Administration—Powers, Organization and Management.
Section 6
SEC. 6. Administration—Powers, Organization and Management. — The powers, organization and management of the Administration shall be as follows: a) Powers. — In order to effectively carry out its functions and responsibilities as provided in this Act, the Administration shall have the following powers: (i) To institute the negotiable warehouse receipt or quedan system in palay, com and other grains not later than two years after the approval of this Act. Pending the institution of said quedan system, however, the Administration shall implement the price support by procuring grains at the announced floor price in such quantities and in such places as may be necessary: Provided, That no such grains shall be procured unless they are stored in a warehouse bonded by the Government Service Insurance System under a bond of not less than thirty-three and one-third (33-1/3%) percent of the value of the stocks of said grains: Provided, however, That in areas where there are no bonded warehouses or adequate space in bonded warehouses, the Administration shall start to purchase grains at the beginning of every harvest and for this purpose shall send its men and facilities to the places of harvest where the farmers can directly sell their harvested grains: Provided, further, That the Government Service Insurance System may call upon private bonding companies or pool of bonding companies to participate in the coverage: Provided, however, That the Administration shall take measures to expedite the establishment of bonded warehouses in areas where they are needed but do not exist: Provided, further, That such stocks shall be fully insured against loss due to fire: And provided, finally. That the Administration shall not sell its stocks below procurement cost, including the expenses incurred in the handling, hauling, storing, drying, transportation and distribution thereof and an allowance determined by the Council for shrinkage and sweepings, (ii) To maintain and manage a national buffer stock the quantity and locations of which shall be determined by the Council; (iii) To own, lease, operate or otherwise hold lands, buildings, equipment and such other immovable properties as may be necessary to carry out its functions and to sell the same: Provided, That the Administration shall not acquire agricultural land proper as defined in the Public Land Act for the production of grains; (iv) To enter into, make, perform and carry out contracts of every class and description necessary or incidental to the realization of its functions with any person, firm or corporation, private or public, or initiate contracts and/or agreements in behalf of the industry between the Philippine Government and any foreign government or institution; (v) To oversee and coordinate with the grains industry development program the activities of the Rice and Corn Board pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act Numbered Three thousand eighteen; (vi) To inspect palay, rice, com and corn grits stored by any person, partnership, corporation or association, for purposes of taking inventory and record of such commodities, and to enter the premises thereof by the use of reasonable means; (vii) To order the seizure, whenever there is cornering or hoarding, as may be defined by the Council, of rice and corn or other grains or whenever there is an artificial scarcity of supply of such a commodity in the consumer market and an unwarranted increase in the price thereof, of the hoarded commodity and its public sale in such quantity as may be needed to stabilize the supply in the area of scarcity and restore prices to normal levels; (viii) To effect a transition of standards in measurement of grains from volume to weight, and in metric system; (ix) To coordinate the activities of all government agencies engaged in the study, research, and promotion of measures designed to improve the processing and marketing standards of rice, corn and other grains, such as the methods of drying, handling, hauling, storage, milling, packaging, distributing and shipping these grains and their by-products; (x) To call upon and/or deputize any official of such government agencies as may be necessary to assist the Administration in carrying out its functions; (xi) To register, license and supervise warehouses and mills; and to prescribe, impose and collect fees, charges and/or surcharges in licensing and regulating warehouses and mills; (xii) To license, impose and collect fees and charges in the private importation of rice and corn for the purpose of equalizing the selling price of the imported grains with the normal prevailing domestic prices for such grains: Provided, That no importer shall sell the imported grains at less than the selling price of grains of equivalent commercial grade in the domestic market established by the Council but in no case higher than one peso and twenty-five centavos (P1.25) per kilogram for milled rice and ninety centavos (P0.90) for corn grit, such selling price to be determined by the Council in such a manner as to allow reasonable profit to the importer. In the exercise of this power, the Council after consultation with the Office of the President shall first certify to a grain shortage that may occur as a result of a shortfall in production, a critical demand-supply gap, a state of calamity, or other verified reasons that may warrant the need for importation. The Administration shall allocate import quotas among certified importers: Provided, That if the retail price of grains in any two successive months shall rise by twenty-five (25%) per cent or over, the Administration shall undertake the direct importation of grains and the distribution thereof through cooperatives and other marketing channels: And provided, finally, That in case of extreme hardships to the people brought about by widespread disorders, natural calamities or disasters, such as storms, earthquakes, long drought, and the like, which threaten the occurrence of famine due to lack of rice and corn or other grains, and these are duly certified to by the Council, the Government, to relieve the people of these hardships, may directly import these grains to be distributed at prices to be determined by the Council regardless of any existing floor prices determined under this paragraph; (xiii) To establish rules and regulations governing the export of rice, corn and other grains and to license, impose and collect fees and charges for such exportations at rates to be determined by the Council; (xiv) To register, license and supervise private regional grain corporations that may be established to engage in the business of providing goods and services in support of the different activities involved in the production, processing, marketing and trading of grains and to prescribe, impose and collect fees, charges and/or surcharges in licensing and regulating the operations of such corporations or cooperatives; (xv) To register, license and supervise persons natural or juridical engaged in the retail business of rice and corn and to impose and collect nominal fees to be determined by the Council; (xvi) To register, license and supervise persons, natural or juridical, engaged in the processing or manufacture of goods where rice or corn or other grains are used as ingredients in the manufacture of starch, oil, and animal feeds in which case it shall impose the nominal fees to be determined by the Council; (xvii) To promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Such rules and regulations shall take effect fifteen days following the publication twice in at least two daily newspapers of national circulation; (xviii) To adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal which shall be judicially noticed; to sue and be sued; and otherwise to do and perform any and all acts, and to exercise any and all powers as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Act or are as essential to the proper conduct of its operations. b) Organization.— The Administration shall be governed by the Council which shall create and administer, through an Administrator as hereinafter provided, the necessary staff and line units of the Administration, whose personnel shall be exempt from the rules and regulations of the Wage and Position Classification Office. c) Management.— The management of the Administration shall be vested in an Administrator who shall, upon recommendation of the Council, be appointed by the President of the Philippines within sixty (60) days from the approval of this Act, and who shall direct and manage the affairs of the Administration, subject to the supervision of the Council. The Administrator shall hold office for a term of four (4) years, except when earlier removed for cause, or until his successor shall have been appointed and qualified. There shall be two deputy administrators, one for rice operations and the other for corn and other grains, appointed by the Council, who shall assist the Administrator in the performance of his functions. The deputy Administrator for Rice Operations shall be a person of recognized competence and experience in the production, processing and marketing aspects of rice, and the Deputy for Corn & other Grains Operations shall be one of recognized competence and experience in the production, processing, marketing and trading aspects of corn and other grains. Either one of the Deputy Administrators, upon designation by the Council, shall perform the duties and exercise the powers and functions of the Administrator in the absence of the latter. The Administrator shall appoint, remove, suspend or otherwise discipline, with the consent of the Council, other officers and employees of the Administration, and shall perform such other functions as may be assigned and delegated to him by the Council. The Administrator and the Deputy Administrators shall be natural-born citizens of the Philippines, not less than thirty-five (35) years of age, of proven honesty and integrity and of recognized managerial competence. The Administrator shall receive a compensation of sixty thousand (P60,000) pesos per annum. The Deputy Administrators shall each receive salary to be determined by the Council but not exceeding thirty-six thousand (P36,000) pesos per annum.