WHEREAS, the Government is vigorously engaged in a
continuing program to effectuate health and welfare reforms, and thus bring
about the transformation of a New Society designed to improve the quality of
life of every Filipino;
WHEREAS, it is the avowed policy of the Government to bring
health services within the reach of the masses;
WHEREAS, the magnitude of the task requires collaboration
and coordination between the Government and private health and civic
agencies;
WHEREAS, tuberculosis still ranks high as one of the most
serious public health problems in every part of the world, including the
Philippines;
WHEREAS, the great efforts being undertaken to control
tuberculosis through the medium of institutional care have not reached the
majority of contagious tuberculous cases scattered throughout the country;
WHEREAS, in an effort to overcome the above shortcomings,
the Philippine Tuberculosis Society, Inc., has intensified its Domiciliary
Service which brings free medical, social and educational services to the homes
of bedridden indigent patients including BCG vaccinations and tuberculin testing
of contacts, especially the children, as a preventive measure;
WHEREAS, permanence of the Domiciliary Service of the
Philippine Tuberculosis Society, Inc., is vital to the national tuberculosis
program of the country, as it affords a convenient substitute for hospital beds
for TB cases; and
WHEREAS, the full usefulness and benefits of said
Domiciliary Service can only be extended to poverty-stricken TB sufferers upon
availability of a stable and continuing fund;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me 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, do hereby order that Republic Act No. 1169 entitled "An Act
Providing for Charity Sweepstakes Horse Races and Lotteries" be, as it is
hereby, amended, authorizing said Office to hold on March 11, 1974, and every
year thereafter, a lottery draw the whole proceeds of which shall, after
deducting the payment of the prizes and expenses, as provided in
Republic Act No. 1169, be turned over to the Philippine Tuberculosis Society,
Inc., to constitute a special fund to help defray the operational expenses of
its Domiciliary Service.
This Decree shall form part of the law of the land and shall take effect
immediately.
Done in the City of Manila, this 31st day of August, 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
Assistant Executive Secretary