ACT NO.

2137 - THE WAREHOUSE RECEIPTS LAW

I — THE ISSUE OF WAREHOUSE RECEIPTS

Section 1. Persons who may issue receipts. — Warehouse receipts may be issued by any
warehouseman.

Sec. 2. Form of receipts; essential terms. — Warehouse receipts need not be in any
particular form but every such receipt must embody within its written or printed terms:

(a) The location of the warehouse where the goods are stored,
(b) The date of the issue of the receipt,
(c) The consecutive number of the receipt,
(d) A statement whether the goods received will be delivered to the bearer, to a specified
person or to a specified person or his order,
(e) The rate of storage charges,
(f) A description of the goods or of the packages containing them,
(g) The signature of the warehouseman which may be made by his authorized agent,
(h) If the receipt is issued for goods of which the warehouseman is owner, either solely or
jointly or in common with others, the fact of such ownership, and
(i) A statement of the amount of advances made and of liabilities incurred for which the
warehouseman claims a lien.  If the precise amount of such advances made or of such
liabilities incurred is, at the time of the issue of, unknown to the warehouseman or to
his agent who issues it, a statement of the fact that advances have been made or
liabilities incurred and the purpose thereof is sufficient.

A warehouseman shall be liable to any person injured thereby for all damages caused by the
omission from a negotiable receipt of any of the terms herein required.

Sec. 3. Form of receipts. — What terms may be inserted. — A warehouseman may insert in
a receipt issued by him any other terms and conditions provided that such terms and
conditions shall not:

(a) Be contrary to the provisions of this Act.

(b) In any wise impair his obligation to exercise that degree of care in the safe-keeping of
the goods entrusted to him which is reasonably careful man would exercise in regard to
similar goods of his own.

Sec. 4. Definition of non-negotiable receipt. — A receipt in which it is stated that the goods
received will be delivered to the depositor or to any other specified person, is a non-negotiable
receipt. 

Sec. 5. Definition of negotiable receipt. — A receipt in which it is stated that the goods
received will be delivered to the bearer or to the order of any person named in such receipt is
a negotiable receipt.

No provision shall be inserted in a negotiable receipt that it is non-negotiable.  Such provision,

if inserted shall be void.

Sec. 6. Duplicate receipts must be so marked. — When more than one negotiable receipt
is issued for the same goods, the word "duplicate" shall be plainly placed upon the face of
every such receipt, except the first one issued.  A warehouseman shall be liable for all
damages caused by his failure so to do to any one who purchased the subsequent receipt for
value supposing it to be an original, even though the purchase be after the delivery of the
goods by the warehouseman to the holder of the original receipt.

Sec. 7. Failure to mark "non-negotiable." — A non-negotiable receipt shall have plainly

placed upon its face by the warehouseman issuing it "non-negotiable," or "not negotiable."   In
case of the warehouseman's failure so to do, a holder of the receipt who purchased it for value
supposing it to be negotiable, may, at his option, treat such receipt as imposing upon the
warehouseman the same liabilities he would have incurred had the receipt been negotiable.

This section shall not apply, however, to letters, memoranda, or written acknowledgment of an
informal character.

II — OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF WAREHOUSEMEN UPON  THEIR RECEIPTS

Sec. 8. Obligation of warehousemen to deliver. — A warehouseman, in the absence of

some lawful excuse provided by this Act, is bound to deliver the goods upon a demand made
either by the holder of a receipt for the goods or by the depositor; if such demand is
accompanied with:

(a) An offer to satisfy the warehouseman's lien;

(b) An offer to surrender the receipt, if negotiable, with such indorsements as would be
necessary for the negotiation of the receipt; and
(c) A readiness and willingness to sign, when the goods are delivered, an
acknowledgment that they have been delivered, if such signature is requested by the
warehouseman.

In case the warehouseman refuses or fails to deliver the goods in compliance with a demand
by the holder or depositor so accompanied, the burden shall be upon the warehouseman to
establish the existence of a lawful excuse for such refusal.

Sec. 9. Justification of warehouseman in delivering. — A warehouseman is justified in

delivering the goods, subject to the provisions of the three following sections, to one who is:

(a) The person lawfully entitled to the possession of the goods, or his agent;

(b) A person who is either himself entitled to delivery by the terms of a non-negotiable receipt
issued for the goods, or who has written authority from the person so entitled either indorsed
upon the receipt or written upon another paper; or

(c) A person in possession of a negotiable receipt by the terms of which the goods are
deliverable to him or order, or to bearer, or which has been indorsed to him or in blank by the
person to whom delivery was promised by the terms of the receipt or by his mediate or
immediate indorser.

Sec. 10. Warehouseman's liability for misdelivery. — Where a warehouseman delivers the

goods to one who is not in fact lawfully entitled to the possession of them, the warehouseman
shall be liable as for conversion to all having a right of property or possession  in the goods if
he delivered the goods otherwise than as authorized by subdivisions (b) and (c) of the
preceding section, and though he delivered the goods as authorized by said subdivisions, he
shall be so liable, if prior to such delivery he had either:

(a) Been requested, by or on behalf of the person lawfully entitled to a right of property or

possession in the goods, not to make such deliver; or

(b) Had information that the delivery about to be made was to one not lawfully entitled to the
possession of the goods.

Sec. 11. Negotiable receipt must be cancelled when goods delivered. — Except as

provided in section thirty-six, where a warehouseman delivers goods for which he had issued
a negotiable receipt, the negotiation of which would transfer the right to the possession of the
goods, and fails to take up and cancel the receipt, he shall be liable to any one who purchases
for value in good faith such receipt, for failure to deliver the goods to him, whether such
purchaser acquired title to the receipt before or after the delivery of the goods by the
warehouseman.

Sec. 12. Negotiable receipts must be cancelled or marked when part of goods delivered.
— Except as provided in section thirty-six, where a warehouseman delivers part of the goods
for which he had issued a negotiable receipt and fails either to take up and cancel such
receipt or to place plainly upon it a statement of what goods or packages have been delivered,
he shall be liable to any one who purchases for value in good faith such receipt, for failure to
deliver all the goods specified in the receipt, whether such purchaser acquired title to the
receipt before or after the delivery of any portion of the goods by the warehouseman.

Sec. 13. Altered receipts. — The alteration of a receipt shall not excuse the warehouseman
who issued it from any liability if such alteration was:

(a) Immaterial,
(b) Authorized, or
(c) Made without fraudulent intent.

If the alteration was authorized, the warehouseman shall be liable according to the terms of
the receipt as altered.  If the alteration was unauthorized but made without fraudulent intent,
the warehouseman shall be liable according to the terms of the receipt as they were before
alteration.

Material and fraudulent alteration of a receipt shall not excuse the warehouseman who issued
it from liability to deliver according to the terms of the receipt as originally issued, the goods for
which it was issued but shall excuse him from any other liability to the person who made the
alteration and to any person who took with notice of the alteration.  Any purchaser of the
receipt for value without notice of the alteration shall acquire the same rights against the
warehouseman which such purchaser would have acquired if the receipt had not been altered
at the time of purchase.

Sec. 14. Lost or destroyed receipts. — Where a negotiable receipt has been lost or
destroyed, a court of competent jurisdiction may order the delivery of the goods upon
satisfactory proof of such loss or destruction and upon the giving of a bond with sufficient
sureties to be approved by the court to protect the warehouseman from any liability or
expense, which he or any person injured by such delivery may incur by reason of the original
receipt remaining outstanding.  The court may also in its discretion order the payment of the
warehouseman's reasonable costs and counsel fees.

The delivery of the goods under an order of the court as provided in this section, shall not
relieve the warehouseman from liability to a person to whom the negotiable receipt has been
or shall be negotiated for value without notice of the proceedings or of the delivery of the
goods. 

Sec. 15. Effect of duplicate receipts. — A receipt upon the face of which the word
"duplicate" is plainly placed is a representation and warranty by the warehouseman that such
receipt is an accurate copy of an original receipt properly issued and uncanceled at the date of
the issue of the duplicate, but shall impose upon him no other liability.

Sec. 16. Warehouseman cannot set up title in himself. — No title or right to the possession
of the goods, on the part of the warehouseman, unless such title or right is derived directly or
indirectly from a transfer made by the depositor at the time of or subsequent to the deposit for
storage, or from the warehouseman's lien, shall excuse the warehouseman from liability for
refusing to deliver the goods according to the terms of the receipt.

Sec. 17. Interpleader of adverse claimants. — If more than one person claims the title or
possession of the goods, the warehouseman may, either as a defense to an action brought
against him for non-delivery of the goods or as an original suit, whichever is appropriate,
require all known claimants to interplead.

Sec. 18. Warehouseman has reasonable time to determine validity of claims. — If

someone other than the depositor or person claiming under him has a claim to the title or
possession of goods, and the warehouseman has information of such claim, the
warehouseman shall be excused from liability for refusing to deliver the goods, either to the
depositor or person claiming under him or to the adverse claimant until the warehouseman
has had a reasonable time to ascertain the validity of the adverse claim or to bring legal
proceedings to compel claimants to interplead.

Sec. 19. Adverse title is no defense except as above provided. — Except as provided in

the two preceding sections and in sections nine and thirty-six, no right or title of a third person
shall be a defense to an action brought by the depositor or person claiming under him against
the warehouseman for failure to deliver the goods according to the terms of the receipt.

Sec. 20. Liability for non-existence or misdescription of goods. — A warehouseman shall

be liable to the holder of a receipt for damages caused by the non-existence of the goods or
by the failure of the goods to correspond with the description thereof in the receipt at the time
of its issue.  If, however, the goods are described  in a receipt merely by a statement of marks
or labels upon them or upon packages containing them or by a statement that the goods are
said to be goods of a certain kind or that the packages containing the goods are said to
contain goods of a certain kind or by words of like purport, such statements, if true, shall not
make liable the warehouseman issuing the receipt, although the goods are not of the kind
which the marks or labels upon them indicate or of the kind they were said to be by the
depositor.

Sec. 21. Liability for care of goods. — A warehouseman shall be liable for any loss or injury
to the goods caused by his failure to exercise such care in regard to them as reasonably
careful owner of similar goods would exercise, but he shall not be liable, in the absence of an
agreement to the contrary, for any loss or injury to the goods which could not have been
avoided by the exercise of such care.

Sec. 22. Goods must be kept separate. — Except as provided in the following section, a
warehouseman shall keep the goods so far separate from goods of other depositors and from
other goods of the same depositor for which a separate receipt has been issued, as to permit
at all times the identification and redelivery of the goods deposited.

Sec. 23. Fungible goods may be commingled if warehouseman authorized. — If

authorized by agreement or by custom, a warehouseman may mingle fungible goods with
other goods of the same kind and grade.  In such case, the various depositors of the mingled
goods shall own the entire mass in common and each depositor shall be entitled to such
portion thereof as the amount deposited by him bears to the whole.

Sec. 24. Liability of warehouseman to depositors of commingled goods. — The

warehouseman shall be severally liable to each depositor for the care and redelivery of his
share of such mass to the same extent and under the same circumstances as if the goods had
been kept separate.

Sec. 25. Attachment or levy upon goods for which a negotiable receipt has been issued.
— If goods are delivered to a warehouseman by the owner or by a person whose act in
conveying the title to them to a purchaser in good faith for value would bind the owner, and a
negotiable receipt is issued for them, they can not thereafter, while in the possession of the
warehouseman, be attached by garnishment or otherwise, or be levied upon under an
execution unless the receipt be first surrendered to the warehouseman or its negotiation
enjoined.  The warehouseman shall in no case be compelled to deliver up the actual
possession of the goods until the receipt is surrendered to him or impounded by the court.

Sec. 26. Creditor's remedies to reach negotiable receipts. — A creditor whose debtor is

the owner of a negotiable receipt shall be entitled to such aid from courts of appropriate
jurisdiction, by injunction and otherwise, in attaching such receipt or in satisfying the claim by
means thereof as is allowed at law or in equity in these islands in regard to property which can
not readily be attached or levied upon by ordinary legal process.

Sec. 27. What claims are included in the warehouseman's lien. — Subject to the
provisions of section thirty, a warehouseman shall have a lien on goods deposited or on the
proceeds thereof in his hands, for all lawful charges for storage and preservation of the goods;
also for all lawful claims for money advanced, interest, insurance, transportation, labor,
weighing, coopering and other charges and expenses in relation to such goods, also for all
reasonable charges and expenses for notice, and advertisements of sale, and for sale of the
goods where default had been made in satisfying the warehouseman's lien.

Sec. 28. Against what property the lien may be enforced. — Subject to the provisions of
section thirty, a warehouseman's lien may be enforced:

(a) Against all goods, whenever deposited, belonging to the person who is liable as debtor for
the claims in regard to which the lien is asserted, and

(b) Against all goods belonging to others which have been deposited at any time by the
person who is liable as debtor for the claims in regard to which the lien is asserted if such
person had been so entrusted with the possession of goods that a pledge of the same by him
at the time of the deposit to one who took the goods in good faith for value would have been
valid.

Sec. 29. How the lien may be lost. — A warehouseman loses his lien upon goods:

(a) By surrendering possession thereof, or

(b) By refusing to deliver the goods when a demand is made with which he is bound to comply
under the provisions of this Act.

Sec. 30. Negotiable receipt must state charges for which the lien is claimed. — If a
negotiable receipt is issued for goods, the warehouseman shall have no lien thereon except
for charges for storage of goods subsequent to the date of the receipt unless the receipt
expressly enumerated other charges for which a lien is claimed.  In such case, there shall be a
lien for the charges enumerated so far as they are within the terms of section twenty-seven
although the amount of the charges so enumerated is not stated in the receipt.

Sec. 31. Warehouseman need not deliver until lien is satisfied. — A warehouseman

having a lien valid against the person demanding the goods may refuse to deliver the goods to
him until the lien is satisfied.

Sec. 32. Warehouseman's lien does not preclude other remedies. — Whether a

warehouseman has or has not a lien upon the goods, he is entitled to all remedies allowed by
law to a creditor against a debtor for the collection from the depositor of all charges and
advances which the depositor has expressly or impliedly contracted with the warehouseman
to pay.

Sec. 33. Satisfaction of lien by sale. — A warehouseman's lien for a claim which has
become due may be satisfied as follows:

(a) An itemized statement  of the warehouseman's claim, showing the sum due at the time of
the notice and the date or dates when it becomes due,
(b) A brief description of the goods against which the lien exists,
(c) A demand that the amount of the claim as stated in the notice of such further claim as shall
accrue, shall be paid on or before a day mentioned, not less than ten days from the delivery of
the notice if it is personally delivered, or from the time when the notice shall reach its
destination, according to the due course of post, if the notice is sent by mail,
(d) A statement that unless the claim is paid within the time specified, the goods will be
advertised for sale and sold by auction at a specified time and place.

In accordance with the terms of a notice so given, a sale of the goods by auction may be had
to satisfy any valid claim of the warehouseman for which he has a lien on the goods.  The sale
shall be had in the place where the lien was acquired, or, if such place is manifestly unsuitable
for the purpose of the claim specified in the notice to the depositor has elapsed, and
advertisement of the sale, describing the goods to be sold, and stating the name of the owner
or person on whose account the goods are held, and the time and place of the sale, shall be
published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in the place
where such sale is to be held.  The sale shall not be held less than fifteen days from the time
of the first publication.  If there is no newspaper published in such place, the advertisement
shall be posted at least ten days before such sale in not less than six conspicuous places
therein.

From the proceeds of such sale, the warehouseman shall satisfy his lien including the
reasonable charges of notice, advertisement and sale.  The balance, if any, of such proceeds
shall be held by the warehouseman and delivered on demand to the person to whom he
would have been bound to deliver or justified in delivering goods.

At any time before the goods are so sold, any person claiming a right of property or
possession therein may pay the warehouseman the amount necessary to satisfy his lien and
to pay the reasonable expenses and liabilities incurred in serving notices and advertising and
preparing for the sale up to the time of such payment.  The warehouseman shall deliver the
goods to the person making payment if he is a person entitled, under the provision of this Act,
to the possession of the goods on payment of charges thereon.  Otherwise, the
warehouseman shall retain the possession of the goods according to the terms of the original
contract of deposit.

Sec. 34. Perishable and hazardous goods. — If goods are of a perishable nature, or by

keeping will deteriorate greatly in value, or, by their order, leakage, inflammability, or explosive
nature, will be liable to injure other property , the warehouseman may give such notice to the
owner or to the person in whose names the goods are stored, as is reasonable and possible
under the circumstances, to satisfy the lien upon such goods and to remove them from the
warehouse and in the event of the failure of such person to satisfy the lien and to receive the
goods within the time so specified, the warehouseman may sell the goods at public or private
sale without advertising.  If the warehouseman, after a reasonable effort, is unable to sell such
goods, he may dispose of them in any lawful manner and shall incur no liability by reason
thereof.

The proceeds of any sale made under the terms of this section shall be disposed of in the
same way as the proceeds of sales made under the terms of the preceding section.

Sec. 35. Other methods of enforcing lien. — The remedy for enforcing a lien herein
provided does not preclude any other remedies allowed by law for the enforcement of a lien
against personal property nor bar the right to recover so much of the warehouseman's claim
as shall not be paid by the proceeds of the sale of the property.

Sec. 36. Effect of sale. — After goods have been lawfully sold to satisfy a warehouseman's
lien, or have been lawfully sold or disposed of because of their perishable or hazardous
nature, the warehouseman shall not thereafter be liable for failure to deliver the goods to the
depositor or owner of the goods or to a holder of the receipt given for the goods when they
were deposited, even if such receipt be negotiable.

III — NEGOTIATION AND TRANSFER OF RECEIPTS

Sec. 37. Negotiation of negotiable receipt of delivery. — A negotiable receipt may be

negotiated by delivery:

(a) Where, by terms of the receipt, the warehouseman undertakes to deliver the goods to the
bearer, or
(b) Where, by the terms of the receipt, the warehouseman undertakes to deliver the goods to
the order of a specified person, and such person or a subsequent indorsee of the receipt has
indorsed it in blank or to bearer. 

Where, by the terms of a negotiable receipt, the goods are deliverable to bearer or where a
negotiable receipt has been indorsed in blank or to bearer, any holder may indorse the same
to himself or to any other specified person, and, in such case, the receipt shall thereafter be
negotiated only by the indorsement of such indorsee.

Sec. 38. Negotiation of negotiable receipt by indorsement. — A negotiable receipt may be

negotiated by the indorsement of the person to whose order the goods are, by the terms of the
receipt, deliverable.  Such indorsement may be in blank, to bearer or to a specified person.   If
indorsed to a specified person, it may be again negotiated by the indorsement of such person
in blank, to bearer or to another specified person.  Subsequent negotiation may be made in
like manner.

Sec. 39. Transfer of receipt. — A receipt which is not in such form that it can be negotiated
by delivery may be transferred by the holder by delivery to a purchaser or donee.

A non-negotiable receipt can not be negotiated, and the indorsement of such a receipt gives
the transferee no additional right.

Sec. 40. Who may negotiate a receipt. — A negotiable receipt may be negotiated:

(a) By the owner thereof, or

(b) By any person to whom the possession or custody of the receipt has been entrusted by the
owner, if, by the terms of the receipt, the warehouseman undertakes to deliver the goods to
the order of the person to whom the possession or custody of the receipt has been entrusted,
or if, at the time of such entrusting, the receipt is in such form that it may be negotiated by
delivery.

Sec. 41. Rights of person to whom a receipt has been negotiated. — A person to whom a
negotiable receipt has been duly negotiated acquires thereby:

(a) Such title to the goods as the person negotiating the receipt to him had or had ability to
convey to a purchaser in good faith for value, and also such title to the goods as the depositor
or person to whose order the goods were to be delivered by the terms of the receipt had or
had ability to convey to a purchaser in good faith for value, and

(b) The direct obligation of the warehouseman to hold possession of the goods for him
according to the terms of the receipt as fully as if the warehouseman and contracted directly
with him.

Sec. 42. Rights of person to whom receipt has been transferred. — A person to whom a
receipt has been transferred but not negotiated acquires thereby, as against the transferor,
the title of the goods subject to the terms of any agreement with the transferor.

If the receipt is non-negotiable, such person also acquires the right to notify the
warehouseman of the transfer to him of such receipt and thereby to acquire the direct
obligation of the warehouseman to hold possession of the goods for him according to the
terms of the receipt.

Prior to the notification of the warehouseman by the transferor or transferee of a non-

negotiable receipt, the title of the transferee to the goods and the right to acquire the
obligation of the warehouseman may be defeated by the levy of an attachment or execution
upon the goods by a creditor of the transferor or by a notification to the warehouseman by the
transferor or a subsequent purchaser from the transferor of a subsequent sale of the goods by
the transferor.

Sec. 43. Transfer of negotiable receipt without indorsement. — Where a negotiable

receipt is transferred for value by delivery and the indorsement of the transferor is essential for
negotiation, the transferee acquires a right against the transferor to compel him to indorse the
receipt unless a contrary intention appears.  The negotiation shall take effect as of the time
when the indorsement is actually made.

Sec. 44. Warranties of a sale of receipt. — A person who, for value, negotiates or transfers
a receipt by indorsement or delivery, including one who assigns for value a claim secured by a
receipt, unless a contrary intention appears, warrants:

(a) That the receipt is genuine,

(b) That he has a legal right to negotiate or transfer it,
(c) That he has knowledge of no fact which would impair the validity or worth of the receipt,
and
(d) That he has a right to transfer the title to the goods and that the goods are merchantable or
fit for a particular purpose whenever such warranties would have been implied, if the contract
of the parties had been to transfer without a receipt of the goods represented thereby.

Sec. 45. Indorser not a guarantor. — The indorsement of a receipt shall not make the
indorser liable for any failure on the part of the warehouseman or previous indorsers of the
receipt to fulfill their respective obligations.

Sec. 46. No warranty implied from accepting payment of a debt. — A mortgagee,

pledgee, or holder for security of a receipt who, in good faith, demands or receives payment of
the debt for which such receipt is security, whether from a party to a draft drawn for such debt
or from any other person, shall not, by so doing, be deemed to represent or to warrant the
genuineness of such receipt or the quantity or quality of the goods therein described.

Sec. 47. When negotiation not impaired by fraud, mistake or duress. — The validity of the
negotiation of a receipt is not impaired by the fact that such negotiation was a breach of duty
on the part of the person making the negotiation or by the fact that the owner of the receipt
was induced by fraud, mistake or duress or to entrust the possession or custody of the receipt
to such person, if the person to whom the receipt was negotiated or a person to whom the
receipt was subsequently negotiated paid value therefor, without notice of the breach of duty,
or fraud, mistake or duress.

Sec. 48. Subsequent negotiation. — Where a person having sold, mortgaged, or pledged

goods which are in warehouse and for which a negotiable receipt has been issued, or having
sold, mortgaged, or pledged the negotiable receipt representing such goods, continues in
possession of the negotiable receipt, the subsequent negotiation thereof by the person under
any sale or other disposition thereof to any person receiving the same in good faith, for value
and without notice of the previous sale, mortgage or pledge, shall have the same effect as if
the first purchaser of the goods or receipt had expressly authorized the subsequent
negotiation.

Sec. 49. Negotiation defeats vendor's lien. — Where a negotiable receipt has been issued
for goods, no seller's lien or right of stoppage in transitu shall defeat the rights of any
purchaser for value in good faith to whom such receipt has been negotiated, whether such
negotiation be prior or subsequent to the notification to the warehouseman who issued such
receipt of the seller's claim to a lien or right of stoppage in transitu.   Nor shall the
warehouseman be obliged to deliver or justified in delivering the goods to an unpaid seller
unless the receipt is first surrendered for cancellation. 

IV —  CRIMINAL OFFENSES

Sec. 50. Issue of receipt for goods not received. — A warehouseman, or an officer, agent,
or servant of a warehouseman who issues or aids in issuing a receipt knowing that the goods
for which such receipt is issued have not been actually received by such warehouseman, or
are not under his actual control at the time of issuing such receipt, shall be guilty of a crime,
and, upon conviction, shall be punished for each offense by imprisonment not exceeding five
years, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand pesos, or both.

Sec. 51. Issue of receipt containing false statement. — A warehouseman, or any officer,

agent or servant of a warehouseman who fraudulently issues or aids in fraudulently issuing a
receipt for goods knowing that it contains any false statement, shall be guilty of a crime, and
upon conviction, shall be punished for each offense by imprisonment not exceeding one year,
or by a fine not exceeding two thousand pesos, or by both.

Sec. 52. Issue of duplicate receipt not so marked. — A warehouse, or any officer, agent, or
servant of a warehouseman who issues or aids in issuing a duplicate or additional negotiable
receipt for goods knowing that a former negotiable receipt for the same goods or any part of
them is outstanding and uncanceled, without plainly placing upon the face thereof the word
"duplicate" except in the case of  a lost or destroyed receipt after proceedings are provided for
in section fourteen, shall be guilty of a crime, and, upon conviction, shall be punished for each
offense by imprisonment not exceeding five years, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand
pesos, or by both.

Sec. 53. Issue for warehouseman's goods or receipts which do not state that fact. —
Where they are deposited with or held by a warehouseman goods of which he is owner, either
solely or jointly or in common with others, such warehouseman, or any of his officers, agents,
or servants who, knowing this ownership, issues or aids in issuing a negotiable receipt for
such goods which does not state such ownership, shall be guilty of a crime, and, upon
conviction, shall be punished for each offense by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by
a fine not exceeding two thousand pesos, or by both.

Sec. 54. Delivery of goods without obtaining negotiable receipt. — A warehouseman, or

any officer, agent, or servant of a warehouseman, who delivers goods out of the possession of
such warehouseman, knowing that a negotiable receipt the negotiation of which would
transfer the right to the possession of such goods is outstanding and uncanceled, without
obtaining the possession of such receipt at or before the time of such delivery, shall, except in
the cases provided for in sections fourteen and thirty-six, be found guilty of a crime, and, upon
conviction, shall be punished for each offense by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by
a fine not exceeding two thousand pesos, or by both.

Sec. 55. Negotiation of receipt for mortgaged goods. — Any person who deposits goods to
which he has no title, or upon which there is a lien or mortgage, and who takes for such goods
a negotiable receipt which he afterwards negotiates for value with intent to deceive and
without disclosing his want of title or the existence of the lien or mortgage, shall be guilty of a
crime, and, upon conviction, shall be punished for each offense by imprisonment not
exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand pesos, or by both.

V — INTERPRETATION

Sec. 56. Case not provided for in Act. — Any case not provided for in this Act shall be
governed by the provisions of existing legislation, or in default thereof, by the rule of the law
merchant.

Sec. 57. Name of Act. — This Act may be cited as the Warehouse Receipts Act.

Sec. 58. Definitions. — (a)  In this Act, unless the content or subject matter otherwise
requires:

"Action" includes counterclaim, set-off, and suits in equity as provided by law in these
islands.
"Delivery" means voluntary transfer of possession from one person to another.

"Fungible goods" means goods of which any unit is, from its nature by mercantile custom,
treated as the equivalent of any other unit.

"Goods" means chattels or merchandise in storage or which has been or is about to be

stored.

"Holder" of a receipt means a person who has both actual possession of such receipt and a
right of property therein.

"Order" means an order by indorsement on the receipt.

"Owner" does not include mortgagee.

"Person" includes a corporation or partnership or two or more persons having a joint or

common interest.

To "purchase" includes to take as mortgagee or as pledgee.

"Receipt" means a warehouse receipt.

"Value" is any consideration sufficient to support a simple contract.  An antecedent or pre-

existing obligation, whether for money or not, constitutes value where a receipt is taken either
in satisfaction thereof or as security therefor.

"Warehouseman" means a person lawfully engaged in the business of storing goods for

profit.

(b) A thing is done "in good faith" within the meaning of this Act when it is in fact done
honestly, whether it be done negligently or not.

Sec. 59. Application of Act. — The provisions of this Act do not apply to receipts made and
delivered prior to the taking effect hereof.

Sec. 60. Repeals. — All acts and laws and parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby
repealed. 

Sec. 61. Time when Act takes effect. — This Act shall take effect ninety days after its
publication in the Official Gazette of the Philippines shall have been completed.

Enacted: February 5, 1912