The Cebu City Ordinance on additional fees on cinema in 1946
A year after the end of World War II, the Cebu City Council enacted an ordinance entitled "An ordinance creating additional fees on cinematographs, theaters, vaudeville companies, theatrical shows and boxing exhibitions, and providing for other purposes."
The ordinance imposed additional fees on the price of every admission ticket sold by the operators, here was the list:
For every ticket sold the price of which is from P.025 to P0.99, the amount of P.05 is collected by the city government.
For tickets sold at the price of P1.00 to P1.99, the amount of P.010 is collected by the City Government.
For every ticket sold at the price of P2.00 to P2.99, the amount of P.15 is collected by the city government.
For every ticket sold at the price of P3.00 to P4.99, the amount of twenty centavos is collected by the city treasury.
For every ticket sold at the price of five pesos to nine pesos and ninety-nine centavos, the amount of twenty five centavos is collected by the city government.
For every ticket sold the price of which is from ten pesos to fourteen pesos and ninety-nine centavos, the amount of thirty five centavos is collected.
For every ticket sold the price of which is fifteen pesos or more than, the amount of fifty centavos is collected by the city government.
The ordinance provides the procedure on how every proprietor, lessee, promoter, or operator of cinematographs, theaters, vaudeville companies, theatrical shows and boxing exhibitions on how to comply with the ordinance.
The ordinance ordains that the tickets which shall be produced by the promoter or owner shall be serially numbered, indicating the name of amusement place and the fee charged for admission.
Before the tickets are sold, it shall be presented to the Office of the City Treasurer, for registration. Tickets once issued and presented at the gate or entrance shall be cut by the gatekeepers into halves, the first half to be returned to the customer and other half to be retained by the gatekeeper.
The proprietor, lessee, promoter or operator is duty bound to deliver to the Office of the City Treasurer the fees corresponding to the number of tickets sold by him within two days after the performance or exhibition has taken place.
However, if the admission fees or charges are collected for and in behalf of any charitable, educational or religious institution or association no fees shall be collected by the city government.
Interestingly, all places of amusement which are operated by the United States Army and Navy with funds belonging to the United States government were exempted from the fees imposed by the Cebu City government.
The ordinance was approved on August 30, 1946 by lawyer Vicente S. del Rosario, the Cebu City mayor then. The Secretary to the Mayor was Artemio A. Mendoza while the Secretary to the Council was Jose Fortich.
One of the members of the Cebu City Council that enacted the ordinance was Juan C. Seno, who was also appointed as Deputy Governor of the Province of Cebu.
A member of the Seno Clan also became a member of the Cebu City Council, by the name of Franklin N. Seno. Other famous members of the Seno Clan were Januario T. Seno Sr. of Liloan, Cebu who became a member of the Batasang Pambansa and founding president of the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines. Januario became a lawyer on February 2, 1951. A namesake of Januario by the name of Januario V. Seno Jr. also became a lawyer on May 3, 1986.
Cecilio T. Seno also of Liloan, Cebu became a lawyer on January 25, 1952, and went on to become a labor leader and commissioner of the Social Security System and the National Labor Relations Commission.
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