WHEREAS, a
large majority, including domestic and international agencies and
institutions assisting the Government in the implementation of the
structural economic adjustment program for the country have unanimously
recommended that the Government restart the coconut replanting program
throughout the country;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, these recommendations recognize that, unless replanting
program is implemented, the coconut industry must be reduced to a
domestic industry rather than a major export industry as most of the
coconut tree population of the country are senile and the coconut trees
in major coconut producing areas in the country were destroyed by
natural calamities in 1982-1984;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, even international financial institutions had offered to
finance the restart of the replanting program by way of assisting the
country to overcome and survive the economic crisis and to preserve the
role of the coconut industry as a major export industry; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, in its comprehensive report on the coconut industry, the
National Economic Development Authority ("NEDA") studied different
sources of financing and recommended that, in accordance with the
self-reliance program of the country, financing for the replanting
program be internally generated and that for this purpose, the export
duty and the additional export duty on coconut products be utilized as
the initial source of financing;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, in accordance with the self-reliance program the country,
there is a need to enlist the resources of the private sector in the
efforts to increase the coconut sector production of the country and to
encourage the private sector to devise and implement its own new area
planting and/or replanting program throughout the country.
NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the
Constitution and the laws, particularly Section 514 of Presidential
Decree No. 1464, as amended, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, do hereby decree and order the following:cralaw:red
Section 1. The basic export duty imposed by Section
514 of Presidential Decree No. 1464, and the additional export duty
imposed by Executive Order No. 920-A, on coconut products, as
identified and at the rates prescribed by Executive Order No. 920-A,
which is hereby incorporated made part hereof any reference, are hereby
made permanently constituted as the initial source of financing for the
Philippine Coconut Authority ("PCA"), with the active assistance and
participation of the recognized organization of the coconut farmers
pursuant to the provisions of Act No. 6260.
Section 2. In the implementation of the replanting
program, the PCA shall service the requirements of small coconut
farmers owning not more than twenty-four (24) hectares who volunteer to
participate in the replanting program. Initially, the PCA shall give
priority to the devastated areas in the Visayas and Mindanao. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 3. In accordance with the self-reliance
program of the country, and to encourage the private sector to device
and implement their own area planting and/or replanting program, copra
millers/refiners and other exporters of coconut products which
voluntarily form associations and/or cooperatives in accordance with
the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 1960, are hereby exempted
from payment of the basic export duty and the additional export duty on
coconut products herein imposed, Provided, they conform with the
following conditions:cralaw:red
(a) The association or cooperative is composed of not
less than ten (10) miller/refiners and other exporters of coconut
products with an aggregate export volume of not less than 200,000 MT of
coconut products in copra terms per annum, Provided the association or
cooperative includes one or more of the coconut oil mills/refineries
owned or controlled by the coconut farmers pursuant to the provisions
of Sections 9 and 10, Article III, Presidential No. 1468, as amended,
and may include one or more of the millers/refiners which service
principally the domestic market.
(b) The association or cooperation has a viable
coconut new area planting and/or replanting scheme on a plantation
scale initially of not less than two thousand hectares from which the
members can source a portion of their copra requirements, which need
not be continuous and may involve coconut farmers, duly approved by the
President of the Philippines. For this purpose, the association or
cooperative, or their members, or any corporation they may organize,
may acquire lands or interests therein, notwithstanding any
prohibitions or restrictions imposed by Commonwealth Act No. 141, as
amended, otherwise known as the Public Land Act, Provided the proposed
owner qualifies under the nationality requirements of the Constitution
of the Philippines.
(c) The members should establish or continue whatever
funding they have established for their mutual assistance, by
contributing the amounts of not less than the export duties herein
prescribed for coconut products that is exported, which shall include
the cost of such new area planting and/or replanting program as
envisioned and authorized under Section 11, Article III, Presidential
Decree No. 1468, as amended. The contribution made, or to be made, by
such members to the funding scheme are hereby declared, notwithstanding
any general or special law or regulation to the contrary, to be
ordinary and necessary business expenses paid or incurred in carrying
on the respective businesses of the contributors relating to the
coconut industry and deductible, for income tax purposes, as such
ordinary business expense and are hereby exempted from the payment of
the donors and the donee taxes. Any and all benefits received,
including but not limited to, shares of stock, or other evidence of
participation in the association or cooperative derived by the members
pursuant to their rules, are likewise exempt from the payment of any
and all taxes, fees, imposts, charges, of whatever kind and nature,
including but not limited to, the income tax and the donors and the
donees taxes.
Section 4. Any violation of the provisions of this
Presidential Decree, and/or the rules and regulations issued pursuant
hereto, shall be punished and penalized in accordance with Section 1,
Article IV of Presidential Decree No. 1468, as amended.
Section 5. All laws, executive and administrative
orders and/or rules and regulations respectively issued the
governmental agencies concerned, inconsistent herewith except the
provisions and tax exemptions provided in the Presidential Decree No.
1960 and Presidential Decree No. 1468, as amended, are hereby repealed,
amended or modified accordingly.
Section 6. This Decree shall be effective immediately.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 8th day of April, in the year of Our Lord nineteen hundred and
eighty-five.
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