Appropriation of Funds for Establishment of a Trading Center and Exchange

October 10, 1933

ACT NO. 4069

AN ACT TO SET ASIDE FROM THE "RICE AND CORN FUND" THE SUM OF ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT, EQUIPMENT, MAINTENANCE, AND OPERATION OF A TRADING CENTER AND EXCHANGE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

SECTION 1. There is hereby set aside, out of the "Rice and Corn Fund" appropriated under the provisions of Act Numbered Twenty-eight hundred and eighteen, as amended, the sum of one hundred thousand pesos, to be used in the establishment, equipment, maintenance, and operation of a trading center and commercial exchange, the aims of which shall be to provide a place for the permanent exhibition of samples of commercial and industrial products of the Philippines, to hold or take part in national, provincial, municipal, floating or caravan exposition, to serve as a retail sales agency for small producers and manufacturers in the Islands, to provide a ready meeting place or exchange center for sellers and buyers of major Philippine products, and in general to promote the commercial and industrial development of the country.

SECTION 2. Subject to the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, the Trading Center and Exchange shall be authorized to collect a reasonable charge or commission for the handling of any article sold therein: Provided, That if the delivery of the articles ordered is made elsewhere, one-half of the rate herein authorized shall be charged on orders taken and consummated in the Trading Center and Exchange.

SECTION 3. The money set aside and appropriated by this Act, together with the income derived from the charges or commission to be collected under the provisions of section two of this Act, shall accrue to and constitute a special fund to be expended by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce for the purchase of articles or products made or produced in the Philippines for exhibition or sale in the Trading Center and Exchange; for the payment of salaries and wages of the necessary personnel; for the purchase of the necessary equipment and supplies; for the purchase or rental of the necessary land; for the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings and other necessary structures; and for such other expenditures as may be deemed necessary for the proper carrying out of the purposes of this Act: Provided, That any unexpended balance of the special fund herein created at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the Insular Treasury but shall be used for the purposes for which it was set aside: Provided, further, That any income that may be realized from the sale in the Trading Center and Exchange of products or articles purchased with the fund appropriated herein shall likewise become a part of the fund herein created which shall be used and expended exclusively for the purposes of, and in the same manner as, the original appropriation Provided, also, That the funds of the Trading Center and Exchange may, in the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, be deposited in the Philippine National Bank or in any other authorized depository of the Philippine Government: And provided, finally, That the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce shall render to the Governor-General and the Philippine Legislature at the end of each fiscal year a report showing the operation of the Trading Center and Exchange together with its financial condition, which report shall be included as an integral part of or an appendix to the Budget.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on its approval.

Approved, October 10, 1933.