AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED TWENTY-THREE HUNDRED SIXTY-ONE, ENTITLED “AN ACT REVERTING TO THE GENERAL FUNDS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT THE CASH BALANCES OF CERTAIN SPECIAL OR…

WHEREAS, under R. A. No. 2361, enacted on June 20, 1959, the
whole or any such portion of any outstanding cash balance of a special or
revolving fund shall be transferred to the general fund of the National
Government upon certification by the head of office administering said fund and
attestation by the Auditor General to the effect that the purpose or purposes
for which the said fund was created had been fulfilled or abandoned or that the
amount of cash balance or any portion thereof is no longer needed without
adversely affecting the purpose for which the fund was created;

WHEREAS, the Auditor General, in his annual reports for
Fiscal Year 1968 thru Fiscal Year 1971 has repeatedly recommended the amendment
of R.A. No. 2361 so as to enable the Auditor General even without the
certification of Agency Head concerned to transfer the outstanding cash balances
of any special or revolving fund upon determination, based on financial
statements periodically submitted to the General Auditing Office, that the fund
has completely stopped operation for the last two years or that the cash balance
thereof has remained intact, or dormant for the same number of years;

WHEREAS, as a result of these existing special funds
remaining idle or dormant, large amounts of public funds are uselessly
immobilized, which otherwise could be made available for financing the various
essential public services of the Government;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as
Commander-in-Chief of all 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 adopt and make as part of the law of
the land certain amendments to the provisions of Republic Act No. 2361 entitled
“An Act Reverting to the General Funds of the National Government the Cash
Balances of Certain Special or Revolving Funds under Certain Conditions” which
shall read as follows:

SECTION 1. Section one of Republic Act Numbered Twenty-three
hundred sixty-one, entitled “An Act Reverting to the General Funds of the
National Government the Cash Balances of Certain Special or Revolving Funds
Under Certain Conditions,” is hereby amended as follows:

“SEC. 1. Any provision of law to the contrary
notwithstanding, the whole or any such portion of any outstanding cash balance
of any special or revolving fund upon certification by the Auditor General, as
determined by him from the financial statements periodically submitted to the
General Auditing Office, to the effect that the fund has completely stopped
operation for the last two years or that the cash balance has remained intact or
dormant for the same number of years, is hereby transferred to the general funds
of the National Government, and written report of such transfer shall
immediately be given by the Auditor General to the President of the Philippines,
the Secretary of Finance, the Commissioner of the Budget and the Treasurer of
the Philippines.”

SEC. 2. Effectivity. — This Decree shall take
effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 6th day of December, in the year of Our
Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-two.

			(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS President Republic of the Philippines
	By the President:
	(Sgd.) ALEJANDRO MELCHOR
		Secretary Executive