Republic Act No. 836

The sum of twenty million pesos is hereby authorized to be appropriated annually for a period of five years, beginning with the fiscal year 1953-1954, out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the construction, reconstruction, improvement and/or repair of public elementary school buildings.

The amount made available for expenditure for each fiscal year under the provisions of this Act shall be released by the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, in accordance with the provisions hereof, for the construction of new public elementary school buildings and for the repair, improvement and/or reconstruction of public elementary school buildings damaged or destroyed by public calamities, such as fire, typhoon, flood, earthquake, or dissident action or by ordinary wear and tear.

The Secretary of Education shall allocate for each fiscal year the share of each province or city on the basis of the number of public elementary school pupils not housed in permanent and semi-permanent public elementary school buildings in such province or city in relation to the total number of such pupils in the entire country during the preceding fiscal year.

During the first fifteen days of each regular session of the Congress, he shall submit a report of such allocation to the Congress, which shall contain in addition a recommendation of the public elementary school buildings in each province or city which shall be constructed, reconstructed, improved and/or repaired as well as the amounts estimated for the execution of each of such projects. On the basis of such report, the Congress shall by law specify the public elementary school buildings that shall be constructed, reconstructed, improved and/or repaired during the ensuing fiscal year. If the Congress shall fail to enact such law for any fiscal year, the aforementioned report and recommendation of the Secretary of Education shall be deemed as having been approved by the Congress and the public elementary school building projects contained therein shall be executed: Provided, however, That the specification of said projects as well as the allocation for such projects made by the Secretary of Education for the fiscal year 1953-1954, in accordance with the provisions hereof, shall be deemed as having been approved by the Congress: Provided, further, That no release of the appropriation herein provided shall be made for any province or city unless such release is made simultaneously for all the other provinces and cities and always on the basis of the allocation for all provinces and cities as provided herein.

Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, any project allocated fund under the provisions hereof amounting to four thousand pesos or more shall be executed through public bidding in accordance with the usual contract procedures of the Bureau of Public Works. If there are no bidders or if the project can be executed at a reasonably lower cost than the most advantageous bid, such project shall be executed by administration: Provided, That in such case, preference shall be given to members of Parents-Teachers Association in the employment of laborers for such project.

The engineering surcharge for any project allocated fund under the provisions hereof shall not exceed two per centum of the actual cost thereof, which surcharge shall cover all the expenses for inspection, checking of materials, and incidental office expenses in connection with the preparation of estimates and contract documents.

The buildings herein referred to shall be erected only upon lands of the exclusive ownership of the municipality or city, or which shall be donated or purchased for school site: Provided, That the title thereto must be in each case registered in accordance with the land registration laws in force, but the Secretary of Education may authorize the beginning of the construction work upon mere filing of an application for the registration thereof: Provided, further, That the drawing up of the plans and specifications and execution of the work, and payment for the latter shall be effected in accordance with the laws and regulations now in force.

All unexpended balance, after the completion of any of the works authorized by this Act, shall at once revert to the National Treasury to the credit of this appropriation and shall not be withdrawn from it nor expended except for the purposes indicated herein. Such unexpended balance for any fiscal year shall be added to the appropriation for the next fiscal year and expended during the said year.

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: March 12, 1953