Sec. 2. Violation of the provisions of the preceding section shall subject the buyer, whether a natural or juridical person, upon conviction, to imprisonment for not less than one month nor more than six months and a fine not less than one thousand nor more than five thousand pesos, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency: Provided, however, That when such buyer acts through an agent, the latter shall upon conviction also be subject to imprisonment for not less than thirty days and a fine of not less than one hundred pesos nor more than five hundred pesos with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency: And provided, further, That when the violator is an alien, he shall be subject to the additional penalty of deportation.

Sec. 3. Every moisture meter which shall be used in accordance with this Act shall first be examined and tested by the Institute of Science and Technology. After a finding by the Institute that the meter is accurate and fit for the purpose of determining the moisture content of copra, it shall approve the same for use. Upon approval thereof, the Institute shall cause a lead seal to be attached to the meter and issue a certificate to the owner upon payment by him to the Institute of a fee of twenty-pesos, such fees to be collected to constitute a special fund to be available exclusively for the use of the Institute to discharge properly the functions assigned to it by this Act. The certificate shall bear the signature of the Director of the Institute and the date of its issuance, and shall state the brand of the meter, the serial number thereof and its calibration, and shall further state that the meter has been found fit for determining the moisture content of copra: Provided, however, That only moisture meters of local manufacture shall be approved for use by the Institute.

Sec. 4. Should any copra buyer referred to in section one use a moisture meter which has no lead seal and/or for which no certificate has been issued in accordance with the preceding section, or for which a re-certification has not been obtained or has been refused in accordance with section six hereof, he shall upon conviction be subject to imprisonment for not less than one month nor more than six months and a fine of not less than one thousand pesos nor more than five thousand pesos, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency: Provided, however, That when such buyer acts through an agent, the latter shall upon conviction also be subject to imprisonment for not more than one month and a fine of not less than one hundred pesos nor more than five hundred pesos, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency: And Provided, further, That when the violator is an alien, he shall be subject to the additional penalty of deportation.

Sec. 5. The certificate issued in accordance with section three shall be posted in a conspicuous place near the meter, in the site where the meter is to be used.

Sec. 6. Once every one hundred and eighty days to be counted from the issuance of the certificate mentioned in section three, the calibration of each approved meter must be re-certified by the Director of the Institute of Science and Technology. For each re-certification, the Institute shall collect from the owner of the meter a fee of ten pesos, such fees to be collected to form a part of the special fund created in section three. However, re-certification shall be refused if, in the opinion of the Director, the meter has ceased to be fit for determining the moisture content of copra.

Sec. 7. At any time after the issuance of the certificate as referred to in sections three and six, the Philippine Coconut Administration may cause the moisture meter to be re-examined by the Institute of Science and Technology for determination if its calibration is still correct; but no fee shall be charged by the Institute for such re-examination.

Sec. 8. Any person who tampers with a moisture meter duly authorized to be used as provided for in the preceding sections so as to favor the seller or buyer, or who uses or consents to the use of a moisture meter knowing that it has been tampered to favor him or the person he represents, shall upon conviction be subject to imprisonment for not less than one month nor more than six months and a fine of not less than one thousand pesos nor more than five thousand pesos, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency: Provided, That when the violator is an alien, he shall be subject to the additional penalty of deportation.

Sec. 9. Every copra seller or his representative who deals with the buyers required by this Act to use moisture meters shall be allowed by the buyer or his representative to witness the reading of the moisture content of the copra sold.

Section 10. The samples to be taken from the copra under transaction and which are to be fed to and tested by the moisture meter shall be picked in the following manner: samples constituting at least ten per cent of the entire stock of copra to be sold shall be drawn therefrom at random in such a manner as to make the samples more or less representative of such whole stock of copra, in the presence of the seller or his representative and the buyer or his representative; and such samples shall then be mixed together thoroughly and from the mixture the copra to be fed to and tested by the moisture meter shall be drawn indiscriminately in such a manner as to make the same more or less representative of such samples, likewise in the presence of the seller or his agent and the buyer or his agent.

Any person who commits fraud in the picking of the samples from the copra to be sold to be fed to and tested by the moisture meter to the prejudice either of the seller or buyer shall upon conviction be subject to imprisonment for not less than one month nor more than six months and a fine of not less than one thousand pesos nor more than five thousand pesos, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency: Provided, That when the violator is an alien, he shall be subject to the additional penalty of deportation.

Section 11. The same penalty provided for in the preceding section shall be imposed upon any buyer and/or his agent who misread or give an incorrect reading of the moisture meter to the prejudice of the seller.

Section 12. A Committee to formulate a scale establishing a graduated rate of deduction according to the percentage of the moisture content of copra which may be purchased by the domestic copra buyers mentioned in section one of this Act is hereby created.

Section 13. The Committee shall be composed of the Board Chairman of the Philippine Coconut Administration, as Chairman, and a representative of the national organization of Philippine coconut planters, and a representative of the national organization of Philippine copra exporters, as members: Provided, however, That the scale of deduction to be adopted by the Committee shall correspond to the relation between the percentage of moisture content and the consequent loss of weight and shrinkage of copra as determined by tests and experiments conducted or to be conducted by the Institute of Science and Technology and the Philippine Coconut Administration: And Provided, further, That no deduction shall be prescribed for copra with a moisture content of less than five per cent shall be awarded a premium equal to the difference between five per cent and said moisture content.

Section 14. The Committee shall be convened within twenty days from the approval of this Act and the scale shall be formulated within thirty days after the Committee is convened. Any scale voted upon affirmatively by a majority of the members of the Committee shall be deemed approved.

Section 15. The Chairman of the Committee shall then cause the approved scale referred to in the preceding section to be published in three consecutive issues of the Official Gazette and in five newspapers of general circulation once a week for three consecutive weeks. The expenses for such publication shall be borne by the Philippine Coconut Administration.

Section 16. The scale shall form a part of this Act and shall take effect immediately after the lapse of one year from the approval of this Act.

Section 17. After the scale referred to in the next preceding section takes effect, no deduction in the weight of copra based on moisture content greater than that established by such scale shall be allowed. In case of violation of this provision, the penalty and fine provided for in section two of this Act shall apply.

Section 18. After the effectivity of the scale, every first domestic purchase of a particular lot of copra in the Philippines shall be evidenced by a certificate in triplicate, the original of which shall be issued by the buyer to the seller. The certificate shall state in detail the moisture meter reading, the number of bags of copra, the gross weight thereof, the deductible tare weight of the bags, the net weight, the deductible percentage based on the scale, the weight deductible from the net weight, the remaining difference, the price quoted on five per cent, and the amount payable.

Failure to issue the certificate provided for in this section shall subject the buyer and/or his agent upon conviction to imprisonment for not less than one month nor more than six months and a fine not less than one thousand nor more than five thousand pesos, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency.

Section 19. The operation of moisture meters required by this Act to be used, and the issuance of the certificate referred to in the preceding section, shall be under the supervision of the Philippine Coconut Administration pursuant to rules and regulations it shall promulgate to ensure that the purposes and objectives of this Act in requiring the use of moisture meters are accomplished. To raise the necessary funds for such supervisory work, there shall be levied a fee of five centavos for every one hundred kilos of copra for every first domestic purchase of said product, to be paid by the buyer and collected by the Philippine Coconut Administration pursuant to rules and regulations it shall promulgate, the proceeds of such levy to be available exclusively for its use: Provided, however, That such levy shall be imposed only once for a particular lot of copra.

Sec. 20. After the effective date of this Act, all prices of copra shall be quoted on the basis of resecada with five per cent moisture.

Sec. 21. For a violation of any provision in this Act for which no specific penalty has been prescribed, the penalty provided for in section two shall apply.

Sec. 22. When the violation of any of the provisions of this Act is committed by a juridical person, the manager or the person acting as such shall be responsible for such violation.

Sec. 23. All violations of this Act shall be prosecuted in the same manner and under the same rules of ordinary criminal actions.

Sec. 24. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 18, 1955