Presidential Decree No. 1259

Paragraph 1 of Presidential Decree No

Section 1. Paragraph 1 of Presidential Decree No. 1224 dated October 21, 1977 is hereby amended to read as follows:

The term "public use" for purposes of acquisition by the government, either by itself or through any authorized agency or entity, of any private land and improvements thereon shall include, among others, the acquisition for the purpose of socialized housing. Socialized housing is hereby define to include among others:

(a) The construction and/or improvement of dwelling for the middle and lower income groups of the society, including the construction of the supporting infrastructure and other facilities;

(b) Slum clearance, relocation and settlement of squatters and slum dwellers as well as the provision of related facilities and services;

(c) Slum improvement which consist basically of allocating homelots to the dwellers in the area or property involved, re-arrangement and re-alignment of existing houses and other dwelling structures and the construction and the provision of basic community facilities and services, where there are none, such as roads, footpaths, drainage, sewerage, water and power system, schools, barangay centers, community centers, clinics, open spaces, parks, playgrounds and other recreational facilities;

(d) The provision of economic opportunities including the development of commercial and industrial estates and such other facilities to enhance the total community growth; and

(e) Such other activities undertaken in pursuance of the objective to provide and maintain housing for the greatest number of people under Presidential Decree No. 757.

Section 2. Paragraph 2 of the same decree is hereby amended to read as follows:

In the determination of just compensation for such private lands and improvements to be expropriated, the Government shall choose between the value of the real property and improvements thereon as declared by the owner or administrator thereof or the market value determined by the city or provincial assessor, which ever is lower, at the time of the filing of the expropriation complaint.

Section 3. Paragraph 3 of the same decree is hereby amended to read as follows:

Upon the filing of the petition for expropriation and the deposit of the amount of the just compensation provided for in Section 2 hereof, the Government, or its authorized agency or entity, shall immediately have possession, control and disposition of the real property and the improvements thereon even pending resolution of the issues that may be raised whether before the Court of First Instance, Court of Agrarian Relations or the higher courts.

Section 4. All acts, parts of acts, decrees, letters of instructions, orders, ordinances, or rules and regulations which are inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 11th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Seven.