AN ACT SUSPENDING THE COLLECTION OF THE COCONUT CONSUMERS STABILIZATION FUND LEVY AND SIMILAR LEVIES AND PROVIDING IN CONNECTION THEREWITH APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO CUSHION THE ADVERSE EFFECTS THEREOF ON THE COCONUT FARMERS.

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 1699
• Sections: 9

Preamble

WHEREAS, recent world political and economic developments have created a situation which directly or indirectly influenced the drastic decline in the prices of copra, coconut oil and their by-products;

WHEREAS, the drastic decline of coconut prices has substantially eroded the income of the coconut farmers;

WHEREAS, it is imperative that measures be adopted which would cushion and minimize the decline in the income of a substantial portion of the citizenry of the country;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby decree and order the following:

Section 1 Suspension of the Collection of Levies.

SECTION 1. Suspension of the Collection of Levies.—Subject to the provisions of this Act, the collection of the Coconut Consumers Stabilization Fund (CCSF) and the Coconut Industry Development Fund (CIDF) levies for exportable coconuts, copra, coconut oil, dessicated coconut and their respective byproducts and derivatives (hereinafter collectively referred to as "coconut products") are hereby suspended and the burden thereof shall be shifted to the exporters of such coconut products as herein elsewhere provided.

The suspension of the collection of the CCSF and the CIDF levies herein prescribed shall take effect forty-five days after the effectivity of this Act, or as soon as the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) shall have ascertained and collected the assessable levies on existing deliveries and/or purchases of coconut products, whichever occurs first, and such suspension shall continue until the incumbent President shall have ascertained that the need for such suspension shall have ceased.

Section 2 Financing of Development Projects for the Benefit of the Coconut Farmers.

SEC. 2. Financing of Development Projects for the Benefit of the Coconut Farmers.—To insure the continuance and the viability of the different developmental projects for the benefit of the coconut farmers that are being financed from out of the collections of the CCSF levy as identified and prescribed by Presidential Decree No. 1468, Article III, Section 2, the exporters of coconut products shall pay, as part of their cost of operations, such amount as may be necessary or required to assure the adequate and continuous financing of such developmental projects including the cost and expenses incurred in effecting the rationalization of the oil milling industry as prescribed by Letter of Instructions No. 926, the provisions of which are herein incorporated as parts of this Act.

The amount required to finance the said developmental projects shall be determined and prescribed by a Committee of Developmental Projects (CDP) composed of one representative each nominated and designated by the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), the Philippine Coconut Producers Federation (COCOFED), the Coconut Industry Development Fund, and the Coconut Industry Investment Fund. The amount determined and prescribed by the Committee of Developmental Projects shall be allocated proportionately among the different exporters of coconut products on the basis of their respective export tonnage by a Committee of Exporters (CE) composed of one representative each nominated and designated by the Philippine Coconut Oil Producers Association, Inc. (PCOPA); The Philippine Copra Exporters Association, Inc. (PCEA); the Association of Philippine Coconut Dessicators (APCD); the cooperative endeavor contemplated by Letter of Instructions No. 926; the bank acquired for the benefit of the coconut farmers under P.D. No. 775; and the Philippine Coconut Authority.

The members of the Committee shall elect a Chairman from among themselves.

Section 3 Collection and Administration.

SEC. 3. Collection and Administration.—The Philippine Coconut Authority shall effect collection of the assessable payments under such rules and regulations as it may prescribe from each exporter under the procedure presently followed in the collection of the CCSF levy and subject to adjustment on the basis of outturn reports submitted to, and audited by the Central Bank. The amount thus collected shall be deposited, owned and administered in accordance with provisions of P.D. 1468, provided that the Committee of Developmental Projects shall allocate the collections among the different developmental projects for the benefit of the coconut farmers. Any amount paid by an exporter shall be considered as a necessary business expense as part of its cost of operations and shall, to that extent, be allowed as a tax deductible expense and exempt from the donor's tax.

Section 4 Exportation of Coconut Products.

SEC. 4. Exportation of Coconut Products.— Hereafter, no exportation of coconut products shall be allowed unless the Philippine Coconut Authority shall have certified that the assessable collection on the proposed export has been paid by the exporter.

Section 5 Government Cooperation.

SEC. 5. Government Cooperation.—The Philippine Coconut Authority, the Central Bank of the Philippines, the Bureau of Customs, and all other governmental agencies and instrumentalities are hereby directed to adopt such measures and safeguards as may be necessary or required to fully effect and implement the provisions of this Act. For that purpose, such governmental agencies and instrumentalities shall coordinate the adoption of such measures and safeguards with the Committees herein created.

Section 6 Repealing Clause.

SEC. 6. Repealing Clause.—All laws, executive and administrative orders, rules and regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

Section 7 Separability Clause.

SEC. 7. Separability Clause.—If any provisions under this Act is unconstitutional, the same shall apply only to that provision and the remainder hereby remains valid.

Section 8 Effectivity.

SEC. 8. Effectivity.—This Act shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila this 27 day of May in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS

President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) JOAQUIN T. VENUS, JR.

President Assistant