Presidential Decree No. 1842 (PD 1842) — Amending Certain Provisions of Presidential Decree No. 1841 and Creating a Coconut Reserve Fund
WHEREAS, recent adverse development in the world market
situation have threatened the viability of the coconut industry and affected the
livelihood of more than six million farmers and workers;
WHEREAS, in immediate response to these developments, the
President created under Executive Order No. 747 dated 19 November 1981, the
Special Committee on the Philippine Coconut Industry, composed of the members of
Cabinet and of the Batasang Pambansa, both from the majority and minority
parties, to review and reassess existing policies, practices and institutions
relatives to the Philippine coconut industry, which in turn created a Sub
Committee to study these matters;
WHEREAS, this Sub Committee of the Special Committee has now
submitted its recommendations to effect a more realistic system of determining
the amount of assessment on coconuts and its products in order to
provided urgent relief to coconut farmers while at the same time
ensuring continued financial support to on-going socio-economic and
developmental programs for coconut farmers;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby
decree and order the following:
SECTION 1. Section 1 and 2, Article III of Presidential
Decree No. 1468, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 1841 are hereby further
amended to read as follows:
“SECTION 1. Coconut Industry Stabilization Fund. —
To ensure the viability and stability of the coconut industry as a whole, the
copra exporters, the oil millers, the refiners, the desiccators and other
end-users of copra or its equivalent in other coconut products are hereby
assessed an amount equivalent to a specific percentage of the prevailing copra
equivalent of the world market price of coconut oil which shall be imposed on
copra resecada or its equivalent in other coconut products delivered to and/or
purchased by them. This specific percentage shall be equal to the average
percentage assessment derived in the immediately preceding quarter as determined
by the Philippine Coconut Authority in accordance with the following
schedule:
World Market Price
Percentage
of Coconut Oil
(US $/lb.)
Assessment
(%)
Below
20
0
20
to
29
11
.30
to
34
12
35
to
39
14
40
to
44
16
45
to
49
19
50
to
above
23
Provided, however, that no assessment shall be imposed and collected
if the average world market price of coconut oil for the immediately preceding
quarter falls below US twenty (20¢) cents per pound.
The assessment shall be collected by the Philippine Coconut Authority and
shall constitute the Coconut Industry Stabilization Fund.”
“SECTION 2. The collections of the Coconut Industry
Stabilization Fund shall be utilized to support socio-economic and developmental
programs for the benefit of the coconut farmers, in particular, and the coconut
industry, as a whole, in a manner to be determined by the Philippine Coconut
Authority subject to the approval of the President.”
SEC. 2. A new section to be designated as Section 2-A is
hereby added after Section 2, Article III of the same Decree to read as
follows:
“SECTION 2-A. Coconut Reserve Fund. To ensure
continued financial support to critical socio-economic and developmental
programs mentioned in Section 1 hereof in times of depressed world prices for
coconut, a Coconut Reserve Fund is hereby constituted from assessments in excess
of P50 per one hundred (100) kilos of copra resecada or its equivalent in other
coconut products, provided, however, that no disbursements therefrom
may be made unless the applicable assessment in specific percentage falls to
eleven percent (11%) or below as defined and computed in Section 1
hereof.
The use and application of disbursements from the Coconut Reserve Fund shall
be made in manner to be determined by the Philippine Coconut Authority subject
to the approval of the President.”
SEC. 3. Repealing Clause. All laws, executive and
administrative orders, rules and regulations inconsistent with the foregoing
provisions are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.
SEC. 4. Separability Clause. If any provision of
this Decree is held unconstitutional, the same shall apply only to that
provision and the remainder hereof remains valid.
SEC. 5. Effectivity. This Decree shall take effect
immediately.
Done in the City of Manila, this 16th day of January, in the year of our
Lord, nineteen hundred eighty-two.
(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President of the
Philippines
By the President:
(Sgd.) JUAN C. TUVERA
Presidential Executive
Assitant
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).
