Malaria Eradication Campaigns

November 27, 1972

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 70

INSURING THE SUCCESSFUL OPERATION OF MALARIA ERADICATION CAMPAIGNS IN THE PHILIPPINES

WHEREAS, there were pending before the Congress prior to the promulgation of Proclamation No. 1081 dated September 21, 1972, certain measures vital to the health and economic conditions of the people; cdt

WHEREAS, one of these measures is a bill entitled "An Act Insuring the Successful Operation of Malaria Eradication Campaigns in the Philippines;" and

WHEREAS, this measure will greatly help in reducing to the minimum the incidence of malaria, if not totally eradicate it, thereby removing one of the deterrents to our economic endeavors;

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, as amended, and in order to overcome serious setbacks in malaria eradication campaigns on account of the refusal of houseowners to cooperate in this campaign, do hereby decree that H. No. 15077, entitled " An Act Insuring the Successful Operation of Malaria Eradication Campaigns in the Philippines," as herein incorporated, is hereby adopted and approved, and made part of the law of the land.

SECTION 1. To insure a successful campaign for the eradication of malaria in the Philippines in order to promote the general health and welfare of the people as a whole and to alleviate specifically the injurious effects of malaria on agricultural productivity, rural development, industrial endeavor and community development, anti-malaria workers of the Malaria Eradication Service of the Department of Health are hereby authorized:

(a) To enter private premises, dwellings and yards without being guilty of trespass thereof, in order to spray the houses or to canvass for malaria cases, take blood films, give treatment and other anti-malaria activities necessary to eradicate malaria;

(b) To gather data from other agencies for consolidation of records on the incidence of malaria and to conduct investigation, studies, research and demonstration with the view of discovering a solution to the problems incidental to the purpose of this Decree.

SECTION 2. Government and private hospitals, clinics and other health agencies are required to report to the Malaria Eradication Service in the Department of Health any incidence that may come to their knowledge. acd

SECTION 3. Anti-malaria workers shall see to it that the insecticide residue on sprayed surfaces, being essential to the success of the anti-malaria program, shall not be wilfully removed but must be allowed to stay on the wall until the termination of the spraying campaign.

SECTION 4. Any person who refuses or obstructs an anti-malaria worker from the performance of the duties provided in this Decree or refuses, without just cause, to allow said worker free entry to his premises during a malaria control campaign shall be fined not less than three hundred pesos nor more than five hundred pesos, or by imprisonment for not less than one month but not more than three months, or both, depending upon the discretion of the court.

SECTION 5. The Director of the Malaria Eradication Service, with the approval of the Secretary of the Department of Health, is hereby authorized to issue rules and regulations for the proper implementation of the other provisions of this Decree.

SECTION 6. All Acts, parts of Acts and executive orders inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed.

SECTION 7. This Decree shall take effect immediately. acd

DONE in the City of Manila, this 27th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Two.