WHEREAS, the records of the Committee created by Administrative Order No. 103, dated September 18, 1939, as amended by Administrative Orders Nos. 128 and 144, dated June 7, 1940 and July 2, 1941, respectively, to investigate the matter of the use of rivers and the obstruction and pollution of streams, as well as the report of its findings, have been lost and are not now available;
WHEREAS, the closing or partial obstruction of many streams in the Philippines and their conversion into fishponds give rise to numerous controversies and complaints;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, MANUEL ROXAS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby reconstitute the Committee created by Administrative Order No. 103, as amended, and appoint the following to carry out the purposes enumerated in the three aforementioned Administrative Orders:

The Secretary of Justice, Chairman
The Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce,  and
The Secretary of Public Works and Communications, Members.

In the fulfillment of their duties, the members of the Committee may appoint their respective representatives who are authorized to take testimony or evidence with all the incidental powers provided for in Section 580 of the Revised Administrative Code.

The Committee shall investigate and report on the following:

(1) The status of all the rivers  and streams in the Philippines, in order  to determine whether they are of private or of public ownership;

(2) The claims of private parties to any of them, attaching to the report copies of the pertinent papers, documents, contracts and memoranda of the decisions of the competent courts or the laws applicable thereto;

(3) The value or importance of said rivers or streams for the conservation of the natural resources, indicating which of them are navigable, floatable or convenient for public use;

(4) The advisability of opening any of them, if closed, for river control purposes and for navigation or for fishing;

(5) The necessity of adopting administrative measures or legislation to carry out the policy of keeping open such rivers and streams, whether of private or of public ownership, as may be necessary to promote and safeguard the public interest; and

(6) The prevention of the pollution of rivers or streams by the discharge into and accumulation in their waters of mill refuse or œtailings  and similar matters and substances.

Every department, bureau, office, and dependency or agency of the Government shall furnish to the Committee such assistance, data, and information as it may need in carrying out its functions.

The Committee shall proceed at once in accordance with the provisions of this Order and shall submit to the President report of its work from time to time as the circumstances of each case may warrant.

Done at the City of Manila, this 12th day of April, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and forty-seven, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the first.


By the President:

(Sgd.) EMILIO ABELLO
Chief of the Executive Office