Preamble
WHEREAS, the Government's Development Plan entails a massive investment in order to sustain and advance the social and economic development heretofore attained' for the welfare of the nation; WHEREAS, sizeable portion of the funding requirements of the Development Plan has to be generated from foreign borrowing particularly to provide the foreign exchange costs for the importation of capital equipment, materials and technical services urgently needed to maintain the sustained and continuing implementation of the various priority developmental projects embarked upon by the Government; WHEREAS, the present ceiling of US$1 Billion or its equivalent in other foreign currencies on the aggregate amount of foreign loans that may be contracted directly by the National Government, and of US$500 Million or its equivalent in foreign currencies that may be incurred under government guarantee by eligible entities including government-owned and/or-controlled corporations and financial institutions, prescribed under the Foreign Borrowing Act which was enacted in 1970, have balances considered insufficient to meet the foreign borrowing program formulated consistent with national development goals of the Government; NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order and decree that: