Report of the governor general of the Philippine Islands. [1908]

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF FINANCE AND JUSTICE. 565

and outstanding obligations of the deceased, and payments to the
relatives of balances of the estates, was P21,881.76. The balance in
favor of the unliquidated estates was, on June 30 of this year,
P6,114.11.
PROVINCI.AL, FISCALS.
On August 31, 1907, Act No. 1701, entitled "An act to equalize
and secure uniformity in salaries of provincial fiscals, to empower
the governor-general to consolidate the office of fiscals of two or
more provinces, to declare vacant the position of fiscal of any province and assign the duties thereof to the office of the attorney-general,
and to restore the status existing prior to such consolidation
or abolition, and for other purposes," was passed. This act modifies the salaries of the provincial fiscals, establishing a maximum
and minimum salary, in accordance with the importance of the respective provinces. They were classified to secure equality and uniformity in the salaries of provincial governors and treasurers. By
this amendment the provincial fiscals received an increase of salary,
which has to a certain extent compensated them for the increased
work and responsibility imposed upon them by Act No. 1699, providing that they shall perform the duties of the register of deeds in
their respective provinces.
The executive order of the governor-general of the Philippine
Islands of October 31, 1907, fixed the salaries of the provincial fiscals
of the provinces hereinafter mentioned as follows: Iloilo, V5,000;
Cebu, P4,500; Pangasinan, P4,500; Leyte, P4,500; Albay, 7P4,000;
Ambos Camarines, P4,000; Bulacan, 1'4,000; Ilocos Sur, 14,000;
La Laguna, 14,000; Occidental Negros, P4,000; Pampanga, 1P4,000;
Tayabas, P4,000; Rizal, V4,000; Samar, P4,000; Sorsogon, P4,000;
Bohol, P3,500; Capiz, P3,500; Ilocos Norte, P3,000; La Union,
P3,000; Oriental Negros, P3,000; Antique, P3,000, all to be effective
as of October 1,1907.
By executive orders of the governor-general, Nos. 44, 45, 46, 47, and
48, all dated October 31, 1907, the offices of the provincial fiscals of
the provinces of Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, Cavite and Bataan, Batangas and Mindoro, Misamis, Surigao and Agusan, and Cagayan and
Isabela were consolidated. These offices were already consolidated
by virtue of acts prior to Act No. 1701, which were repealed by the
latter, and for this reason it was necessary to issue the executive
orders mentioned, for the purpose of a new consolidation, as prescribed in section 3 of said Act No. 1701. The only modification was
the consolidation of the offices of the provincial fiscals of Bataan and
Cavite, instead of Bataan and Bulacan, this change being due to the
greater advantage of the fusion of the fiscals' offices of Bataan and
Cavite, compared with that of the offices of Bataan and Bulacan, as
the two provinces first mentioned belong to the same district, while
Bulacan belongs to another, and it had happened that the sessions of
the courts of first instance of Bataan and of Bulacan coincided, and
that the fiscal was not able to perform his duties in both courts at the
same time. Before the passage of Act No. 1701, the fiscals' offices of
Surigao and Misamis were already consolidated, but in view of the