WHEREAS, the prices of meat and other
livestock products have been increasing to the detriment of our people
inspite of government efforts to expand the production of livestock and
animal products;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the livestock and poultry industry is one of the major
agricultural industries of the Philippines and its accelerated
development would mean the increased production of meat and other
animal products necessary to improve the health of the people and to
bolster the national economy;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the producers and marketers of livestock and animal products
encounter numerous legal and illegal fees and charges in the
production, transport, and marketing of their products;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, these fees and charges operate to increase livestock
production and marketing costs and therefore increase meat prices;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the livestock industry also largely depends upon the quality
of animal feeds and therefore a stricter law to control and regulate
the manufacture, importation, sale and distribution of animal feeds is
imperative;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, there were pending before Congress prior to the promulgation
of Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, certain priority
measures vital to the livestock industry.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, as Commander-in-Chief of all
the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No.
1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1 dated September
22, 1972, as amended, in order to effect the desired reforms in the
social, economic, and political structure of the country, do hereby
order and decree that, with the exception of ante-mortem and
post-mortem inspection fees, as well as delivery, stockyard, and
slaughter or fees as may be authorized by the Secretary of Agriculture
and Natural Resources the collection of all other fees and charges
including reinspection fees, inventory fees, certificate of ownership
fees, transfer certificate fees, Mayor's permits, City Hall fees,
custom fees, shipping certificate fees, and check-point charges are
hereby terminated. (See Presidential Decree No. 45 to amend this
paragraph.) chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection of animals and their carcasses
done by duly designed veterinarians in the employ of the national
government shall be valid when the said carcasses are transported from
any accredited slaughterhouse in the Philippines to any trading center
in the country, provided the safeguards for the proper transport of the
meat are undertaken. Any additional post-mortem inspection if deemed
necessary are to be done only at the request of the buyer and only by
veterinarians duly accredited by the National Meat Inspection
Commission to be organized as specified hereunder. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources is hereby authorized
to establish a National Meat Inspection Commission which shall
promulgate, with his approval, specific policies and procedures
governing the flow of livestock and livestock products through the
various stages of marketing and the proper preservation and inspection
of such products. Such policies and procedures shall thereafter have
the effect of law and shall be implemented by the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, by the National Meat Inspection
Commission, by the Bureau of Animal Industry, and by all other agencies
and instrumentalities of the national, provincial, city and municipal
governments.
I also hereby order and decree that Senate Bill No. 627, as hereto
attached and entitled "An Act to Amend the Title and certain sections
of Republic Act Numbered one thousand five hundred fifty-six, otherwise
known as the Livestock and Poultry Feeds Act, and to provide funds
therefor", shall be adopted and approved, as it is hereby adopted,
approved, and made as part of the law of the land.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 30th day of September, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred
and seventy-two.
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