Preamble
WHEREAS, the development of our mineral resources as a primary source of foreign exchange and as a means for industrial progress has to be maximized for the good of the national economy; WHEREAS, the Bureau of Mines which is charged with the administration and disposition of the mineral resources of the country is of pre-war vintage, having been legally created on November 7, 1936 under Commonwealth Act No. 136; WHEREAS, the revision of the aforesaid Act would make the said agency a more potent and effective arm of the Government in the administration and disposition of our mineral resources and responsive to the needs of the Filipino people, in general, and the mining industry, in particular; WHEREAS, it is desirable and imperative to clothe said agency with adequate powers to enable it to vigorously implement Presidential Decree No. 463, otherwise known as the "Mineral Resources Development Decree of 1974"; and WHEREAS, the revision of Commonwealth Act No. 136 would invest in the Bureau of Mines such functions, powers and duties consistent with changing situations and existing conditions; NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby decree and order, as follows: