WHEREAS, the proliferation of independent road
transportation utility operators in Metropolitan Manila has not provided
the commuting public with adequate and responsive service;
WHEREAS, this condition cannot improve the urban public
transport system when it tolerates destructive competition and other
structural diseconomies in public utility operations rather than
encourage or institute the integration, or consolidation of resources,
management and operations to achieve economy and efficiency;
WHEREAS, there is, then an urgent need for the Government to
intervene and institute through an appropriate instrumentality the
rationalization of the transportation system in Metropolitan Manila;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution as
Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and
pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081 dated September 21, 1972, and General
Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972 as amended, do hereby order and
decree the creation and organization of a Manila Transit Corporation, to
be governed by this decree and its by-laws in accordance with the
following:
SEC. 1. Declaration of Policy.—It is hereby declared
to be the policy of the state to rationalize and integrate public
transportation services in order to attain the following objectives:
To integrate public transportation operations in Metropolitan Manila
(herein used as defined by the Bureau of Census and Statistics) into
one corporate entity such that the operators, with franchises to operate
within the area transfer their assets involved in the transport
business in exchange for equity participation in the corporation.
- To establish and operate an integrated public transportation
system in Metropolitan Manila which will: (1) eliminate destructive
competition and service duplication among different transport modes and
firms; (2) rationalize route allocation and provide proper balance of
commuter service in all routes; (3) effect economies in operations and
overhead facilities and logistics support; (4) develop a financially
strong and operationally efficient metropolitan transport firm; (5) work
towards the standardization of rolling stock equipment and other
facilities in order to satisfy the requirements of the riding public.
SEC. 2. Manila Transit Corporation:—Creation and Purpose.—To
implement state policy and pursue the objectives set forth in the
preceding section, there is hereby created a body corporate to be known
as the Manila Transit Corporation which shall have its principal place
of business in the City of Manila.
SEC. 3. Corporate Powers.—The Corporation shall
have the power:
- to prescribe its by-laws;
- to adopt, alter and use a corporate seal;
- to make contracts and to sue and be sued;
- to own real or personal property and to sell, mortgage or
otherwise dispose of the same;
- to employ such officers and personnel as may be necessary to
carry on its business;
- to acquire rolling stocks, repair and maintenance equipment, and
other facilities;
- to manage and operate a public transport system within
Metropolitan Manila in accordance with the above-stated policy
objectives;
- to establish, manage or operate related activities and
facilities, such as transport infrastructures, terminal facilities,
parking areas, and the like, subject to the approval of the appropriate
government authorities;
- to contract loans, credits in any convertible foreign currency or
capital goods, and indebtedness from time to time from foreign
governments, or any international financial institutions or funds
sources or to issue bonds, the total outstanding amount of which,
exclusive of interest, shall not exceed Five Hundred Million States
Dollars or the equivalent thereof in other currencies, on such terms and
conditions as it shall deem appropriate for the accomplishments of its
purposes and to enter into and execute agreements and other documents
specifying such terms and conditions.
The President of the Philippines, by himself, or through his duly
authorized representative, is hereby authorized to negotiate and
contract loans with foreign governments or any international financial
institution or fund source, in the name and on behalf of the
corporation, for the accomplishment of its purposes.
The President of the Philippines, by himself, or through his duly
authorized representative, is hereby further authorized to guarantee,
absolutely and unconditionally, as primary obligor and not as surety
merely, in the name and in behalf of the Republic of the Philippines,
the payment of the loans, credits, indebtedness and bonds issued up to
the amount which the President of the Philippines is authorized to
guarantee under Republic Act Numbered Sixty One Hundred Forty Two, as
amended, as well as the performance of all or any of the obligations
undertaken by the Corporation in the territory of the Republic of the
Philippines pursuant to loan agreements entered into with foreign
governments or any international financial institutions or fund sources.
The loans, credits and indebtedness contracted under this subsection
and the payment of the principal, interest and other charges thereon,
as well as the importation of machineries, equipment, materials, supply
and services, by the Corporation, paid from the proceeds of any loan,
credit or indebtedness incurred under this Act, shall also be exempt
from all direct and indirect taxes, fees imports and other charges and
restrictions previously and presently imposed, and to be imposed by the
Republic of the Philippines, or any of its agencies and political
subdivisions.
- to exercise the powers granted under this decree and such other
incidental powers as may be necessary to carry on its business and the
general powers mentioned in the Corporation Law, as amended, insofar as
they are not inconstent herewith.
SEC. 4. Authorized Capital Stock, Appropriation:—The
Corporation shall have a capital stock divided into three million voting
and no par value shares to be subscribed, paid for and voted as
follows:
- two million shares of stocks shall be subscribed and paid for
by the government of the Republic of the Philippines. For this
purpose, the amount of ten million (P10,000,000.00) Pesos is
hereby set aside from the general funds, not otherwise appropriated, to
be applied to the full payment of the two million shares subscribed by
the government.
- to assure early and gradual institution of an integrated
public transport system, the Corporation is hereby authorized to sell
the remaining one million voting and no par shares to persons or
entities operating public utility vehicles in Metropolitan Manila Area
at issue values to be determined by the Board of Directors.
The voting power pertaining to shares of stock subscribed by the
Government of the Republic of the Philippines shall be vested in the
President of the Philippines or in such persons as he may designate.
Each share of stock shall represent one vote and any agreement,
contract, arrangement, scheme or plan that shall transfer ownership and
voting rights over the shares that the public corporate nature of the
corporation shall be impaired or removed is hereby prohibited.
SEC.
5. Board of Directors.—The Corporation shall be governed and
its activities shall be directed, controlled and managed by a Board of
Directors that shall be composed of five (5) ex-officio members,
namely, the Secretary of Public Works, Transportation and Communications
(or the successor Department with respect to Transportation) who shall
act as Chairman, the Executive Secretary, the Secretary of National
Defense, the Secretary of Industry and the Secretary of Finance, and
two(2) other members to be appointed by the President of the
Philippines. The two appointive directors shall each serve for a term of
two (2) years.
SEC. 6. Functions and Duties of the
Board of Directors.—
- The Board shall appoint and fix the salaries of a General
Manager and such other affiliates as may be necessary for the internal
administration of the Corporation.
- The Board shall establish such number of Divisions in the
Corporation as may be necessary for the accomplishment of its corporate
purposes.
- The Board shall submit to the President of the Philippines and
shall publish an annual report of the condition of the Corporation
before the end of February of each year.
SEC. 7. The Auditor.—The Chairman of the Commission
on Audit shall appoint a representative who shall be the auditor of the
Corporation. He shall likewise appoint the necessary personnel to assist
said representative in the performance of his duties. The salaries of
the Auditor and his staff shall be fixed by the Chairman of the
Commission on Audit with the advice of the Board of Directors and said
salaries, and other expenses for the auditor's office shall be paid by
the Corporation. The Auditor of the Corporation and personnel under him
may be removed only by the Chairman of the Commission on Audit.
SEC.
8. Exemptions.—All positions of the Corporation whether
technical, administrative, professional, or managerial, are exempt from
the provisions of the Civil Service Law and the rules and
regulations of the Wage and Position Classification Office, and shall
be governed only by the personnel management policies set by the; Board
of Directors: Provided, further, That all personnel shall be
entitled to the benefits and privileges normally accorded to government
employees.
SEC. 9. Implementing Rules.—The
Secretary of Public Works, Transportation and Communication shall within
thirty (30) days from the date of his appointment call for an
organizational meeting of the Board in order that Corporate business may
forthwith be commenced.
Done in the City of Manila, this 27th day of June in the year
of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.