WHEREAS, on
10 September 1981, the Philippine Coconut Authority, in implementation
of a Cabinet decision, suspended the collection of the Coconut
Consumers Stabilization Fund levy, the Coconut Industry Development
Fund levy, and the assessments on exporters of coconut products, all as
authorized by PD 1468 and PD 1699;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the suspension of the collections there of triggered a sharp
decline of the prices of coconut products in the world market and has
been translated by market forces into a severe depression of copra
farmgate prices to the extreme prejudice of the coconut farmers; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the drastic decline of prices and the uncertainties of the
situation have wrought havoc on the lives of more than sixteen million
Filipinos who are directly or indirectly dependent for their source of
livelihood on the coconut industry;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the abrupt termination of the adequate and continuous source
of financing of the different socio-economic and developmental projects
for the benefit of the coconut farmers, such as the replanting, free
insurance, scholarship and coconut industry rationalization program,
have created serious doubts in the minds of the beneficiaries as to the
sincerity of the Government in promoting their welfare; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, there is now a real and imminent explosive atmosphere in the
coconut industry which is being seized upon by the subversives and
other elements of society as a potent weapon to erode and destroy the
confidence of the citizenry in the Government; and
WHEREAS, the Philippine Coconut Producers Federation, the only
recognized association of coconut farmers composed of 964,496 members
throughout the country, in a formal convention passed a resolution
urgently requesting the President to immediately exercise his
legislative powers pursuant to Amendment No. 6 of the 1973
Constitution, considering that the Batasang Pambansa is not in session
and the daily deteriorating situation in the coconut industry has
resulted in practically total stagnation and immobility since there is
virtually no purchase by any of the usual brokers and dealers nor by
the millers and exporters;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of
the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the
Constitution and the laws, do hereby decree and order the
following: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 1. Sections 1 and 2, Article III, of
Presidential Decree No. 1468, are hereby substituted with the
following: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
"Sec. 1. Coconut Industry Stabilization Fund. — To
ensure the viability and the stability of the coconut industry as a
whole, the copra exporters, the oil millers, the refiners, the
dessicators and other end-users of copra or its equivalent in other
coconut products are hereby assessed an amount equivalent to P50.00 for
every 100 kilos of copra resecada or its equivalent in other coconut
products delivered to, and/or purchased by them which assessments are
hereby constituted as the Coconut Industry Stabilization Fund. The
assessments shall be collected and disbursed by the Authority as herein
prescribed."
"Sec. 2. The collections of the Coconut Industry
Stabilization Fund shall be utilized for, and the assessment of P50.00
per one hundred kilos of copra resecada or its equivalent in coconut
products shall be proportionately allocated among the following
socio-economic and developmental programs for the benefit of the
coconut farmers, in particular, and the coconut industry, as a whole:cralaw:red
(a) P20.00 — To finance the cost of the coconut
hybrid re-planting program and, as such shall be paid by the Authority
to the Coconut Industry Development Fund;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(b) P40.00 — To defray the cost of the scholarship
program for the deserving and gifted children of the coconut farmers
which amount shall be paid to the federation of the coconut farmers,
the Philippine Coconut Producers Federation;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(c) P12.50 — To defray the cost of the life and
accident insurance on the lives of the coconut farmers which amount the
Authority shall pay to the bank acquired for the benefit of the coconut
farmers under PD 755 which, in turn, shall utilize the amount to pay
the required premiums to the insurance company owned by the coconut
farmers; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(d) P3.00 — To defray the operating expenses of the
Philippine Coconut Producers Federation;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(e) P2.00 — To defray part of the operating expenses
of the Philippine Coconut Authority; and
(f) P8.50 — To defray the costs of the coconut
industry rationalization program envisioned and prescribed by LOI 926,
the provisions of which are hereby incorporated as part hereof, which
shall be paid to, and utilized by, the bank acquired for the benefit of
the coconut farmers under PD 755 to liquidate the liabilities of
coconut oil mills/refineries, whose operations have been stopped to
effect the rationalization program, to creditors that have agreed to a
re-structure of their respective claims under the guidelines prescribed
by LOI 926; Provided, however, that the amount allocated for this
purpose shall be collected for a maximum period of five (5) years and
thereafter, the assessment fixed in Section 1 hereof shall be
automatically reduced to the amount of P41.50 for every one hundred
kilos of copra resecada or its equivalent in other coconut products."
Section 2. Sub-paragraph (e) of Section 3, Article
III, of Presidential Decree No. 1468, is hereby deleted.
Section 3. Section 4, Article III, of Presidential
Decree No. 1468, is hereby amended to read as follows: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
"Sec. 4. Financing of the Coconut Industry
Development Fund. — As the initial funds of the Coconut Industry
Development Fund, the Authority is hereby directed to pay to the
Coconut Industry Development Fund, the amount of One Hundred Million
Pesos (P100,000,000.00) out of the Coconut Consumers Stabilization
Fund. Hereafter, the Coconut Industry Development Fund shall be
financed from out of the collections of the Coconut Industry
Stabilization Fund as prescribed in Section 2 hereof. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The sale or transfer of the hybrid coconut seednuts herein authorized
to be acquired is hereby declared exempt from the payment of the
coconut consumers stabilization levy and the assessments herein imposed
and any and all taxes and fees of whatever kind and nature."
Section 4. A new Section 11 is hereby inserted in
Article III of Presidential Decree No. 1468 to read as follows:cralaw:red
"Sec. 11. Financing of other Socio-Economic and
Development Projects. — The members of the coconut industry,
particularly the commercial and industrial sectors thereof may, if they
so desire, establish a system of financing the socio-economic and/or
developmental projects for the coconut industry in addition to Section
1 hereof under such terms and conditions as they may freely negotiate
and agree upon which are hereby declared to constitute an onerous
contract enforceable according to its terms. Upon certification by the
bank acquired for the benefit of the coconut farmers under PD 755 that
the incorporated cooperative endeavor and the participating mills
prescribed by LOI 926 are participating in such a financing system, the
contributions to that financing system 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, deductible in full as an expense for
income tax purposes." chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 5. Hereafter, the words "levy", "levies" and
"Coconut Consumers Stabilization Fund" in PD 1468 shall, if the context
so requires, be substituted with the words "assessment", "assessments"
and "Coconut Industry Stabilization Fund," respectively.
Section 6. All provisions of PD 1468 which are not
hereby specifically amended shall remain in full force and effect. All
laws, including PD 1699, executive and administrative orders, rules and
regulations relating to the imposition, collection and utilization of
the Coconut Consumer Stabilization Fund levy inconsistent with the
provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed or amended accordingly;
Provided, however, that the repeal and/or amendments herein prescribed
shall operate prospectively. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 7. If any provision of this Decree is held
unconstitutional, the same shall apply only to that provision and the
other provisions shall remain valid.
Section 8. This Decree shall take effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 2nd day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
eighty-one.
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