Republic Act No. 7901

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1

the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, and the cities of and Surigao are hereby constituted to form Region XIII to be known as the Caraga Region.

Section 2

the regional center of the Caraga Region shall be established in Butuan City where the national offices shall be located except for the Bureau of Mines and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, which shall be situated in Surigao City, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which shall be situated in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur.

Section 3

as a result of the transfer of Surigao del Sur to Region XIII, the Province of Sultan Kudarat shall now form part of Region XI.

Section 4

the same privileges under the rules and regulations covering regions shall remain in force.

Section 5

All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

Section 6

Should any part of this Act be declared unconstitutional or invalid, such declaration of unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect the other provisions hereof.

Section 7

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved,

(Sgd.) EDGARDO J. ANGARA President of the Senate	(Sgd.) JOSE DE VENECIA, JR. Speaker of the House of Representatives

This Act which is a consolidation of House Bill No. 10643 and Senate Bill No. 729 was finally passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on February 16, 1995 and February 20, 1995, respectively.

(Sgd.) EDGARDO E. TUMANGAN Secretary of the Senate	(Sgd.) CAMILO L. SABIO Secretary General House of Representatives

Approved: February 23, 1995

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS President of the Philippines