Presidential Decree No. 623 (PD 623) — Further Amending Presidential Decree No. 232, as Amended
WHEREAS, the recent international events which unleashed
economic dislocations on all sectors of the national economy including
that of the coconut industry indicate an imperative need for the
Government to pursue through a single agency definite development plans
in the coconut industry aimed at improving the economic status of the
coconut and other palm oil farmers and assuring domestic consumers with a
continuous supply of coconut-based products at reasonable prices; and
WHEREAS, to insure that the aforesaid objectives and
purposes are pursued there is need to re-organize the Governing Board of
the Philippine Coconut Authority by including in its composition the
required management and financial expertise and directing the
implementation of definite plans calculated to promote the growth and
development to the coconut industry:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution,
do hereby decree the further amendment of Presidential Decree No. 232,
as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 4 of Presidential Decree No. 232, as
amended by Presidential Decree No. 271, is hereby amended and changed to
read as follows:
"SEC. 4. Governing Board. — The corporate powers
and duties of the Authority shall be vested in, and exercised by a
Board, to be composed of seven members, to wit: The Chairman, who shall
act as the Chairman of the Board, and the President, both of the
Philippine National Bank, who shall be ex-officio members, and the
remaining five members, to be appointed by the President, from the
recommendations of the following:
Three members recommended by the Philippine Coconut
Producers Federation;
One member recommended by the United Coconut Associations of
the Philippines; and
One member recommended by the owner and operator of the
hybrid coconut seednut farm authorized to be established under Section
3-B hereof.
"A representative of foreign organizations, associations or
entities, or a foreign expert, of recognized competence and experience
in the development and production of hybrid coconut palm tree shall act
as an adviser and participate in the deliberations of the Board: Provided,
That said adviser shall not be entitled to vote on any matter taken by
the Board.
"The Board shall elect from among their members a Vice-Chairman
who shall assume the functions of the Chairman, whenever the latter is
absent or incapacitated.
"The Board shall meet at least once a month and the members
shall each receive, for each meeting actually attended, a per diem of
two hundred pesos: Provided, That such per diems shall not
exceed one thousand pesos during any month for each member.
"The Board shall have the following additional powers and
duties:
To direct and manage the affairs of the Authority;
To prepare and adopt an annual budget which, notwithstanding
any law or regulation to the contrary, shall not be subject to approval
by the Budget Commission; and
To establish the internal organization of the Authority and
fix the salaries and other compensation of its officers and employees;"
SEC. 2. Section 5 of the same decree is hereby amended and
changed to read as follows:
"SEC. 5. Personnel. — The chief executive officer of
the Authority shall be the Administrator assisted by such Deputy
Administrators as the Board may prescribe, all of whom shall be
appointed, or removed, by the Board and delegated with such powers and
duties as it may prescribe.
"The Board may establish such departments as it may be convenient
for the discharge of its duties: Provided, That only one
agronomical research department shall be created with the following
responsibilities:
To operate and maintain one central research station and such
sub-stations as the Board may prescribe and, for that purpose, all
research stations and centers, facilities and equipment operated by any
governmental agency or instrumentality in the researches on genetical,
agronomical and disease control relating to coconut culture are all
hereby transferred to the Authority;
In coordination and cooperation with the hybrid coconut seed
farm herein authorized to be established, to coconut genetical and
agricultural researches and investigations for the improvement of the
coconut palm productivity but in no case shall it engage in the
production of seednuts;
To train people in the proper methods of planting and caring
of the hybrid coconut palm tree;
To conduct scientific researches and investigations in the
control and elimination of "kadang-kadang" and other diseases of
coconut; and
To compile scientific information and disseminate results of
agronomical researches and investigations on coconut productivity.
"All officers and employees of the Authority shall be selected and
appointed by the Board on the basis solely of merit and fitness and are
not subject to the provisions of the Civil Service Law and Rules as
well as the regulations of the Wage and Position Classification Office."
SEC. 3. Upon effectivity of this Decree, the Board of the
Authority as presently constituted shall cease to exist.
SEC. 4. This Decree shall take effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila, this 26th day of December in the
year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.
(Sgd.)
FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President of the Philippines
By the President:
(Sgd.)
ALEJANDRO MELCHOR
Executive Secretary
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).
