EXTENDING FRANKING PRIVILEGE TO PAPERS CONNECTED WITH JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS

WHEREAS, it is a primodial duty of the Government to
restore and strengthen the faith of the people in our judicial
tribunals as effective instrumentalities for the redress of their
grievances;

WHEREAS, it is necessary to equip the existing
machinery of justice with all the necessary facilities which will enable
it to act swiftly;

WHEREAS, one of the causes for the delay of judicial
proceedings is the inability of our tribunals to promptly notify the
parties of scheduled court proceedings for lack of postage stamps;

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 the Armed Forces of the
Philippines and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21,
1972, do hereby order and decree as part of the law of the land that:

(1) Judges of the Courts of First Instance, Circuit Criminal
Courts, Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts, Courts of Agrarian
Relations, Court of Industrial Relations, Military Tribunals and City
and Municipal Courts, may transmit in the mail, free of charge, all
official communications and papers directly connected with the conduct
of judicial proceeding.

(2) The envelope or wrapper of the privileged mail matter shall
bear on the left upper corner the name, official designation and station
of the official sending such mail matter and on the right upper comer,
the words: “Private or unauthorized use to avoid payment of postage is
penalized by fine or imprisonment or both.”

(3) The Secretary of Public Works, Transportation and Communication
shall, within thirty (30) days from the publication of this Decree,
promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to carry out the
foregoing provisions: Provided, That any person who uses the
privilege granted hereunder for private or unauthorized purposes, shall
be punished by a fine of five hundred pesos or imprisonment of not more
than three years or both.

This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 21st day of October, 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
		Executive Secretary