[ PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 216, June 16, 1973 ]

PROHIBITING THE EXPORTATION OF ABACA SEEDLINGS.

WHEREAS, the exportation of abaca seedlings is detrimental to the abaca industry and the overall economy of the country; and

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to protect the industry on which thousands of our countrymen depend for their livelihood;

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, in order to promote the social and economic stability of the country, do hereby order and decree:

SECTION 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, firm or association to export to any foreign country seedlings of the plant known as "abaca."

SEC. 2. Any person who violates this Decree shall, upon conviction, be punished by fine of not less than five thousand pesos nor more than twenty thousand pesos or by imprisonment ranging from prision correctional to prision mayor, or both fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court/tribunal.

SEC. 3. This Decree shall take effect immediately after publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the country.

Done in the City of Manila, this 16th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-three.

			(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS President Republic of the Philippines
	By the President:
	(Sgd.) ROBERTO V. REYES
		Assistant Executive Secretary