WHEREAS, the Katipunan Ng Mga Sangguniang Bayan petitions that the Metropolitan Manila area shall be considered as a separate region for purposes of administrative field organization of the various departments and agencies of the national government;

WHEREAS, at present the Metropolitan Manila area is embraced in Region No. 4 under the Integrated Reorganization Plan:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby decree and order:

SECTION 1. Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, Region No. 4 is hereby divided into two regions to be known as Region No. 4 and Region No. 4-A.

Region No. 4 shall comprise the Metropolitan Manila area as contemplated in Presidential Decree No. 824, with the regional center either in Manila or Quezon City.

Region No. 4-A shall comprise the towns of Rizal not included in Metropolitan Manila and the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon, Aurora (sub-province), Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Rom-blom and Palawan, and the cities of Batangas, Cavite, Lipa, Lucena, San Pablo, Tagaytay, Trece Martires and Puerto Princesa. Until otherwise decreed, the regional center for Region No. 4-A shall be in Metropolitan Manila.

SEC. 2. All laws, decrees, orders or regulations inconsistent herewith are hereby amended or repealed accordingly.

SEC. 3. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 23rd day of January, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-six.