WHEREAS, it appears necessary and advisable to amend existing regulations for rat control in the Manila Port District to prevent the introduction of bubonic plague;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ELPIDIO QUIRINO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby designate both the Manila South Port District and the Manila North Port District-comprising the areas bounded on the. South by the 25th Street; bounded on the East by the Bonifacio Drive in the South Port District and extending to the Dewey Boulevard Extension in the North Port District and as far North as the Reclamation of the North Port District; and bounded on the west by the Manila Bay-the Manila Port Area Rat-Proof Building Zone within the limits of which only rat-proof building construction made of durable and hard materials, such as reinforced concrete, bricks, iron, steel, or other permanent similarly durable and hard materials shall be allowed: Provided, that doors with metal plates on base, door and window frames, roof trusses, and similar portions of a building may be constructed of wood: Provided, further, That mamposteria (adobe), asbestos boards and their equivalents shall not be considered as satisfactory building materials.

Within the limits of this zone, no stable, pigs, chickens, or other fowls or domestic animals shall be kept, the food for which serves as food for rodents as well, and no domicile, restaurants or kitchens shall be maintained.

Except for such prepared foodstuffs for immediate daily consumption as may be brought to designated dining halls, for the use of employees in the area, the storing of foodstuffs of any kind except in rat-proof receptacles, including food for livestock, but excluding bottled drinks and candies, shall not be permitted. It is to be understood that no food whatsoever shall be cooked or prepared in the said area.

All leases of land within the Manila Port Area Rat-Proof Building Zone shall be subject to the conditions mentioned in this Executive Order to insure the exclusion and prevent the harborage of rats therein to the satisfaction of the Director of Health. Plans for all proposed construction shall conform to all existing ordinances of the City of Manila not in conflict with the provisions of this Executive Order and shall bear the approval of both the Director of Public Works and the Director of Health, and the building hereinafter constructed shall not be occupied or used for any purpose whatsoever until the Director of Public Works and the Director of Health shall have certified the work to be satisfactory for the purpose of rat prevention.

This Order supersedes Executive Order No. 292, dated August 5, 1940.

Done in the City of Manila, this 1st day of July, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and fifty-two, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the sixth.


By the President:
(SGD.) MARCIANO ROQUE
Acting Executive Secretary