Provinces of Marinduque, Romblon, Masbate, Abra, and Bataan, nine hundred dollars per year;

(b) In the Provinces of Isabela, Zambales, Oriental Negros, Surigao, Tayabas, Union, Cagayan, Sorsogon, Rizal, Antique, Capiz, Cavite, Tarlac, Bohol, Misamis, Nueva Ecija, and Laguna, one thousand two hundred dollars per year;

(c) In the Provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Bulacan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Albay, Batangas, Camarines, Occidental Negros, and Leyte, one thousand three hundred and fifty dollars per year;

(d) In the Provinces of Cebu and Iloilo, one thousand five hundred dollars per year;

(e) In the provinces or districts not included under paragraphs (a), (b), (c), or (d) of this section, the salaries of presidents shall be fixed by the Commission when the organization of the provincial board of health for such province or district is directed.

(f) Provincial supervisors, provincial secretaries, presidents of municipal boards of health of capitals of provinces, and honorary members of provincial boards of health shall receive no compensation for the performance of the duties prescribed for them in connection with provincial boards of health.

(g) Members of provincial boards of health shall be allowed their actual and necessary traveling expenses when absent from the capitals of their several provinces upon official business, subject to the conditions imposed by law upon the provincial officials of their respective provinces when traveling on official business.

SECTION 5. Subject to the supervision and control of the Board of Health for the Philippine Islands, each provincial board of health shall have general supervision over the health and sanitary condition of its province, including the health of domestic animals; shall exercise general control over all municipal boards of health within the province; shall cause to be prosecuted all violations of sanitary laws and shall enforce the regulations of the Board of Health for the Philippine Islands within the province. During epidemics of contagious or infectious disease affecting the inhabitants or domestic animals of the province, and at other times when it shall deem necessary, it shall appoint such sanitary inspectors as the provincial board may authorize; and it shall perform such other duties with reference to the health and sanitation of the province as the Board of Health for the Philippine Islands may direct. It shall hold regular meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, and special meetings at the call of the president or of a majority of the voting members of the board. It shall make no contracts and incur no liabilities in excess of the amounts duly appropriated for its use by the provincial board or by the Central Legislature of the Philippine Islands.

SECTION 6. The president of each provincial board of health shall be its executive officer and shall exercise general supervision and control over the various branches of its work. In a case of emergency, and when a quorum of the board can not be obtained, he may exercise the power conferred upon the provincial board of health by this Act, but he shall report his action to the board for ratification at the earliest practicable time. On or before the tenth days of March, June, September, and December of each year, he shall prepare and submit to the provincial board quarterly estimates, showing the probable expense of properly conducting the work of the board for the coming three months. He shall make such reports as the Board of Health for the Philippine Islands may direct.

SECTION 7. The provincial fiscal, in investigating the causes of sudden deaths which have not been satisfactorily explained, and when there is suspicion that the causes arose through the unlawful acts or omissions of other persons, or from foul play, and in causing autopsies to be made in case he deems them to be necessary, shall be entitled to demand and receive, for purposes of such investigations or autopsies, the aid of the president of the provincial board of health.

All laws and orders establishing a "Medical-Legal Department" in the Philippine Islands are hereby repealed.

SECTION 8. In case of the absence of the president from the province, or of illness incapacitating him for the discharge of his duties, the president of the municipal board of health of the capital of the province shall temporarily discharge them.

SECTION 9. The provincial supervisor shall act as sanitary inspector and as sanitary engineer for the board.

SECTION 10. The secretary of the provincial board of health shall keep its records, compile its statistics, and shall render such other clerical assistance in connection with the legitimate work of the board as it may direct.

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

ENACTED, December 2, 1901.