REPEALING AND AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5906, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS “THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PUERTO PRINCESA.”

WHEREAS, under the second paragraph of Section 92, Republic
Act No. 5906, otherwise known as “The Charter of the City of Puerto
Princesa,” the National Government has ceded to the City of Puerto
Princesa, the ownership and possession of all lands of the public domain
within the City, and that under paragraph (uu), Section 15 of the same
Act, the City Council has the power to dispose of by lease or otherwise
all lands of the public domain ceded to it by the National Government;

WHEREAS, included in the lands of the public domain ceded
to the City are public forests and grazing lands which, by their nature
and classification, are neither alienable nor disposable, and hence, the
grant of “ownership” thereof to the City is of doubtful
constitutionality;

WHEREAS, the City of Puerto Princesa does not have the
necessary administrative machinery to manage and dispose of the lands of
the public domain and as a result the administration, management and
disposition of public lands within the City have been in a chaotic
situation;

WHEREAS, the grant of authority to the City to dispose of by
lease or otherwise the public lands within the City has resulted in the
proliferation of agencies administering public lands, which is not
conducive to sound government administration, and has given rise,
besides, to wasteful overlapping of functions; and

WHEREAS, to accelerate and insure the effective distribution
of public lands for the benefit of legitimate occupants, claimants
and/or applicants within the City, it is necessary to return to the
Bureau of Lands all lands of the public domain within the City for
administration and disposition in accordance with the provisions of
Commonwealth Act No. 141, as amended, otherwise known as “The Public
Land Act,” and other related land laws;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the
Constitution, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September
21, 1972, and General Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, do hereby
order and decree as follows:

SECTION 1. Paragraph (uu) of Section 15, Republic Act No.
5906, is hereby repealed.

SEC. 2. Section 92 of the same Act is hereby amended by
deleting the second paragraph thereof and inserting, in lieu thereof, a
new paragraph to read as follows:

“The disposition of all lands of the public domain within the
city shall be in accordance with the provisions of Commonwealth Act No.
141, as amended, otherwise known as “The Public Land Act”: Provided,
That all incomes, receipts and profits derived from such disposition
shall accrue exclusively to the city notwithstanding any provision of
law to the contrary.”

SEC. 3. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 16th day of April, in the
year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.