MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
[ Memorandum Circular No. 606, October 21, 1972 ]
MAKING CERTAIN CLARIFICATIONS CONCERNING PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 20 DATED OCTOBER 12, 1972.
In view of numerous inquiries regarding the effect of Presidential Decree No. 20 dated October 12, 1972, the pertinent provisions of which state:
“WHEREAS, the effects of the recent calamities which befell the country tended to raise prices of the basic necessities of life including rentals for housing;
“WHEREAS, the Government through various measures have successfully been able to stabilize the prices of basic commodities, and it is essential that rentals for housing should likewise be stabilized; and
“WHEREAS, the freezing of rentals for the lower income group at their present levels is desirable as the equitable levels for both the lessor and the lessee;
“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, do hereby adopt and make as part of the law of the land certain amendments to the provisions of Republic Act No. 6359, which shall read as follows:
‘Section 1. No lesser of a dwelling unit or of land on which another’s dwelling is located shall, upon promulgation of this Decree and until otherwise provided, increase the monthly rental agreed upon between the lessor and the lessee, as of the effectivity of this Act when said monthly rental does not exceed three hundred (?300.00) pesos a month).
“This Decree shall take effect immediately” (emphasis supplied),
on rental increases made (a) prior to the promulgation of the decree and (b) after its promulgation with respect to a prospective lessee, clarifications are hereunder made for the guidance of all concerned.1âшphi1
Presidential Decree No. 20 does not operate retroactively; for the decree itself provides that “it shall take effect immediately,” meaning on the date of its promulgation, October 12, 1972. The aforequoted Section 1 also states that “no lesser… shall, upon promulgation of this Decree…, increase the monthly rental agreed upon.” Hence, a rental increase made and effected already enforced prior to October 12, 1972, to which the lessee evidently agreed, is not covered by the prohibition against rental increase. However, where the increase in rental, as agreed upon between the lessor and the lessee before October 12, 1972, is to take effect only after said date, or where an increase in rental effected prior to October 12, 1972, was opposed by the lessee and proven by him to have been paid under protest, the inhibition contained in Presidential Decree No. 20 applies.
Presidential Decree No. 20 also operates in favor of a prospective lessee. The prohibition against increase in rental therein contained applies with equal force and effect to a case where a dwelling unit or a land is vacated during the effectivity if the decree and a new tenant occupied or leases the same. Such prospective lessee or new tenant shall pay only what his predecessor used to pay at the time of the promulgation of the decree on October 12, 1972, for the occupancy of the same premises. In other words, the rate or amount of rental paid by the former tenant on October 12, 1972, shall be maintained and shall only be the rate of amount payable by the incoming lessee. This is the meaning that should be attached to the clause “the freezing of rentals… at their present levels” found in the preamble of the decree, so as to effectuate the presidential purpose of stabilizing rentals for housing and alleviating the plight of low-income families that usually avail themselves of rented dwelling units or lands, considering that the country is in a state of national emergency.
By authority of the President:
(SGD.) RONALDO B. ZAMORA
Assistant Executive Secretary
Manila, October 21, 1972
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