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WHEREAS, it appears necessary and advisable to amend existing regulations for rat control in the Manila Port District to prevent the introduction of bubonic plague;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RAMON MAGSAYSAY, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby designate both the Manila South Port District and the Manila North Port District – comprising the areas bounded on the south by the 25th Street; bounded on the east, by the Bonifacio Drive in the South Port District and extending to Dewey Boulevard Extension in the North Port District and as far north as the Reclamation of the North Port District; and bounded on the west by the Manila Bay – the “Manila Port Area Rat-Proof Building Zone” within the limits of which only rat-proof building construction made of durable and hard materials, such as reinforced concrete, bricks, iron, steel or other permanent similarly durable and hard materials shall be allowed: Provided, That doors with metal plates on base, door and window frames, roof trusses, and similar portions of a building may be constructed of wood: Provided, further, That mamposteria (adobe), asbestos boards and their equivalents shall not be considered as satisfactory building materials.

Within the limits of this zone, no stable, pigs, chickens, or other fowls or domestic animals shall be kept, the food for which services as food for rodents as well, and no domicile shall be maintained.

The preparation, cooking and selling of food within the area shall be authorized only in designated buildings, the site of construction of which shall be determined by a committee to be headed by the Chairman of the Port Commission with the Commissioner of Customs, the Director of Health, the Director of Quarantine and the City Health Office of Manila, as members. The committee may allow the preparation and selling of food in establishments already existing provided such establishments are housed in buildings which conform to the rat-proof building specifications stipulated in this Order and the kitchens of which are adequately protected against insect infestation. The operation of food shops or restaurants so authorized by the committee shall be strictly under the jurisdiction and supervision of the City Health Office of Manila, who shall promulgate rules and regulations covering the operation of such establishments to be approved by the Secretary of Health.

All leases of land within the Manila Port Area Rat-Proof Building Zone shall be subject to the conditions mentioned in this Executive Order to insure the exclusion and prevent the harborage of rats therein to the satisfaction of the Director of Health. Plans for proposed construction shall conform to all existing ordinances of the City of Manila not in conflict with the provisions of this Executive Order and shall bear the approval of both the Director of Public Works and the Director of Health, and the building hereinafter constructed shall not be occupied or used for any purpose whatsoever until the Director of Public Works and the Director of Health shall have certified the work to be satisfactory for the purpose of rat prevention.

This Order supersedes Executive Order No. 512, dated July 1, 1952.

Done in the City of Manila, this 15th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and fifty-four, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the ninth.

(Sgd.) RAMON MAGSAYSAY
President of the Philippines

By the President:
(Sgd.) FRED RUIZ CASTRO
Executive Secretary