PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 216, June 16, 1973
PROHIBITING THE EXPORTATION OF ABACA SEEDLINGS.
WHEREAS, the exportation of abaca seedlings is detrimental
to the abaca industry and the overall economy of the country; and
WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to protect the industry on
which thousands of our countrymen depend for their livelihood;
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, in order to promote the social and economic stability of the
country, do hereby order and decree:
SECTION 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation,
firm or association to export to any foreign country seedlings of the plant
known as “abaca.”
SEC. 2. Any person who violates this Decree shall, upon
conviction, be punished by fine of not less than five thousand pesos nor more
than twenty thousand pesos or by imprisonment ranging from prision correctional
to prision mayor, or both fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the
court/tribunal.
SEC. 3. This Decree shall take effect immediately after
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in
the country.
Done in the City of Manila, this 16th day of June, in the year of Our Lord,
nineteen hundred and seventy-three.
(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President
Republic of the Philippines
By the President: (Sgd.) ROBERTO V. REYES Assistant Executive Secretary