PROVIDING FOR A PROCEDURE FOR THE DISPOSITION OF CONFISCATED, FORFEITED OR ABANDONED FOREIGN CURRENCIES OR FOREIGN EXCHANGE INSTRUMENTS, AND PRESCRIBING A PENALTY FOR VIOLATION …

WHEREAS, blackmarketing and smuggling of foreign currencies
and foreign exchange instruments are detrimental to the national economy;

WHEREAS, the law enforcement agencies of the Government have
been instructed to intensify the campaign against the blackmarketing and
smuggling of foreign exchange;

WHEREAS, confiscated, forfeited or abandoned foreign
currencies and foreign exchange instruments can be best utilized by the Central
Bank of the Philippines;

WHEREAS, it is thus necessary to designate the Central Bank
of the Philippines as the sole custodian of all foreign currencies and foreign
exchange instruments that may be confiscated or forfeited in favor of the
Government, or abandoned, with authority to dispose of the same as the Monetary
Board may direct in the appropriate circulars, rules and regulations;

WHEREAS, it is likewise necessary to expedite cases of
blackmarketing or smuggling of foreign exchange pending before the courts,
without unduly prejudicing the rights of the accused;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virture of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do
hereby decree:

SECTION 1. Whenever foreign currencies or foreign exchange
instruments are seized from those engaged in the blackmarketing or smuggling of
foreign exchange or in violation of existing foreign exchange regulations, the
law enforcement agency making the seizure shall immediately conduct an inventory
of the items seized. The officer or the head of the team making the seizure
shall issue a detailed receipt for the items seized to the person or persons on
whom or in whose possession the same were found or, in the absence of any
person, shall leave such receipt in the place where the seized items were found
in the presence of at last one (1) witness.

SEC. 2. The inventory required in Section 1 hereof shall be
conducted in the presence of representatives of the Central Bank of the
Philippines and the Commission on Audit. The inventory shall state, among
others, the amount of foreign currencies or the face value of foreign exchange
instruments seized, and the serial numbers, thereof, and the number of the
receipt issued in accordance with Section 1 hereof.

SEC. 3. The officers and members of the team which made the
seizure shall likewise execute a sworn statement describing in detail the facts
and circumstances surrounding the seizure. Such statement shall be transmitted
together with the inventory to the Central Bank of the Philippines and the
Commission on Audit.

SEC. 4. Immediately and not later than twenty-four (24)
hours after the inventory, the law enforcement agency concerned shall directly
transmit the foreign currencies and/or foreign exchange instruments seized to
the Central Bank of the Philippines which, notwithstanding any provision of law,
rule or regulation to the contrary, is hereby designated as the sole custodian
of all said foreign currencies and foreign exchange instruments.
Whenever
foreign currencies and/or foreign exchange instruments are seized, and no person
claims or admits ownership thereof in writing, within forty-eight (48) hours
from and after said seizure, the foreign currencies and/or foreign exchange
instruments so seized shall be deemed abandoned for all legal interests and
purposes, and the Central Bank of the Philippines may immediately dispose of the
same in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations.

SEC. 5. If a prima facie case is found against the person or
persons from whom or in whose possession the foreign currencies and/or foreign
exchange instruments were seized, and/or against the person or persons who are
probably responsible for the blackmarketing or smuggling of the same, the court
in which the appropriate information is filed shall conduct daily hearings with
the end in view of expediting the determination of the guilt or innocence of the
accused.

In case of final conviction of the accused, the confiscated or forfeited
foreign currencies and/or foreign exchange instruments shall be disposed of by
the Central Bank of the Philippines in accordance with existing laws, circulars,
rules and regulations.

SEC. 6. The term “dispose”, as used herein, includes the
authority to invest all or part of the confiscated, forfeited or abandoned
foreign currencies and foreign exchange instruments, or to make use of the same
as reserves or as security in the payment of obligations.

SEC. 7. Any public officer or employee, including a private
individual, who shall submit a false or incomplete inventory or statement, or
who without lawful cause fails or refuses to transmit any seized foreign
currency or foreign exchange instrument or who in any manner violates his duty
herein, shall be punished with the penalty of prision correctional.

SEC. 8. The Central Bank of the Philippines shall promulgate
the rules and regulations to implement this Decree.

SEC. 9. This Decree shall take effect after fifteen (15)
days following its publication in the Official Gazette.

Done in the City of Manila, this 5th day of April in the year of Our Lord
nineteen hundred and eighty-four.

			(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS President of the Philippines
	By the President:
	(Sgd.)MANUEL M. LAZARO
		Presidential Assistant for Legal Affairs