House Bill No. 2851

Media

Part of Diario de Sesiones de la Legislatura Filipina

Title: House Bill No. 2851
Language: Spanish
Year: 1927
Rights
Fulltext: 1602 DIARIO DE· SESIONES INFORME ORAL DEL PONENTE, SR. SABIDO Sr. SABIDO. Señor Presidente, el objetivo de este proyecto es imponer una penalidad para ciertos administradores de terrenos confiscados po~ el · Gobierno por morosidad en el pago de la contribución territorial, que abusando de sus facultades destruyen las fincas a ellos confiadas, beneficiáD.dose de una manera desusada, cortando los retoños que no están aún en sazón, en perjuicio de las fincas que están bajo su administración. Este es el único objetivo del proyecto, y si no hay objeción, pido que el mismo pase a tercera lectura. ENMIENDA NEPOMUCENO Sr. NEPOMUCENO. Señor Presidente, para una enmienda. Propongo que después de la palabra "costumbre" que aparece en la línea 7, se añada lo siguiente: "o descolgar, o mandar descolgar cocos no sazonados, para cualquier uso o beneficio." Sr. SABIDO. Se acepta la enmienda. El PRESIDENTE PRO TEMPORE. ¿Hay alguna objeción por parte de la Cámara? (Silen&io.) La ·Mesa no oye ninguna. Aprobada. El PRESIDENTE PRO TEMPOltE. ¿Puede pasar el proyecto a tercera lectura? La CÁMARA. Sí. . El PRESIDENTE PRO TEMPORE. Léase el título. El CLERK DE ACTAS, leyendo: Ley castigando los abusos de los administradores o sus agentes de terrenos confiscados por el Gobierno por moro~. sidad en el pago de la contribución territorial. El PRESIDENTE PRO TEMPORE. Los que estén conformes con el proyecto, tal como ha quedado enmendado, tengan la bondad de decir sí. La CAMARA. Si. . El PRESIDENTE PRO TEMPORE. Los que estén en contra, sírvanse decir no. (Silencio.) Aprobado. De conformidad con lo acordado por la Cámara en su sesión anterior, está en orden ahora el Proyecto de Ley No. 2851 de la Cámara. Se constituye la Cámara en Comité de toda ella para la consideración de dicho proyecto y se designa al Caballero por Sorsogón, Sr. Guariña, como presidente del Comité. SUSPENSIÓN DE LA SESIÓN Se suspende la sesión de la Cámara. (El Presidente pro tempore abandona la presi4enCia, ocupándola el Sr. Guariña.) COMITÉ DE TODA LA CÁMARA Se abre la sesión del Comité de Toda la Cámara a las 6.09. El PRESIDENTE. Léase el Proyecto de Ley No. 2851 de la Cámara. CESIÓN DE LIBROS DE TEXTO MEDIANTE ALQUILER El CLERK DE ACTAS, leyendo: HOUSE BILL NO. 2851 (Jntroduced by Repreeentatives Marcoa and Dacanay] The idea of renting textbooks to the pupils is not a new thing. It is practiced in the States of. the American Union, a nation where the financia} condition of tbe people is mued better than that of -the inhabitants of the Islands. lt has been the enunciated policy of the Government to give free elementary education, but such policy could not be carried out because of the lack of funds. It is then incumbent upon us, the constituted r'epresentatives of the people, to solve the problem in such a way as to reduce to the least possible amounts the expenses of the pupils in the intermediate grades. At present, the intermediate school pupi1s are required to buy the textbooks and also to pay for a matriculation fee of not leas than two pesos eacb. According to the personal observation of the authors the teachers in the public schools send out or reconunend the suspension ~f any pupi1 who has not a complete set of books needed for bis grade. It is even said that the pupils are not allowed to borrow books from other pupila and statistics show that the poor families have more children than the well-to-do ones. It is not amiss to mention the fact that many of the parents are 1iving from hand to mouth; many are delinquent taxpayers and most of them have to stay all day under the sun or in the rain, thunderbolt and lightning in order to earn enough to keep soul and body together. Because of all these things it is not a wonder why about one-third of the primary sehool graders could not continue their studies in the intermediate grades. pen~s b:f U:~~ilsc¡~c~h~ i:~~r:~f!: ;:3e:.efe(~s ~= !~; of the memorandum of the Director of Education submitted to us concernin~ the prices of textbooks approved for use in the intermed1ate grades. · l. TEXTBOOKS APPROVED FOR USE IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES Fifth Grade Correet English, Grade 'v. U'olley and Martinez ....... Pl..00 The Philippine Readers, Book Five. Osias...... 1.40 Fifty Famous Stories Retold. Baldwin.......................... 1.00 Good Manners and Right Conduct, Fifth Grade. McVenn ---··········--------------------·-···················--·---------------·-·-········ .96 Stone Winkel Arithmetic, Book One, Stone and Winkel .8_6 The Progressive M:usic Series, Book Two, Parker et. a.l. (Need not be bought.) Intermediate Geography. Miller and Polley .... 3.36 Elementary Home Economics.... .56 Total ·-···-·-·················-·······--·---············ "9.10 Si:l:th Grade Better English for Speak.ing and Writing, Grades Six and Seven. Romulo et. al ......... 1"1.50 Philippine Readers, Book Six. Osias.............................. 1.45 The Book of Legends, Scudder.......................................... .80 Good Manners and Right Conduct, Six Grade. McVenn .................................................................................... .95 Intermediate Geography, Miller and Polley (Purchased a1ready in Grade V). The Progressive Music Series, Book Three. Parker et. E1:~~~~~y---H~~e---E~~~~-1~~ -ü?·i:¡~~h~~ed··-~¡n~¡¡y··¡~ 1·95 grade V). Total ---------·-·-----·-···················- ................................ H.66 Seventh Grade Better English for Speaking and Writin.g, Grades Six. and Seven, Romulo et. al. (Purchased already in Grade VI.) Philippine · Readers, ~ook Seven. OSias .......................... 'P'l..50 The Song of Hiawatha. Longfellow................................ 1.00 Good Manners and Right Conduct, Seventh Grade. McVenn .............................................................................. .95 Stone and Winkel Arithmetic, Book Two. Stone and A ':!i~e\¡}:;:;h:riieª~hilf:pf:es~ra#:r~a~~ez............ :f.80 Phil.ippine Civics. Malcol.m aud Kalaw.......................... 2~20 Sanitation and Hygiene for the Tropics. Ritche and E1~~~~1!~--H~~e···E"~~~~~-1~~- ·cp·i:¡~-~h-~-~ed·--~¡!;~dy··t;; 2·15 Grade V). Total -·······-·-- "9.60 LEGISLATURA FILIPINA 1603 From the above prices and totals we can' figure out the average total cost of textbooks needed by an intermediate pupil. It will amount to P8.63. Consequently, the parent who has one child studying in the intermediate grade must at least have IP8:63 for the cost of text books and P2 for matriculation fee or Pl0.63 in sil at the beginning of the school year if he wants bis child to enter and stay in school. And we must not forget that in many cases there are parents who have two children studying in the intermediate grades and in sorne instances there are parents who also have one or two children in the high school where the average cost of textbooks nereded for .a pupil is P16.29 ·and where the matriculation and tuition fee ranges from "'20 to P30 in the different high schools of the islands. The intention of tbe authors of this bill is to lighten the burden of the parents who are sacrificing a great deal to enable their children to enter school. lf the pupils rent the textbooks at an annual rate of 20 per centum of their actual cost, the following amounts will be needed for each of the pupils in the different intermediate grades. Fifth Grade .; ....... ···························-············· IP2.28 Sixth Grade ....... ................. 2. 73 Seventh Grade .............................................. 3.08 And it is so provided for in the bill that such rent is to be payable in two installments, the first payment to be made at the opening of the school and the second, at the beginning of the second semester. The amount then for a pupil to have as he goes to school "at the beginning of the school year is reduced to an insignifi.cant sum ás shown by the following tabulation: 2 lnstaUment l Inst.Ument Present Fifth Grade ........................... . plan plan practice 'P'l.14 'P2.28 'P9.10 Sixth Grade ............................ . 1.87 2.73 10.90 Seventh Grade ....... ~ ............... . 1.64 3.08 12.30 The authors· have so provided that the rent of the textbooks shall be 26 per centum of their actual cost for. experience has shown that tbe ordinary life of textbooks used in intermediate grades is four years. · It is even said that if the textbooks are well taken care of they rnay last :five years. And they ha ve provided, further, for the payment of the rent in two installments so as to reduce to insignificant amount tbe money the parents need to prepare for their children at the beginning of the school year. The authors would have presented a biil authorizing the Bureau of Education to fumish books freely to all intermediate pupils if such plan would not need an appropriation of about t>l,870,000. A reimbursable fund of 'P600,000 is proposed to be created to carry out the purposes of this bill. There are two points that need consideration in the creation of this fund. One is that the amount will drain too much the Insular Treasury. Such objection could not hold true, for as shown by its designation, "reimbursable fund," it shall not be an amount to be disposed of permanently by the Government, but instead, it would be an investment to provide a great relief to the parents who are desirous to educate their cbildren. The other point is, the amount of five hundred thousand pesos may not be enougb. Such an anticipated objection could be answered in tbis way. At present there is a reimbursable fund amounting to lt'900,000 created by the Governor-General in accordance with the provisions of section · 604 of Act 2711, eommonly known as the Administrative Code, for the purchase and sale of supplies and rnaterials for the Bureau of Education. According to information "supplies mid materiaJs" include textbooks for the intermediate and high school pupils. Now, if 'P900,000 is enough for the purchase of supplies, and materials including ~xtbooks for the intermediate and high school pupils in the public schools, there is no reason why a reimbursable fund of P600,000 to be created by thi's bill would not be enough. If this reimbursable fund of 7"600,000 is created, naturally the GovemorGeneral will have to decrease the reimbursable funds for the purchase and sale of supplies and materials for the Bureau of Education, because the purchase and the sale of the books of the intermediate pupils will no longer be included. The Legislature has continually voted large sums of money to relieve sufferers from baguio, fire, famine, and other fortuitous events which have caused many persons to suffer. Such being the case, why should we not vote in favor of a bill which would appropriate the sum of f'500,000 which is not to be disposed of eventually because it returns to the Government as rents, yet it would give a more or less permanent relief to about a million parents scattered ~:~1dg~~:t1!hfh!:i~ffl~~nI~~a~~~ti~~~ l'b~\~h J:d~:Smfn ";~~ intermediate grades. Because of the foregoing reasons, the enactment of. the following bill is earnestly tirged. (Sgd.) MARIANO R. MARCOS Representative, Second District, rlOcos Norte (Sgd.) LEONCIO DACANAY Rep-resentative, Seco·nd Dictrict, La Union AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE BUREAU OF EDUCATION TO RENT TEXTBOOKS TO PUPILS OF THE PUBLIC INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLS, APPROPRIATING THE SUM OF FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS AS A REIMBURSABL& FUND, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Be it enacted by the Sena,te a,nd H ouae of Representatives of the Philippines in Legislature assembled and by the authority o/ the same: ·SECTION l. The Bureau of Education is hereby authorized to rent textbooks to pupils of the public intermediate schools at an annual rate of twenty-five per centum of the actual cost of each textbook paya~le in two installments: Provided, however, That when a book is lost or returned damaged, beyond the ordinary wear and tear the pupil wbo rente_d the same shall be required to pay the full reasonable value thereof, or part thereof, to be determined in . each case by the Director of Edtication or bis representative. · . SEC. 2. The Director of Education, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Public Instruction, is hereby authorized to promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. SEC. 3. There is hereby appropriated, out of any funds ~~ ~~ ~~s:J~d TJ:::::~d n;:s~!h!b'i:h s~¡fir:::!:i~u~ ~er!~ bursable fund under the direction and control of the- Director of Education for the purchase of the. te:x:tbooks to be rented to pupils, as provided for in this Act. AU amountS received frorn lost or damaged books or as rent'.s ot the same · · shall accrue to the reimbursable fund herein créated, to be available for the same purpose, wit~E'fhe4P~~isÍ~!~ ~f t'ht:-i.Ac~f a:t~e:t~~~~~~l~~onsistent SEC. 5. This Act sha11 take etfect _on January :6rst, nineteen hundred and twenty-eight. Approved, El PRESIDENTE. Tiene la palabra el ponente del proyecto. INFORME ORAL DEL PONENTE, SR. MARCOS {Este informe se publicará en uno de lOs números siguientes como apéndice.) Mr. GARCIA. Mr. Chairman, I wish to speak against the bill. El PRESIDENTE. Tiene la palabra el Caballero por Bohol. DISCURSO EN CONTRA DEL SR. GARCfA (Este discurso se publicará en el número siguiente como apéndice.) Sr. NEPOMUCENO. Señor Presidente, propongo que se levante la sesión del Comité de toda la Cámara y se informe a ésta que dicho Comité no ha llegado a un acuerdo sobre este proyecto de ley y recomienda que se continúe mañana su discusión. El PRESIDENTE. Si no hay objeción, se levanta la sesión del Comité de Toda la ·Cámara. Eran las 7 .27 p. m. 1604 DIARIO DE SESIONES (El Presidente pro tempore, Sr. Guintó, vuelve a qcupar la Presidencia.) REANUDACIÓN DE LA SESIÓN Se reanuda la sesión de la Cámara. INFORME DEL PRESIDENTE DEL COMITÉ DE TODA LA CÁMARA Sr. GuARiflA. Señor Presidente, el Comité de toda la Cámara ha tenldo bajo su consideración el Proyecto de Ley No. 2851 de la Cámara y me ha instruído informe a la misma que el Comité no ha llegado a un acuerdo sobre dicho proyecto y recomienda que se- continúe mañana la discusión del mismo. El PRESIDENTE PRO TEMPORE. El Caballero por Sorsogón, Sr. Guariña, como Presidente del Comité de Toda la Cámara, da cuenta de que dicho Comité ha tenido bajo su consideración el proyecto de Ley No. 2851 de la Cámara y no ha llegado a un acuerdo sobre el mismo por lo que recomienda se continúe su discusión mañana. La cuestión ahora en orden es el informe del Comité de toda la Cámara. Los que estén en favor de dicho informe, digan sí. (Una mayoría: Si.) Los que estén en contra, digan no. (Una minoria: No.) Aprobado. Sr. CONFESOR. Señor Presidente, propongo que los otros asuntos señalados para hoy se transfieran a la sesión de mañana. · El PRESIDENTE PRO TEMPORE. ¿Hay alguna objeción? (Silencio.) La Mesa no oye ninguna. Aprobada. ORDEN ESPECIAL Sr. NEPOMUCENO. Señor Presidente, el Comité de Reglamentos solicita una Orden Especial (0. E. No. 94, 7.• L. F.), para que en la sesión del lunes, 24 del actual, se considere el Proyecto de Ley No. 3293 de la Cámara; y en la del martes, 25, el Proyecto de Ley No. 2582 de la Cámara. El PRESIDENTE PRO TEMPORE. ¿Hay alguna objeción a esta orden solicitada por el Comité de Reglamentos? (Süencio.) La Mesa no oye ninguna. Adoptada. ¿Mociones? LEVANTAMIENTO DE LA SESIÓN Sr. NEPOMUCENO. Señor Presidente, . pido que se levante la sesión. El PRESIDENTE PRO TEMPORE. Si no hay objeción, se- levanta la sesión. Eran las 7 .30 p. m. Pursuant to the motion approved by the House, the following speech is herein inserted : SPEECH OF REPRESENTATIVE MELENCIO Mr. MELENCIO. Mr. Speaker, there remains very little to be said in support of this resolution. With facts and figures and with cornpelling eloquence, it has already been shown without successful contradiction: First. That a surplus of palay and rice exists in the various warehouses of the rice producing regions and in those of Manila. Second. That this surplus has no market in the Philippine !stands at present, which explains why the price of rice has been tobogganning downwards atan alarming speed. Third. That our production of palay has increased by leaps and bounds during the Iast three years beeause of the irrigation systems that have been constructed, and that at the rate ef increase there is no longer any need for restricting exportation of the cereal. Fourth. That there is a good market in China at present for whatever surplus rice we rnay have here. 1 desire to add that the surplus supply is bound to increase a great deal more, because the advance crops in the rice producing provinces are already being harvested, and three months frorn now, in December or January, the regular 1927 crop will also be harvested. and will be ready for' sale. Ali this produce will be dumped in our markets between now and February. Prices, therefore, will go down sorne more, to the loss of the producers, big. and small, and something clearly should be done to help them. The immediate relief in sight is the lifting, even temporarily, of the prohibition on export. There is no other practica! solution to this economic impasse. In considering this question, the interest of the consumers alone cannot be paramount; it should not be. Statemanship demands that we . should also look after the interest of the rice producers, many of whom are producers on a,small scale. The big producers,. the palay magnates, are comparatively few in nurnber. In every province, we can count them with our fingers. The vast majority are small producers. These constitute the bulk whose welfare should also be protected, because they are the very backbone of the rice industry of the Islands. They are the ones who would be principally benefited if we have the vision and the foresight now to allow the marketing of their produce. These producers still own a great part of the palay deposited in the warehouses. They have not sold their crop in the expectation of higher prices during the months of August and September. They are bitterly disappointed, because ordinarily, during these months, the price of palay is from '1"4.30 to '1"4.75 a cavan. For five years now that has been the case. The market price these days, however, is only '1"3. Think of the difference. Even the socalled speculators or distributors will incur losses, because the present supply was bought between the months of February and J uly at prices ranging from '1"3.50 to '!"3.80. There will be a Ioss, therefore, of about 1"0.50 to a cavan, which is tremendous. Then, too, I would like to invite your attention to the present plight of the rice producers, the circumstances which they are up against. Unlike the producers of hemp, copra and sugar, the rice producers always have a hard time getting capital. They are at the merey most of the time of heartless and conscienceless usurers, these twentieth century Shylocks, besides whom the Shylock of Shakespeare pales into insignificance. Farm hands or tenants are hard to get now. There is such an economic unbalance that very few tenants find it profitable to stay long in the rice LEGISLA TURA FILIPINA 1605 farms. They demand al! sorts of concesions from the landlords; they want advance money al! the time. Often they escape after securing loans and go to other proprietors. God bless you if you can bring them back without litiga:tion in the courts. What more, many of them are restless now, because of the preachments of self-made communistic leaders saturated with a new brand of labor philosophy. Woe to you in case as a rice producer you happen to employ a bunch of these discontented tenants or farm hands inoculated with the uncompromising bacteria of communistic doctrines imported from no man's land ! ' The producer's average investment on a hectare of land ranges from i"500 to i"l,000. The average yield is forty to sixty of which the producer's share is one-half. He has to pay for fertilizers and for irrigation water to the tune of about i"40 a hectare. The cost of planting is around i"l8 per cavan of seedlings. Clearly his margin of profit becomes very tliscouraging if the price of palay is only i"3 as at present. Add to ali these the big item of work animalscarabao---which are getting fewer and fewer in number every year-so scarce now that you have to pay fabulous prices for them only to see them decimated when you wake up one fine bright June morning by the ravages of the unforgiving rinderpest-add this item to the cost of production and then think of the periodic floods in the great valleys of the huge river systems where the rice regions are locatedand you have a perfect picture of the pitiable plight and the tremendous adversities confronting the rice producers, conditions that surely will captivate your sympathy if not your pity. Can there by any doubt that whatever excess supply of rice there is should be allowed to be marketed somewhere, anywhere? Exportation will enable producers to market their crops thru the exporters. Marketing of al! our supply of rice will enable producers to get a fair margin of profit on their investment. Exportation, therefore, will encourage greater production.. It will make more young men devote their time to agriculture instead. of migrating to foreign lands. If good prices could be realized by the- small rice producers, the standard of living of our farm hands will be such improved, to the betterment of our social order. Exportation of this cereal will increase the balance of trade in our favor. This is vital for a young and small nation like ours which imports too many things altogether from abroad, mostly luxuries. lncreased returns in the production of palay will enable producers of this cereal to improve their methods of cultivation from now on. Our system of rice farming is, admittedly, antiquated. It has been antiquated for the last four hundred years. That is something which cannot be denied. We cannot improve the system, unless we make it possible for the producers to make a fair margin of profit on their investments. Above ali, it is not true that only the rice provinces will reap the benefits in case exportation were allowed. Al! t!ie other provinces as well will be affected favorably. For if the condition of the rice producers in general improve as a result, they will be able to huy more cotton goods from the !locos, such as blankets, tablecloths, and the like; they will be able to huy new and more sinamays from Iloilo and Capiz; more mats from Leyte and neighboring provinces ; more pillows from Cebu and Dumaguete ; more lumber from Tayabas" and the Mindanao concessions; more rope for their farms from the Bicol provinces; more. marble from the quarries of Romblon. As regards the City of Manila, the rice producers will be able to come here oftener and spend their money here; they will be able to send more of their children to the schools here to live among the constituents of the Represéntatives from Manila. Every trip made by them to the city will mean so much more money left among the city's inhabitants. We ask those who are against this resolution to consider these advantages to. your respective districts in case the rice producers succeed in selling their crop at good prices. Whatever increasea price, if any, their people would have to pay for the cereal will be returned to you a hundredfold in the form of purchases of products of your respective provinces. On the whole, therfore, if the exportation of the cereal is allowed, it will be one of the most beneficia! measures in the history of the rice industry.