On December 21, 1887, the Governor General ordered 2,900,000 stamps of various kinds to be surcharged “RECARGO DE CONSUMOS -- HABILITADO” (Surtax For Consumption — Made Valid), with new values, for the collection of the new surtax of five percent on the personal cedulas (poll tax receipts).  Instructions issued by the   Superintendency of Finance on December 27, 1887, provided:  “For the collection of the surtaxes for the tax on consumption on the price of the personal cedulas, and of the poll tax of Chinese, there will be used from the first of January, next, the stamps ordered to be surcharged for that purpose by the Superior Decree of the Governor General of the 21st of the current month. These stamps will be affixed to the back of the personal cedulas, which are issued from the first of January, next, canceling them with the date and signature of the official issuing the cedula.  Those corresponding to the personal poll-tax certificate of   Chinese, for that which pertains to the cost of the third “tercio” (four months, March 1 to June 30, 1888), and of the two months of January and February, will be affixed to the back of the certificate, writing over the stamp, in addition to the date and signature, the  following: “Corresponds to the first semestre of 1888.”

These Recargo de Consumos stamps were used for the collection of the five percent surtax on the personal cedulas only during the first semestre of 1888.  The amount of the five percent surtax for consumption (of tobacco) was included in the price printed on the face of all cedulas issued from July 1, 1888, to December 31, 1889.  Hence, there was no need for the Recargo de Consumos stamps after June 5, 1888.  The Recargo de Consumos was abolished, effective on January 1, 1890, by the Royal Decree of October 25, 1889.

On June 30, 1888, when Recargo de Consumos stamps ceased to be used for the  collection of the five percent surtax on the personal cedulas, there were still more than 1,800,008 of these surcharged stamps on hand, a large number of postage and telegraph stamps had been surcharged for this purpose and this eventually resulted in a shortage of postage and telegraph stamps.  Hence, the use of the remainder of the Recargo de Consumos stamps for postage and telegraph purposes was authorized by two decrees of the Governor General, one issued on January 29th and the other on March 30, 1889.

Prior to 1886, the stamp-tax law required insurance policies, stock certificates of     banking and other companies, certain customs documents, and various other commercial documents to be written upon Papel Sellado.  The size and form of the Papel Sellado issued by the Government proved to be inconvenient for some of the commercial documents.  Hence, the Royal Decree of May 16, 1886, provided  in Article l, as follows:

“For the issuance of a series of adhesive documentary stamps of the same design and denominations as the stamps printed on the Papel Sellado, which could be used instead of Papel Sellado for “insurance policies, certificates of stock in banking and other companies, and similar documents on which their use is required by the  Government.” 

Article 4 states:

“That corporations or private persons might have the strips printed directly upon their own stationery by sending such stationary to the National Stamp Factory in Spain and paying the cost of the printing in advance.”

In accordance with this Decree, the first series of adhesive documentary stamps was issued on January I, 1888.  Because these adhesive documentary stamps bore the word SELLO in the upper label, they are frequently listed as SELLO stamps.  On the margin of each sheet, however, was printed the label TIMBRE MOVIL (Adhesive Stamp). Hence, they are sometimes listed as TIMBRE MOVIL.  They were described as “Timbres Moviles Para Polizas” (Adhesive Stamps for Policies), in the lists of stamps and stamped paper  issued  by the  Philippine  Government.

When these adhesive documentary stamps appeared in 1868, they found very little use.   This may have been due to the fact that the documents on which these adhesive stamps could be used might still be written upon stamped paper, if it was so desired.  At any rate, on May 8, 1889, the Governor General authorized the use of the 1 peso and 2 pesos “Polizas de Bolsa” (Clearing House Certificate) stamps as Derechos de Firma stamps.  And on July II, 1889, he issued another decree which authorized the use of the stamps for Polizas de Bolsa of 10, 5, 3, 0.40, 0.25, and 0.05 pesos as Derechos de Firma stamps, and the use of the 10 centimos Poliza de Bolsa stamp as a GIRO (Draft) stamp.

Because of their limited use, there was no further issue of Timbres Moviles Para Polizas until 1898.  The Royal Order of Match 24,1897, provided for the suppression,  effective on January 1, 1898, of the special stamps for Recibos y Cuentas, Derechos de Firma, and Pasaportes, and for the use in their place of the loose (adhesive) stamps which, under Article 1 of the Stamp Law now in force (Royal Decree of May 16, 1686) have been ordered printed for the years 1898-99, and that said stamps be used in all cases where it is not indispensable to use Papel de Pagos Al Estado (Stamped Paper for Payments to the State).  In conformity with this Royal Order, there were issued on January 1, 1898, a new series of Timbre Moviles labeled SELLO of ten denominations ranging from 25 centimos to 20 pesos.  These stamps were substituted for the suppressed Derechos de Firma stamps and the obsolete Pasaportes stamp.

The Royal Order of March 24, 1897, created a series of TIM&RE MOVIL ESPECIAL (Special Adhesive Stamps) whose denominations were 10 centimos, 5 centimos, 2 centimos and 1 centimo.  On the margin of each sheet of these stamps was printed the label TIMBRE MOVIL ESPECIAL.  The upper label of each stamp read “FILIPas 1898-99”.  The 10 centimos denomination was substituted for the suppressed 10 centimos Recibos y Cuentas stamp.  The 10 centimos denomination was also used on all duplicate and triplicate sheets of    declarations of importation.  The 5 centimos denomination was used on the duplicate of invoices of exportation and on the originals of coastwise trade.  The 2 centimos denomination was affixed to orders for the withdrawal of merchandise from the Customs House, to all receipts and statements of account for less than fifteen pesos, to all checks on current accounts, and to all classes of advertisements which were exhibited to the public. Curiously enough, no specific use for the 1-centimo denomination was provided. These Timbre Movil Especial stamps were issued on January 1, 1898.