WHEREAS, to enable the Export Processing Zone Authority to effectively implement its export promotion objectives it is imperative that the Authority be allowed to construct, operate and maintain private piers and wharves in the Port of Mariveles;

WHEREAS, the franchise to construct, operate and maintain such facilities in Mariveles belongs to the Asiatic integrated Corporation under Republic Act Numbered Fifty Three Hundred and Fifty-six;

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 order and decree that:

SECTION 1. In accordance with the agreement already arrived at between Asiatic Integrated Corporation and the Export Processing Zone, the franchise to construct, operate and maintain private piers and wharves in the Port of Mariveles granted to the Asiatic Integrated Corporation Under Republic Act Numbered Fifty Three Hundred and Fifty-six is hereby transferred to the Export Processing Zone Authority, on such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by the parties, provided that the same are in conformity with provisions of existing laws and applicable to such transfer, and subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines.

For this purpose, the Authority is hereby authorized to construct, acquire, own, lease, operate and or maintain, by itself or through other persons or entities, in the Port of Mariveles, Bataan, piers, wharves and other port terminal facilities.

SEC. 2. In the construction, operation and maintenance by the Authority of piers, wharves and other port terminal facilities, the following guidelines shall apply:

1. All goods unloaded in Authority's piers and wharves shall not be subject to inspection, assessment and payment of tariff and customs duties and internal revenue taxes, unless said goods are subsequently removed from the pier and delivered outside of the export processing zone. Upon such withdrawal and delivery outside of the zone, the goods shall be subject to inspection, assessment and payment of the corresponding tariff and customs duties and internal revenue taxes, without prejudice to such tax and tariff exemptions as may be enjoyed by the consignee thereof under existing laws.
2. The Authority shall supervise, .subject to the existing international commitments, the flow of vessels in and out of the pier, as well as the manner in which the loading and unloading of vessels therein shall be carried out: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall prejudice the authority of the Philippine Coast Guard to enforce the laws and regulations under its jurisdiction.
3. The Authority shall adopt a just and reasonable rate or fee for the use of its piers and wharves, including any and all services operated therein in connection with or incidental to the operation and management of said piers and wharves.
4. The Authority may enter into technical consultancy and construction agreement with any person or firm, corporation or entities respecting the construction, operation, maintenance or expansion of Authority's piers and wharves, under such terms and conditions as may be deemed reasonable.

SEC. 3. Section 5 of Presidential Decree No. 66 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SECTION 5. Capitalization.—The capital of the Authority shall consist of (1) its existing assets and such other properties as may be contributed to the Authority by the Government to form part of capital, (2) all capitalized surplus, and (3) cash contribution by the Government in the amount of five hundred million pesos, which is hereby appropriated out of any fund in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, be they collection from any or all taxes accruing to the general fund proceeds from loans the issue of bonds, treasury bills or notes, or derived from any other sources of income by or of the National Government, which amount shall be released by the Budget Commission in accordance with the schedule of development and expenditure to be prepared and submitted by the Authority."

SEC. 4. Republic Act Numbered Fifty Three Hundred and Fifty-six is hereby repealed and all other laws, decrees, administrative orders, executive orders, rules and regulations inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed and modified accordingly.

SEC. 5. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, Philippines, this 13th day of March, in the year of Our Lord nineteen hundred and seventy-five.