[ Act No. 152, June 27, 1901 ]

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE LAWFUL CUSTODY OF COURT-HOUSES AND THE PUBLIC PROPERTY THEREIN, AND FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF STENOGRAPHERS, TYPEWRITERS, INTERPRETERS, AND TRANSLATORS WHEN NECESSARY.

By authority of the President of the United States, be it enacted by the United States Philippine Commission, that:SECTION 1. The governor of each province, or, in case the governor has failed to qualify as officer of the court by giving a bond, and a sheriff of the province has been appointed, in accordance with section twenty-four of Act Numbered One hundred and thirty-six, providing for the organization of courts, then the sheriff of the province, shall be the legal custodian of the court-house and the public property therein, except the books, records, and papers appertaining to the offices of the clerk, in his province. In the city of Manila the sheriff of the city shall be the legal custodian of the buildings occupied by the Supreme Court, Court of First Instance, municipal courts, and court of justices of the peace, and the public property therein, except the hooks, records, and papers appertaining to the offices of the clerks of the courts, and shall be responsible for the preservation and care of such buildings and property. All expenses incident to the repair, alteration, and custody of court buildings in the provinces, and to the purchase of equipment and supplies, including necessary books and stationery, shall be borne by the several provincial treasuries. All expenses of the character last mentioned incurred in the city of Manila shall be paid for from the city treasury; but no expenses for either purpose shall be incurred without the prior authority of the provincial board in the province, or of the municipal board in the city of Manila, as the case may be. The necessary estimates for repairs, furniture, and equipment of the court-houses in the provinces shall be made by the governors or sheriffs, as the case may be; and for the city of Manila, by the sheriff thereof.The estimates for the purchase of necessary stationery and books for the use of the courts and clerks shall be made by the clerks of the several courts, respectively.SEC. 2. Such stenographers, typewriters, interpreters, and translators as are needed for the proper transaction of the business of the Supreme Court and Courts of First Instance shall be appointed. The judges of the Supreme Court shall determine the number of such employees that may be necessary for the Supreme Court and for the several Courts of First Instance in the different provinces and for the city of Manila, and the salaries to be paid to such employees, all upon approval thereof by the Chief Executive. The employees named in this section required by either of the courts aforesaid, for the purposes named in this section, shall be appointed by the Attorney-General, and may be removed by him for cause, and their successors may be appointed by him; but the successors shall all be appointed from a list of eligibles provided by the Civil Service Board, under the Civil Service Act.SEC. 3. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.SEC. 4. This Act shall take effect on its passage.Enacted, June 27, 1901.

Source: Supreme Court E-Library