AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF THE REVISED PHILIPPINE HIGHWAY ACT ADOPTED AND DECREED UNDER PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NUMBERED SEVENTEEN AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 130
• Sections: 10

Preamble

I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by

virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution as

Commander-in-Chief of 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:

Section 1

SECTION 1. Sub-paragraph (a) of Section six of the Revised

Philippine Highway Act, adopted and decreed as part of the law of the

land under Presidential Decree No. 17, is hereby amended to read as

follows:

"(a) Administrative expenses. — So much as may be

required but not to exceed six per centum of all money accruing

to the Highway Special Fund, shall be deducted from the Highway Special

Fund and made available until expended, for administering the

provisions of this Act as the Secretary of Public Works and

Communications may deem necessary, of which, four per centum

shall be allotted for administrative management and two per centum

shall be allotted for engineering management. These allocations shall

be used exclusively to pay the salaries and other operational expenses

of officials and employees of the Bureau of Public Highways engaged in

administrative management and engineering management, as defined in this

Act. Services rendered in the auditing of these funds by the general

auditing office shall not be chargeable against the Highway Special

Fund."

Section 2

SEC. 2. Sub-paragraph (f) of Section seven of the same Act

is hereby amended to read as follows:

"(f) A portion of the total maintenance fund, not to exceed

seven per centum, shall be allocated to pay for maintenance

engineering as defined in this Act."

Section 3

SEC. 3. Sub-paragraph (a) of Section eight of the same Act

is hereby amended to read as follows: "(a) Provinces shall receive

twenty-five per centum of the current basic cost of maintenance

per equivalent maintenance kilometer of national road, referred to in

Subsection (b) of the preceding section, for each kilometer of the

actual physical length of provincial road whose existence is recommended

by the provincial governor and accepted by the Commissioner of Public

Highways."

Section 4

SEC. 4. Section nine of the same Act is hereby amended

to read as follows:

"SEC. 9. Fund for rehabilitation, betterment, and

improvement. — The balance of the Highway Special Fund after

deducting the amounts allocated in the preceding sections shall be

allocated for the rehabilitation, betterment, and improvement of

national highways, provincial, city and municipal roads.

(a) Forty per centum of this amount shall be

programmed for all national roads within the country in accordance with

the following priorities. First priority shall be given to

rehabilitation. If betterment works are required on a road section

identified as needing rehabilitation, both shall be programmed

simultaneously with equal priorities; Second priority shall be given to

replacement of temporary bridges; Third priority shall be given to

betterment of existing roads where rehabilitation is not required; and

Fourth priority shall be given to the improvement of existing roads to a

higher class.

(b) Thirty per centum of this amount shall be allocated

among the regional engineering divisions to be programmed using the

same priorities as specified in subsection (a) above. In the event two

or more projects are of the same priority, the regional director, in the

exercise of his discretion, shall determine which of these projects

should be given first priority.

(c) An amount not exceeding fourteen per centum of the

sums allotted in the preceding Subsections (a) and (b) shall be

allotted for final design engineering and engineering supervision

associated with work paid for from this fund.

(d) Thirty per centum of this amount shall be

programmed for all national aid, provincial or city roads or provincial,

city and municipal roads funded partly or wholly by national funds

within the country in accordance with the same priority as specified in

subsection (a) above. For this purpose, every provincial engineer/city

engineer shall from time to time submit programs for rehabilitation,

betterment and improvement to the Commissioner of Public Highways for

approval."

Section 5

SEC. 5. Section ten of the same Act is hereby amended to

read as follows:

"SEC. 10. Designation of existing and

unabandoned provincial, city or municipal roads. — Within one

hundred twenty days after the passage of this Act and periodically as

may be required by regulations to be promulgated by the Commissioner of

Public Highways, the provincial board, city or Municipal Council

concerned shall designate the existing and unabandoned provincial, city

or municipal roads actually serving motor vehicular traffic upon which

maintenance aid shall be expended and shall cause their respective

provincial or city engineers to prepare a maintenance program and

estimates thereon. Upon approval of the road lengths, program and

estimates by the Commissioner of Public Highways, the provincial board

or city council concerned shall provide in their annual road and bridge

budget an appropriation in accordance with the amount required under the

formula stated in subparagraphs (d) and (e) of Section eight of this

Act. Upon receipt by the Commissioner of Public Highways of this

certificate of availability of local funds, he shall release the

national aid provided in subparagraphs. (d) and (e) of Section eight

hereof."

Section 6

SEC. 6. Section eleven of the same Act is hereby amended to

read as follows:

"SEC. 11. Supervision and control of projects financed

by the Highway Special Fund. — The provisions of any existing law,

rule or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding, all work projects

financed by Highway Special Fund shall be under the direct control and

supervision of the Bureau of Public Highways, subject to such laws,

rules and regulations governing the prosecution of public works

projects: Provided, however, That local projects financed by

Highway Special Fund, whether for maintenance, rehabilitation,

betterment or for improvement, shall be under the direct control and

supervision of local governments; but the Bureau of Public Highways

shall have the authority to set maintenance standards, planning

requirements and control procedures governing the approval and release

of funds as necessary to carry out the requirements of Section eight of

this act, and for this purpose, to inspect the financial accounts, works

records and maintenance works of local authorities."

Section 7

SEC. 7. These amendments are hereby adopted and approved,

and made part of the Revised Philippine Highway Act.

Section 8

SEC. 8. All acts, decrees, orders, rules and regulations

or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are

hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

Section 9

SEC. 9. This Decree shall take effect July 1, 1973.

Done in the City of Manila, this 15th day of February, in the

year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-three.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS

President

Republic of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) ALEJANDRO MELCHOR

Executive Secretary