AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF THE REVISED PHILIPPINE HIGHWAY ACT ADOPTED AND DECREED UNDER PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NUMBERED SEVENTEEN AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by
virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution as
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant
to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order
No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, as amended, do hereby order and decree:

SECTION 1. Sub-paragraph (a) of Section six of the Revised
Philippine Highway Act, adopted and decreed as part of the law of the
land under Presidential Decree No. 17, is hereby amended to read as
follows:

“(a) Administrative expenses. — So much as may be
required but not to exceed six per centum of all money accruing
to the Highway Special Fund, shall be deducted from the Highway Special
Fund and made available until expended, for administering the
provisions of this Act as the Secretary of Public Works and
Communications may deem necessary, of which, four per centum
shall be allotted for administrative management and two per centum
shall be allotted for engineering management. These allocations shall
be used exclusively to pay the salaries and other operational expenses
of officials and employees of the Bureau of Public Highways engaged in
administrative management and engineering management, as defined in this
Act. Services rendered in the auditing of these funds by the general
auditing office shall not be chargeable against the Highway Special
Fund.”

SEC. 2. Sub-paragraph (f) of Section seven of the same Act
is hereby amended to read as follows:

“(f) A portion of the total maintenance fund, not to exceed
seven per centum, shall be allocated to pay for maintenance
engineering as defined in this Act.”

SEC. 3. Sub-paragraph (a) of Section eight of the same Act
is hereby amended to read as follows: “(a) Provinces shall receive
twenty-five per centum of the current basic cost of maintenance
per equivalent maintenance kilometer of national road, referred to in
Subsection (b) of the preceding section, for each kilometer of the
actual physical length of provincial road whose existence is recommended
by the provincial governor and accepted by the Commissioner of Public
Highways.”

SEC. 4. Section nine of the same Act is hereby amended
to read as follows:

“SEC. 9. Fund for rehabilitation, betterment, and
improvement. — The balance of the Highway Special Fund after
deducting the amounts allocated in the preceding sections shall be
allocated for the rehabilitation, betterment, and improvement of
national highways, provincial, city and municipal roads.

(a) Forty per centum of this amount shall be
programmed for all national roads within the country in accordance with
the following priorities. First priority shall be given to
rehabilitation. If betterment works are required on a road section
identified as needing rehabilitation, both shall be programmed
simultaneously with equal priorities; Second priority shall be given to
replacement of temporary bridges; Third priority shall be given to
betterment of existing roads where rehabilitation is not required; and
Fourth priority shall be given to the improvement of existing roads to a
higher class.

(b) Thirty per centum of this amount shall be allocated
among the regional engineering divisions to be programmed using the
same priorities as specified in subsection (a) above. In the event two
or more projects are of the same priority, the regional director, in the
exercise of his discretion, shall determine which of these projects
should be given first priority.
(c) An amount not exceeding fourteen per centum of the
sums allotted in the preceding Subsections (a) and (b) shall be
allotted for final design engineering and engineering supervision
associated with work paid for from this fund.
(d) Thirty per centum of this amount shall be
programmed for all national aid, provincial or city roads or provincial,
city and municipal roads funded partly or wholly by national funds
within the country in accordance with the same priority as specified in
subsection (a) above. For this purpose, every provincial engineer/city
engineer shall from time to time submit programs for rehabilitation,
betterment and improvement to the Commissioner of Public Highways for
approval.”

SEC. 5. Section ten of the same Act is hereby amended to
read as follows:

“SEC. 10. Designation of existing and
unabandoned provincial, city or municipal roads. — Within one
hundred twenty days after the passage of this Act and periodically as
may be required by regulations to be promulgated by the Commissioner of
Public Highways, the provincial board, city or Municipal Council
concerned shall designate the existing and unabandoned provincial, city
or municipal roads actually serving motor vehicular traffic upon which
maintenance aid shall be expended and shall cause their respective
provincial or city engineers to prepare a maintenance program and
estimates thereon. Upon approval of the road lengths, program and
estimates by the Commissioner of Public Highways, the provincial board
or city council concerned shall provide in their annual road and bridge
budget an appropriation in accordance with the amount required under the
formula stated in subparagraphs (d) and (e) of Section eight of this
Act. Upon receipt by the Commissioner of Public Highways of this
certificate of availability of local funds, he shall release the
national aid provided in subparagraphs. (d) and (e) of Section eight
hereof.”

SEC. 6. Section eleven of the same Act is hereby amended to
read as follows:

“SEC. 11. Supervision and control of projects financed
by the Highway Special Fund. — The provisions of any existing law,
rule or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding, all work projects
financed by Highway Special Fund shall be under the direct control and
supervision of the Bureau of Public Highways, subject to such laws,
rules and regulations governing the prosecution of public works
projects: Provided, however, That local projects financed by
Highway Special Fund, whether for maintenance, rehabilitation,
betterment or for improvement, shall be under the direct control and
supervision of local governments; but the Bureau of Public Highways
shall have the authority to set maintenance standards, planning
requirements and control procedures governing the approval and release
of funds as necessary to carry out the requirements of Section eight of
this act, and for this purpose, to inspect the financial accounts, works
records and maintenance works of local authorities.”

SEC. 7. These amendments are hereby adopted and approved,
and made part of the Revised Philippine Highway Act.

SEC. 8. All acts, decrees, orders, rules and regulations
or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 9. This Decree shall take effect July 1, 1973.

Done in the City of Manila, this 15th day of February, in the
year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-three.