Preamble
WHEREAS, it is the declared policy of the State, embodied in the New Constitution, to promote the wider distribution of property ownership and profits; WHEREAS, the stock exchanges provide the best possible means not only for the broadening of public participation in business, industry, and in the development of our natural resources, but also for the capital formation so necessary for our economic development; WHEREAS, trading in securities has so far been limited to the exchanges designated or chosen by the issuing companies; and WHEREAS, to encourage and facilitate the diffusion of property ownership and profits, and for the protection of the investing public, investors should be given the opportunity to buy and sell securities at the stock exchanges of their choice; 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, as amended, do hereby order and decree that: