WHEREAS, the Catanduanes State College, acting under and by authority of its Charter, Republic Act No. 6341, as amended by Republic Act No. 6590, has established secondary schools in the different municipalities of the province of Catanduanes, and these schools now serve the educational needs of the local population;

WHEREAS, the authority to establish and maintain secondary schools under its present charter has been questioned and a negation of its authority would result in the closure of these secondary schools and thus cause great hardship and dislocation in the school program of the municipalities concerned; and

WHEREAS, it is humanely just and proper to avoid such closure and spare the residents of Catanduanes from the arduous consequences of such event;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby decree the amendment of Section 1 of Republic Act No. 6341, as amended by Republic Act No. 6590 by inserting an additional clause thereto to read as follows:

"SECTION 1. x x x x x x x

The various secondary schools that have been established and maintained by the Catanduanes State Colleges as of the date of this decree are hereby, recognized and confirmed, and their continued maintenance by the Catanduanes State Colleges is hereby authorized."

Done in the City of Manila, this 26th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.