MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
[ Proclamation No. 713, October 13, 1960 ]
PROCLAIMING THE EXISTENCE OF A STATE OF PUBLIC CALAMITY IN THE CITY OF MANILA, QUEZON CITY, PASAY CITY, CITY OF COTABATO AND THE PROVINCES OF RIZAL, BULACAN, PAMPANGA, NUEVA ECIJA, TARLAC, PANGASINAN, AND SAMAR
WHEREAS, the occurrence of successive typhoons which hit the provinces of Central Luzon during the months of August and September, and the early part of October, 1960, and the recent typhoons which hit the province of Samar and the City of Cotabato caused widespread inundation, desolation and tremendous destruction in life and property among the inhabitants as well as great damage to crops, livestocks, fisheries, salt beds, poultry farms and other vital productive industries in this central producing sector of the country;
WHEREAS, the above-mentioned calamities have wrought havoc and suffering among the inhabitants, not only of the provinces of Central Luzon such as Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Pangasinan but also those of Rizal Province, including Quezon City and Pasay City and the City of Manila, and also Samar and the City of Cotabato, by reason of the destruction in the sectors of production and consequent scarcity in those sectors and the surrounding areas which depend on the produce of those sectors of articles and commodities of prime necessity in the daily life of the people, and the consequent excessive increase in their prices which may also be due to profiteering and hoarding by those who control still existing supply of said articles and commodities, threatening the inhabitants of the stated areas with famine and other disorders; and
WHEREAS, the crisis in the aforesaid provinces and cities may still be aggravated by continued excessive increase in prices of the vital necessities of life, making it imperative that immediate steps be taken to cope effectively with the emergency so as to avert panic and disorder among the inhabitants of the affected areas;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Carlos P. Garcia, President of the Philippines, pursuant to the authority vested in me by Act No. 4164 of the Philippine Legislature, entitled “An Act to prevent excessive increase in the price of certain prime necessities of life on the occasion of a public calamity, penalizing the violation thereof, and for other purpose,” do hereby proclaim and certify that a state of public calamity exists in the City of Manila, Quezon City, Pasay City, City of Cotabato and the provinces of Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pangasinan and Samar, and during the existence of such calamity, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation in the said cities and provinces (1) to sell or offer for sale palay, rice, corn, cloth, milk, canned goods, sugar, and other foodstuffs, building and construction materials and other prime necessities in life at prices higher by twenty-five per cent (25%) or more over and above the average current local price of such commodities one month previous to the occurrence of such public calamity as may be determined by the Director of Commerce, and (2) to aggravate the crisis by refusing for the purpose of profiteering to sell at the legal price or by hiding, concealing’, or hoarding the goods or commodities for the same purpose.
The Secretary of Commerce and Industry is hereby empowered to carry this Proclamation into effect and is hereby authorized to call upon such entities and instrumentalities of the Government as may be needed to give the necessary cooperation and assistance for the successful prosecution of this work.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.1aшphi1
Done in the City of Manila, this 13th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and sixty, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the fifteenth.
CARLOS P. GARCIA
President of the Philippines
By the President:
NATALIO P. CASTILLO
Executive Secretary
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