Preservation of public order in emergencies

The Decree recognizes that the State exists for the individual and that government must protect rights and liberties.
The Decree declares that preservation of public order is a primordial concern because, without it, enjoyment of life, liberty, and property is illusory.
The Decree states that even during emergency, the fundamental policy of government remains unaltered: individual rights and liberties, including social and economic rights, must be preserved but enhanced.

Section 2 authorizes the President/Prime Minister, whenever he judges there exists a grave emergency or a threat or imminence thereof, to issue orders deemed necessary to meet the emergency.
Orders may include measures such as:
- preventive detention;
- prohibiting the wearing of certain uniforms and emblems;
- restraining or restricting the movement and other activities of persons or entities to prevent them from acting prejudicially to national security or public order;
- directing the closure of subversive publications or other media of mass communications;
- banning or regulating the holding of entertainment or exhibitions detrimental to the national interest;
- controlling admission to educational institutions whose operations are found prejudicial to the national security;
- authorizing measures to prevent any damage to the viability of the economic system.
The Decree targets conduct directed at overthrowing and dismantling legitimate government through force and violence, as part of emergency conditions contemplated in Section 1.

Section 2 provides that violation of orders issued by the President/Prime Minister under the Decree is punishable by imprisonment for not less than thirty (30) days but not exceeding one (1) year, unless the acts are punishable with higher penalties under:
- the Anti-Subversive Act,
- the Revised Penal Code, or
- other existing laws.
The penalty applies to violations of orders issued pursuant to this Decree.

Section 2 authorizes the President/Prime Minister to authorize the Minister of National Defense to issue, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the President/Prime Minister, search warrants.
The search warrants may be issued for the seizure of any document or property:
- subject of the offense, or
- used or intended to be used as the means of committing the offense,
- pursuant to Section 2.

Section 3 provides that the incumbent President/Prime Minister, any Cabinet member, or any other public officer shall not be held responsible or liable in any civil, criminal, or other proceeding for any act or order issued or performed while in office pursuant to the Decree.

Section 1 identifies the emergency context as periods of global stress and crises where anarchic and subversive forces may, by force and violence, overthrow and dismantle legitimate government.
Section 2 triggers the exercise of power based on the President/Prime Minister’s judgment of a grave emergency or threat or imminence thereof.