Revised Philippine Highway Act

October 5, 1972

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 17

REVISING THE PHILIPPINE HIGHWAY ACT OF NINETEEN HUNDRED FIFTY THREE

WHEREAS, acceleration of national economic development demands that complementary maintenance of existing infrastructure facilities, such as highways, be kept at the optimum;

WHEREAS, present situation calls for a more equitous reallocation of available resource to closely coordinated and technically determined and programmed needs of the entire nation and not merely of any portion thereof;

WHEREAS, as earlier pronounced, maximization of achievements goes well along with minimum but efficient set-ups thus cutting down on unnecessary overheads; and

WHEREAS, the utilization of the Highway Special Fund provided for by law should be carried out in accordance with the policies set forth. acd

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, as Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081 dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1 dated September 22, 1972, as amended, in order to accelerate national economic development through complementary maintenance of infrastructure facilities, and to effect maximization in the utilization of the Highway Special Fund, do hereby issue this Decree. cdt

For this purpose, the (attached Revised Philippine Highway Act) is hereby adopted and decreed as part of the law of the land.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 5th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Two. cd

ATTACHMENT

SEVENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC

OF THE PHILIPPINES

Third Session

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H. No. 5081

AN ACT REVISING THE PHILIPPINE HIGHWAY ACT OF NINETEEN HUNDRED FIFTY-THREE

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

ARTICLE I

Title and Scope of Act

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act may be cited as the "Revised Philippine Highway Act". cIHDaE

SECTION 2. Scope of Act. — The provisions of this Act shall control the disposition of all funds accruing to the Highway Special Fund; the manner of apportionment and conditions under which such apportionment shall be released; the selection and designation of highways or highway projects to receive national aid; the expenditures for the administration, maintenance, improvement, betterment and rehabilitation on highway projects; the classification of highways, and the widths, acquisition and use of rights-of-way.

ARTICLE II

Definitions

SECTION 3. Words and Phrases Defined. — When used in this Act, and in subsequent Acts having reference thereto, unless the context indicates otherwise:

(a) The term "highway" includes pavements, shoulders, embankments, rights-of-way, bridges, ferries, drainage structures, signs, guard rails, and related protective structures.

(b) The term "right-of-way" means the land secured and reserved to the public for highway purposes.

(c) The term "Bureau of Public Highways" means the agency of the Department of Public Works and Communications that has charge of the administration of highways, and includes any regional engineering division, section, engineering district, or any instrumentality thereof.

(d) The term "maintenance" means the act of preserving and keeping each type of highway as nearly as possible in its original condition as constructed or as subsequently improved. Maintenance does not include rehabilitation, betterment, and improvement.

(e) The term "rehabilitation" means the act of restoring any type of highway to its condition as originally constructed or as subsequently improved, when the highway facility has so deteriorated that normal maintenance effort, procedures and expenditures are inadequate to accomplish this task. TcSHaD

(f) The term "betterment" means any work that substantially changes the nature, strength or quality of an existing highway in spot locations such as flattening a corner, replacing a temporary bridge, raising the grade on a flooded section, and the like.

(g) The term "improvement" means any work that substantially changes the nature, strength or quality of an existing highway uniformly along the entire length of a road section such as widening, paving, and the like.

(h) The term "local funds" includes funds raised under the authority of a province, chartered city, or municipality; allotments of internal revenue accruing to their general funds and the "road and bridge" funds; and other revenues accruing to their general funds and made available by resolution of the Board or Council concerned but does not include apportionments or allotments from the Highway Special Fund.

(i) The term "administrative management" refers to the performance of non-engineering functions in the Bureau of Public Highways such as legal, accounting and bookkeeping, internal auditing, secretarial and clerical duties, janitorial, messengerial, radio operations, office maintenance and security regardless of the region and/or project where they are performed. This term shall also include the salaries and the operational expenses such as the purchase of office supplies and equipment and the capital costs of expanding the facilities housing the Bureau of Public Highways, except depots, and motor pools maintained to service highway equipment.

(j) The term "engineering management" refers to the activities of officials of the Bureau of Public Highways whose normal responsibilities and work involve the management of more than one specific category of the Bureau's principal activities like maintenance, design, construction or planning. The officials performing such activities in the central office are the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and staff assistants, the Chief Highway Engineer and staff assistants, the Chief of the Management and Coordination and the Chief of the Materials Testing and Physical Research Division and in the regional divisions are the regional division engineers and their deputies, the regional soils and materials engineer, and the District Engineers.

 This term shall also include the salaries and related costs and transportation expenses of the above officials and their support staff.

(k) The term "preliminary engineering" refers to the activities of data collection, analysis, and planning pertaining to research programs of the Bureau of Public Highways or for the purpose of evaluating the engineering and economic soundness of a project prior to its inclusion in a given budget. This service includes the salaries and related costs of gathering of economic and traffic data, surveys and mapping, soils and materials field investigations, laboratory testing, cost estimating, and preliminary design in order to define technical alternatives, approximate quantity of work items or respective costs and the economic feasibility of a proposed project.

(l) The term "final design engineering" refers to the work directly related to detailed engineering of a project that has been included in the approved budget. This includes the preparation of final plans, contract documents and specifications, estimates and definition of land acquisition requirements.

(m) The term "engineering supervision" refers to the activities of engineers and their supporting technical employees engaged in the planning, control, inspection, management and supervision of a highway rehabilitation, betterment, improvement, and the like. The term also includes salaries, expenses and related costs of technical staff but shall not include foremen and other lower ranking employees engaged in the physical control of specific work or operation.

(n) The term "maintenance engineering" refers to activities of engineers and their supporting technical staff engaged in the planning, control and supervision of maintenance works as a normal routinary function. This term includes the salaries, expenses and related costs but specifically excludes road foremen and other lower ranking employees engaged in the physical control of specific work or operation.

ARTICLE III

Disposition of Highway Revenue

SECTION 4. Amendment to Commonwealth Act Numbered Four Hundred and Sixty-Six. — Section three hundred and sixty-one of Commonwealth Act Numbered Four hundred and sixty-six, as amended by Section one of Republic Act Numbered Three hundred and fourteen, is amended to read:

"SEC. 361. Disposition of proceeds of taxes on motor fuel. — The proceeds of the tax on motor fuel prescribed in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of Section one hundred and forty-two of this Code shall be deposited in a special trust account in the National Treasury to constitute the Highway Special Fund, which shall be apportioned and expended in accordance with the provisions of the REVISED Philippine Highway Act [of nineteen hundred and fifty-three]."

SECTION 5. Amendment to Act Numbered Three Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Two. — Section seventy-three of Act Numbered Three thousand nine hundred and ninety-two, as amended by Section two of Republic Act Numbered Three hundred and fourteen, is amended to read:

"SEC. 73. Disposal of monies collected. — Monies collected under the provisions of this Act shall be deposited in a special trust account in the National Treasury to constitute the Highway Special Fund, which shall be apportioned and expended in accordance with the provisions of the REVISED Philippine Highway Act [of nineteen hundred and fifty-three]."

SECTION 6. Deductions for Administrative Expenses, Preliminary Engineering, Contingent Emergency Expenditures, and Discretionary Fund. —

(a) Administrative expenses. — So much as may be required but not to exceed six per centum of all money accruing to the Highway Special Fund, shall be deducted from the Highway Special Fund and made available until expended, for administering the provisions of this Act as the Secretary of Public Works and Communications may deem necessary, of which, four per centum shall be allotted for administrative management and two per centum shall be allotted for engineering management. These allocations shall be used exclusively to pay the salaries and other operational expenses of officials and employees of the Bureau of Public Highways engaged in administrative management and engineering management, as defined in this Act. DSHTaC

(b) Preliminary engineering. — Two per centum of the whole sum accruing to the Highway Special Fund shall be set aside for preliminary engineering as defined in this Act and shall continue to be available for the purpose until fully expended.

(c) Contingent emergency expenditures. — Five per centum of the Highway Special Fund shall be set aside and made available and expended in the discretion of the Commissioner of Public Highways for the relief of provinces, chartered cities and municipalities which have suffered unusually serious loss or damage or destruction beyond their reasonable capacity to bear: Provided, That the sums so authorized shall be expended for restoration, including relocation of roads and bridges damaged or destroyed, in such manner as to give the largest measure of permanent relief, under the rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Commissioner of Public Highways and shall continue to be available for the purpose until fully expended.

(d) Discretionary Fund. — Five per centum of the Highway Special Fund shall be allotted to the Discretionary Fund under the control of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications to be used: first, to augment any deficiency in the allotment for administrative expenses; for payment of gratuity benefits and the money value of accrued leaves; for payment of compensation benefits to employees who become sick and/or injured in the course of employment; second, to increase other allotments provided for in this Act. All unexpended portion of this fund shall be carried over to the next fiscal year for the same purpose.

ARTICLE IV

Apportionment

SECTION 7. Determination of Apportionment. — The National Highway Maintenance Fund shall be apportioned to all districts and cities in the Philippines, to be determined on the basis of the sum of the total equivalent maintenance kilometers of national highways multiplied by the basic maintenance cost per kilometer, of a standard equivalent maintenance kilometer, at current prices or wages as defined hereunder in subsections (a) and (b).

(a) For the purposes of this Act, equivalent maintenance kilometers shall be determined for each kilometer, or portion thereof, of the actual physical length of national highways. Equivalent maintenance kilometers are determined by multiplying actual length by correction factors for width of road surface or pavement, surface type, average daily traffic volume using the road, and length of concrete, steel, and temporary or timber bridges, all based on Bureau of Public Highways road and bridge inventory data, approved annually by the Commissioner of Public Highways; except that the average daily traffic volume shall be derived using accepted engineering practice, from the latest available Bureau of Public Highways traffic volume surveys and shall also be subject to approval by the Commissioner.

 For this purpose, the correction factors shall be classified as follows:

(aa) Width of road surface or pavement correction factor. — Any road kilometer with unpaved road surface of less than five meters average width, measured perpendicularly to the center line axis of the road, and not including sides slopes or drainage ditches, shall be rated as eight-tenths of an equivalent maintenance kilometer for each physical kilometer of actual length. Any road kilometer with a pavement width, including paved shoulders and measured perpendicularly to the center-line axis of the road, exceeding seven and five-tenths meters but less than ten meters shall be rated as one and fifteen-hundredths equivalent maintenance kilometers for each physical kilometers of actual length, whilst if the pavement width is equal to or exceeds ten meters then, the equivalent road length shall be rated as one and thirty-hundredths equivalent maintenance kilometers per actual kilometer or physical length. No width correction factor shall be applied to any road whose width is other than that specified above. Multiple lane divided highways shall be deemed to constitute two separate roads, each subject to the corrections stipulated above. SCIcTD

(bb) Surface type will be classified into six categories, namely:

(bb-1) Portland cement concrete which term shall include all unreinforced portland cement concrete surfaces whose average slab thickness, to the nearest centimeter, is equal to or greater than twenty centimeters, or when the slab is reinforced, equal to or greater than fifteen centimeters;

(bb-2) High type bituminous surface which term shall apply only to pavements of controlled bituminous plant-mix, designed in accordance to traffic induced fatigue criteria, or controlled bituminous plant-mixes overlaying portland cement concrete pavement;

(bb-3) Medium type bituminous surface shall include accumulated surface treatments, bituminous macadams and road mixes, of more than five centimeters thickness and also plant mixes not qualifying under high type criteria;

(bb-4) Low type bituminous surfaces shall include bituminous surface treatments, bituminous macadams or road mixes of total thickness less than five centimeters.

 For the purpose of these definitions, bituminous shall be deemed to cover all mixes incorporating bituminous asphalt or tars.

 All road surfaces not conforming to portland cement concrete and bituminous pavement definitions shall be deemed unpaved.

(bb-5) High-type unpaved roads shall only include road surfaces that conform to Bureau of Public Highways gradation specifications for one and a half inch maximum stone size untreated granular bases, except that sub-base plasticity limitations shall be allowed and controlled uniform surface quality required.

(bb-6) Low type unpaved roads shall include all other natural untreated surface materials that do not conform to the high type unpaved requirements.

 Notwithstanding the definitions given above, the Commissioner of Public Highways shall be empowered to reclassify any particular road surface type, or to classify any undefined road surface type, provided that the reclassification is applied uniformly to all roads of the same type throughout the Philippines.

(cc) For purposes of this Act, medium average daily traffic ranges shall be defined as follows:

(cc-1) 100 to 200 vehicles per day for unpaved road surfaces,

(cc-2) 600 to 1,200 vehicles per day on bituminous pavement, and

(cc-3) 1,000 to 3,000 vehicles per day on portland cement concrete pavement.

 All traffic greater than or less than these stated limits shall respectively be deemed high traffic range or low traffic range for the respective road surface and pavement types.

 Correction factors to reflect surface type and traffic ranges will be applied separately to the total actual length of road, corrected for width, falling under each category of road surface or pavement type and traffic range as follows:

Low type unpaved — Low traffic	0.90
Low type unpaved — Medium traffic	1.50
Low type unpaved — High traffic	1.90
High type unpaved — Low traffic	1.00
High type unpaved — Medium traffic	1.35
High type unpaved — High traffic	1.75
Low type bituminous — Low traffic	1.10
Low type bituminous — Medium traffic	1.45
Low type bituminous — High traffic	1.85
Medium type bituminous — Low traffic	1.00
Medium type bituminous — Medium traffic	1.15
Medium type bituminous — High traffic	1.40
High type bituminous — Low traffic	0.85
High type bituminous — Medium traffic	0.90
High type bituminous — High traffic	1.10
Portland cement concrete — Low traffic	0.80
Portland cement concrete — Medium traffic	0.90
Portland cement concrete — High traffic	1.00

(dd) Correction for bridges. — In addition to the sum of equivalent maintenance kilometers calculated as hereinabove described, supplementary equivalent maintenance kilometers shall be added for the total length of bridges in the National Highways in accordance with the following scale:

(dd-1) For each ten meters length of concrete bridge superstructure shall be added one hundred meters of equivalent maintenance road length;

(dd-2) For each ten meters length of steel truss, girder or beam superstructure shall be added three hundred fifty meters of equivalent maintenance road length; and

(dd-3) For each ten meters length of timber or temporary bridge superstructure shall be added one kilometer of equivalent road length. aTcIAS

 All lengths of superstructure shall be measured along the center-line axis of the highway.

(b) The basic cost of maintenance for each equivalent maintenance kilometer of National Highways shall be set at pesos four thousand five hundred per kilometer. Adjustments to the basic cost shall be made annually on a formula approved by the Commissioner of Public Highways based on accounting returns showing actual labor, equipment and materials expenditures for road maintenance by the Bureau of Public Highways, and including price changes for labor, equipment and materials approved annually by the General Auditing Office.

(c) A maintenance program shall be prepared for national roads in each district and city and submitted for approval of the Commissioner. Any portion of an allotment to any district or city which is not required for maintenance work as determined by its approved maintenance program, may be applied to rehabilitation works in the same district or city, subject to the approval of the Commissioner.

 Any allotment of the fund which remains unexpended at the end of the fiscal year shall be carried over to the next year for the same purpose.

(d) Maintenance funds for National Highways shall be released to districts and cities separately and regularly, through the regional division engineering offices of the Bureau of Public Highways, at the beginning of every quarter in the amount of one quarter of the total maintenance apportioned for National Highways in the region irrespective of what total amount has been accumulated in the Highway Special Fund.

(e) A deduction of five per centum shall be withheld from the allotment of the districts and cities in each regional area and shall be available for increasing the maintenance allotment of any national road in the regional area where geographical, topographic, geophysical or weather conditions may cause an unusual heavy financial burden, as may be determined by the Commissioner of Public Highways or his designated representative.

(f) A portion of the total maintenance fund, not to exceed five and five-tenths per centum shall be allocated to pay for maintenance engineering as defined in this Act.

SECTION 8. National Aid-Highway Maintenance Fund. — The apportionment for national aid for maintenance of local roads shall be determined as follows:

(a) Provinces shall receive twenty five per centum of the current basic cost of maintenance per equivalent maintenance kilometer of national road, referred to in subsection (b) of the preceding section, for each kilometer of the actual physical length of provincial road whose existence is certified by the Provincial Engineer and accepted by the Commissioner of Public Highways.

(b) National aid for city roads shall be fifty per centum of the current basic maintenance costs per equivalent maintenance kilometer of national road, for each kilometer of city road and street established by the City Council and approved by the Commissioner.

(c) National aid for municipalities shall be determined as fifty per centum of the current basic maintenance cost per equivalent maintenance kilometer of national road, for each kilometer of municipal road whose existence is established by the Municipal council and approved by the Commissioner of Public Highways or his designated representative.

(d) In order to qualify for national aid for said maintenance, provinces and cities shall be required to submit an annual maintenance program, two months prior to the start of each new financial year, for the entire network of road under their jurisdiction for approval by the Commissioner of Public Highways. Provinces and cities shall also be required to provide certification by the provincial or city treasurer, respectively, that counterpart road and bridge funds have been appropriated by the city or province, equal in values to twice the value of national aid on the part of the provinces, and equal in value to the national aid on the part of the cities.

(e) Notwithstanding these provisions to the contrary, provinces and cities whose road and bridge fund are insufficient as certified by the provincial or city treasurer concerned, to provide the road maintenance counterpart, if all the legally required local road and bridge fund of the city or province were applied to road maintenance, will be entitled to national aid to the extent required to complete their approved maintenance program, subject to an absolute limit on national aid of three times the normal limiting national aid share for provinces, and twice the limiting national aid share for the cities, as described above in subparagraphs (a) and (b).

(f) The funds provided for under this section shall be released immediately at the beginning of every quarter, and it shall be unlawful for any fiscal officer to withhold or cause withholding of national aid maintenance funds except for the following causes:

(aa) Failure to prepare an acceptable road maintenance program. In this event the allotment shall be reserved for two subsequent quarters at which time if no acceptable program is prepared the allotment shall revert to the discretionary fund.

(bb) Failure to appropriate counterpart funds. In this event the allotment shall be reserved for two quarters pending such appropriation by local government, in the absence of which it shall revert to the discretionary fund.

(cc) Failure to expend national aid and counterpart funds appropriated for maintenance in accordance with the approved maintenance program or approved revisions thereto during the previous quarter. cIaHDA

 In this event, the national aid funds for the subsequent quarter will be reduced by the amount of the unexpended balance of national aid maintenance funds or of the misapplied national aid maintenance funds. The local authority must satisfy the uncompleted requirement of the approved program or replace the misapplied funds in order to claim the release of the portion withheld. At the end of the fiscal year all the unexpended national aid portions shall revert to the discretionary funds.

(dd) Failure to properly account for the national aid money received. The amount not properly accounted shall be withheld from the subsequent releases of national aid maintenance funds, pending proper accounting. In the event of failure to furnish proper accounting within three months, the funds withheld shall be forfeited and returned to the Bureau of Public Highways Discretionary Fund.

(ee) Failure to pay outstanding obligations to the Bureau of Public Highways within thirty days from receipt of invoice. In this event the outstanding amount of the obligation shall be deducted from the next release of national aid maintenance funds, and the entire national aid share to local road maintenance shall be deemed to have been paid for purposes of future accounting.

(g) If the sum total of national aid and counterpart funds provided to any local government under the provisions of this section exceed the approved maintenance program, the program may be expanded to include rehabilitation work on roads within the jurisdiction of said local government.

SECTION 9. Fund for Rehabilitation, Betterment and Improvement. — The balance of the Highway Special Fund after deducting the amounts allocated in the preceding sections shall be allocated for the rehabilitation, betterment and improvement of national highways.

(a) Fifty per centum of this amount shall be programmed for all national roads within the country in accordance with the following priorities: First priority shall be given to rehabilitation. If, betterment works are required on a road section identified as needing rehabilitation, both shall be programmed simultaneously with equal priorities; Second priority shall be given to replacement of temporary bridges; third priority shall be given to betterment of existing roads where rehabilitation is not required; and fourth priority shall be given to the improvement of existing roads to a higher class.

(b) The other fifty per centum of this amount shall be allocated among the regional engineering divisions, to be programmed using the same priorities as specified in subsection (a) above, their shares of this per centum to be determined as half the sum of two ratios, expressed as decimals, and determined as follows:

 For each region, multiply the length of temporary bridges on national highways times twenty and add the length of national highways in the region. Divide this sum by the total lengths of highways and temporary bridges on national roads in the Philippines, calculated in the same manner, to obtain the ratio which each region bears to the national total.

 For each region, divide its population, as determined by the latest statistics, certified by the Bureau of Census and Statistics, by the population of the Philippines to obtain the ratio which each region bears to the national total.

 Then, add the values obtained by the formulas described in the two preceding paragraphs and multiply by one-half. This product when multiplied by the total monies provided under this subsection will determine the monies allocated to each region.

(c) An amount not exceeding fourteen per centum of the sums allotted in the preceding subsections (a) and (b) shall be allotted for final design engineering and engineering supervision associated with works paid for from this fund.

SECTION 10. Designation of Existing and Unabandoned Provincial, City or Municipal Roads. — Within sixty days after the passage of this Act and periodically as may be required by regulations to be promulgated by the Commissioner of Public Highways, the provincial board, city or Municipal Council concerned shall designate the existing and unabandoned provincial, city or municipal roads actually serving motor vehicular traffic upon which maintenance aid shall be expended and shall cause their respective district or city engineers to prepare a maintenance program and estimates thereon. Upon approval of the road lengths, program and estimates by the Commissioner of Public Highways, the provincial board or city council concerned shall provide in their annual road and bridge budget an appropriation in accordance with the amount required under the formula stated in subparagraphs (d) and (e) of Section eight hereof to be taken from local funds. This appropriation shall be certified to by the provincial or city treasurer concerned and made available as counterpart for highway expenditures as provided in subparagraphs (d) and (e) of Section eight of this Act. Upon receipt by the Commissioner of Public Highways of this certificate of availability of local funds, he shall release the national aid provided in subparagraphs (d) and (e) of Section eight hereof.

ARTICLE V

Supervision and Control of Projects Financed by Highway Special Fund

SECTION 11. Supervision and Control of Projects Financed by the Highway Special Fund. — The provisions of any existing law, rule or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding, all works financed by Highway Special Fund including national aid shall be under the direct control and supervision of the Bureau of Public Highways, subject to such laws, rules and regulations governing the prosecution of public works projects. cHaDIA

ARTICLE VI

Personnel Policies

SECTION 12. Appointment and Transfer of Personnel. — The Secretary of Public Works and Communications shall appoint, in accordance with the Civil Service Law, rules and regulations, upon recommendation of the Commissioner of Public Highways all personnel of the Bureau of Public Highways. In filling such positions, the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, upon recommendations of the Commissioner of Public Highways, shall give preference to personnel who already occupy permanent positions in the Department of Public Works and Communications, and the selection shall be based on training, experience and length of service. Such authority to appoint personnel whose salary is payable under this Act, by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, shall also extend to the appointment of the District Engineers, assistant District highway or civil engineers not to exceed two in each district office and the engineering administrative officers whose salaries shall hereafter be made payable from Highway Special Fund.

SECTION 13. Personnel Policies. — The Secretary of Public Works and Communications, upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Public Highways, is hereby directed to formulate policies of personnel management calculated to encourage and develop the loyal and efficient performance of duty on the part of all employees of the Bureau of Public Highways. Such policies shall include provisions for within-service promotions, periodic and systematic pay increases, rotation of personnel to broaden technical and professional experience, the establishment of in-service training programs, and such other means as the Commissioner of Public Highways deems advisable: Provided, That in rotating personnel, no field, district or regional employees above the rank of foreman shall, except for cause, be rotated oftener than once every two years nor allowed in any assignment longer than six years: Provided, further, That the rotation of district and assistant district engineers shall be made in the same category where they are presently assigned: Provided, finally, That the duties of a district engineer shall be discharged only by a regularly appointed district engineer. For this purpose, engineering districts are hereby classified into three categories as follows: A district with less than one hundred kilometers of national roads within its territorial limit shall be classified as third class district; a district with more than one hundred kilometers but not exceeding two hundred fifty kilometers of national roads within its territorial limit shall be classified as second class district; and a district with more than two hundred fifty kilometers of national roads within its territorial limit shall be classified as first class district.

ARTICLE VII

Budget and Accounts

SECTION 14. Operation Funds. — A budget covering the operation of the Bureau of Public Highways shall be prepared annually as prescribed in Section seven, general provisions, paragraph four of Commonwealth Act Numbered Two hundred and forty-six, as amended. Such budget shall be prepared at the beginning of each fiscal year for the next succeeding fiscal year by the Commissioner of Public Highways. Upon approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications said budget shall be submitted to the President for his approval as required by law.

SECTION 15. Release of Maintenance Funds. — The provisions of Commonwealth Act Numbered Two hundred and forty-six, as amended, to the contrary notwithstanding, sums apportioned for maintenance under this Act shall be released automatically and made immediately available for expenditure as provided in sections seven and eight of this Act without the necessity of submitting a budget therefor as a condition precedent to their release. A budgetary statement as to the amounts released to the different provinces, cities and municipalities shall, however, be submitted to the President, if he shall require the same.

SECTION 16. Other Expenditures. — A budget for all other items to be expended under this Act shall be prepared by the Commissioner of Public Highways pursuant to Commonwealth Act Numbered Two hundred and forty-six. Budget programs for rehabilitation, betterment or improvement, shall set up anticipated highways funds apportionable under Section nine of this Act, against contractual and other obligations to be met out of the anticipated collections covering into the Highway Special Fund for a period in advance not longer than twenty-four months. Such program shall include, in the case of projects to be prosecuted on force accounts, statements of traveling and other expenses, including a list of employees entitled thereto; proposed expenditures for materials, rental charges for highway equipment, the cost of acquisition of right-of-way, and the cost of engineering as defined in subparagraph (c), Section nine of this Act. Upon the approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, said budget shall be submitted to the President for his final approval as required by law.

SECTION 17. Equipment Account. — The proceeds from the sales of obsolete or wornout highway equipment, machinery and motor vehicles used by the Bureau of Public Highways, rentals for use of such highway equipment and machinery and all other money used or to be used in the purchase of such highway equipment, machinery or motor vehicles. This account shall be used for the purchase of highway equipment, machinery, motor vehicles, needed and necessary tools and spare parts, and for the establishment, in the discretion of the Commissioner of Public Highways, with the approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, of necessary repair shops, facilities and storage depots. Commissioner of Public Highways shall require the establishment of a system for the proper control and maintenance of all highway equipment, machinery, motor vehicles, and all other equipment and property used or owned by the Bureau of Public Highways, and for the prorating equitably of the costs of depreciation of such highway equipment, machinery, motor vehicles and all other items of equipment among the several highway construction and maintenance operations and other assigned uses. The costs of repair, maintenance and operation, as nearly as may be, shall be charged to projects or otherwise prorated where project used is not involved. The accumulated depreciation charges shall be credited to the Highway equipment account and a minimum of ten per centum of such amount shall be reserved as a sinking fund to be used exclusively for the future purchase of necessary equipment, motor vehicles, tools and spare parts that may be urgently needed. Under such regulations as the Commissioner of Public Highways may prescribe, the Commissioner of Public Highways shall exercise complete control over the assignment, use and transfer of all highway equipment, machinery, motor vehicles under the control of the Bureau of Public Highways. ECaHSI

SECTION 18. Preference in Purchase of Materials. — In the purchase of materials for the rehabilitation, betterment and improvement of national, provincial, city or municipal roads and bridges under this Act, preference shall be given as far as practicable to locally produced materials, provided that the quality and price thereof shall not differ considerably from the quality and price of imported materials, and the supply of local materials is adequate.

ARTICLE VIII

Establishment of an Integrated System of Highways

SECTION 19. Revision of Classification of Roads Established by Executive Order Numbered Four Hundred and Eighty-Three, Series of Nineteen Hundred and Fifty-One. — Within one year after the passage of this Act, the Secretary of Public Works and Communications shall cause the review of existing data and surveys and, upon completion of this review, the preparation by the Bureau of Public Highways, Department of Public Works and Communications of such development maps or master plans as would embody in each regional group of provinces or each province, recommendations for a limited system of national highways designed to provide a basis for improved inter-regional transportation: Provided,That in the selection and planning of the entire highways system, the Secretary of Public Works and Communications shall invariably take into consideration the military highway needs of the Philippines, to assure continuity and articulation in the entire integrated system.

ARTICLE IX

Rules and Regulations, Report to President

SECTION 20. Rules and Regulations to be Prescribed by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications. — The Secretary of Public Works and Communications shall prescribe and promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act. He shall make such recommendations to the President and to the Provincial Board or City Council concerned, as he may deem necessary to preserve and protect the highways and insure traffic safety.

SECTION 21. Report. — On or before the end of August of each year, the Secretary of Public Works and Communications shall make a report to the President, which shall include the detailed statements of the work done, status of each project undertaken, the allocation of funds and appropriations, an itemized statement of expenditures and receipts during the preceding fiscal year under this Act, and itemized statement of the traveling and other expenses including a list of employees, their duties, salaries and traveling expenses, if any, and his recommendations, if any, for new legislation amending or supplementing this Act. The Secretary of Public Works and Communications shall also make such special reports as Congress may request.

ARTICLE X

Special Provisions and Penalties

SECTION 22. Special Provisions. — Upon approval of this Act, no money, whether from current or from accumulated previous releases from the Highways Special Fund shall be spend during a period of forty-five days immediately preceding any election except for:

(a) Expenditures for purely maintenance work in existing roads, bridges, ferries and other stream-crossing facilities, the total disbursements of which shall not exceed the monthly average expenditure for such purposes in the province or city during the previous year: Provided,That the total monthly disbursement for all such provinces and cities shall not exceed three million pesos;

(b) Payment of the costs of actual construction or improvement already awarded by contract;

(c) Payment for the usual cost of the preparation of working drawings, specifications, bill of materials, estimates, and other procedures preliminary to actual construction, including the purchase of materials and equipment; and

(d) On-going public works and projects commenced before the campaign period of one hundred twenty days prescribed under Section eighty-one of the Election Code of 1971; Provided,That the Commissioner of Public Highways shall submit to the Commission on Elections the list of all on-going public works and projects being undertaken by the Bureau.

SECTION 23. Penalties. — It shall be unlawful for any person to usurp any portion of a right-of-way, to convert any part of any public highway, bridge, wharf or trail to his own private use or to obstruct the same in any manner, or to use any highway ditch for irrigation or other private purposes, and any person so offending shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand pesos or by imprisonment not exceeding six months.

Any person altering boundaries or location monuments or road right-of-ways shall be punished under Article three hundred and thirteen of the Revised Penal Code.

Any person who shall remove any tool or any road-making material from any highway, or mutilate, damage, destroy, or in any manner interfere with any public bridge, culvert, drainage, canal, road marker, sign, or other road or road-sign development facilities shall be punished under the Article three hundred and twenty-eight of the Revised Penal Code.

If the obstruction or damage shall result in any road or motor vehicle accident, the penalty provided in the second paragraph of Article three hundred and thirty of the Revised Penal Code, shall be imposed.

ARTICLE XI

Final Provisions

SECTION 24. Acts, Executive Orders, Administrative Orders, Ordinances, etc., Repealed. — Act Numbered One thousand five hundred and eleven, otherwise known as the Philippine Road Law, Republic Act Numbered Nineteen hundred seventeen and all Executive Orders, Administrative Orders, Ordinances, and regulations inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. CASaEc

SECTION 25. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect upon its approval, except sections seven and eight hereof which shall take effect six months after the approval.

Approved.