Preamble
WHEREAS, floods are among the most destructive of natural calamities, in the wake of which chain reactions invariably lead to misery, pestilence, privation, hunger and want; WHEREAS, the ever-worsening floods in the country today are to a great extent caused by unabated illegal encroachments on rivers, creeks, esteros and other drainage channels, resulting in the constriction and partial or complete closure thereof and the corresponding reduction of drainage capacity; WHEREAS, such illegal encroachments have been prevalent in the past by enlarging the areas covered by titles or certificates of ownership brought about by consolidation and subdivision surveys and resurveys; WHEREAS, in the interest of the general public it is imperative that such portions of the public domain illegally acquired must be returned to the State for the purpose which nature has intended for them; and WHEREAS, past experiences show that reacquisition or expropriation proceedings have been slow and tedious, dragging on for years to the detriment of the general welfare; 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 and decree the following: