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WHEREAS, while airlines, railways and bus operators are paid for the carriage of public mail, domestic shipping operators are required under the Revised Administrative Code of 1917 to carry such mail free of charge;

WHEREAS, while the Bureau of Posts is willing and financially able as a result of higher postal rates to compensate vessels for domestic mail carriage, it cannot do so because of this legal impediment;

WHEREAS, in fairness to domestic shipping operators who render mail service and to assist them in improving their operations, it is necessary to authorize the Bureau of Posts to pay for such service;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution, do hereby order and decree as follows:

SECTION 1. Vessels engaged in the coastwide trade and vessels plying between Philippine ports shall carry public mail on their regular or special trips when requested by the Postmaster General or his authorized representative, for which service the Bureau of Posts shall pay the corresponding compensation.

SEC. 2. The carriage of mail shall be under such reasonable terms and conditions including compensation as may be negotiated and agreed upon between the authorized operator of the vessel or vessels and the Postmaster General subject to the approval by the Secretary of Public Works, Transportation and Communications. In case they are unable to agree on the amount of compensation or any other terms and conditions, the matter shall be decided upon and the terms and conditions may be fixed by the Board of Transportation in accordance with Section six, paragraph (d) of Presidential Decree No. 474.

SEC. 3. For any violation hereof or the terms and conditions for mail carriage the offender shall be liable to the penalties prescribed under the Revised Administrative Code.

SEC. 4. All laws, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 5. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 5th day of March, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-five.