Section 7
SEC. 7. Section six, except paragraphs (b), (c), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: "SEC. 6. Powers, functions and duties of the Commission.&mdashThe Commission shall administer the acquisition, utilization and distribution of the reparations goods and/or services subject to the provisions of the Reparations Agreement and this Act. In line with the overall economic program and the policy set in this Act, the Commission shall prepare and submit for the approval of the President of the Philippines, upon recommendation of the National Economic Council, (a) a five-year reparations program to be revised yearly as conditions warrant, consisting of a bread list of eligible projects, which shall be strictly priority-rated from the first to the last item in accordance with the system of priorities established by the National Economic Council, of which the first year shall be made as firm as possible and in sufficient detail to form the preliminary basis for the schedule of goods and services called for in Article four of the Reparations Agreement: Provided, That in the reparations program to be adopted priority shall be given to projects already approved by the Commission and already included in the schedule agreed upon between the Philippine and the Japanese Governments and for which procurement orders have already been issued to the end that complete and full payments shall be effected on such projects which have been given priority by the National Economic Council before procurement orders for new projects shall have been issued by the Commission: Provided, further, That no project shall be included in the tentative schedule unless it has previously been priority-rated as part of the five-year reparations program: Provided, further, That the priority rating of the projects in such a program shall determine and control the order or priority of each project in the tentative and agreed schedule which order may not be altered without prior notice to and approval of the corresponding change or amendment by the National Economic Council and the President, and it shall be mandatory on the Reparations Commission to furnish the National Economic Council such information as will enable the National Economic Council to implement this proviso; (b) the amount, extent, and conditions including the terms of payment under which reparations shall be procured, distributed and utilized: (c) the rules and regulations to be followed in administering the procurement, distribution, and utilization of reparations, including the procedure and forms of application thereof. Such reparations program, conditions of procurement, distribution and utilization, and rules and regulations governing the administration, distribution and utilization of reparations shall be duly published once a week for three consecutive weeks, in two newspapers, one in Tagalog and another in English, of general circulation in the Philippines: Provided, however, That the Commission may submit proposed amendments to the rules and regulations, the reparations program and the yearly schedule, as circumstances in the future may require for approval of the President of the Philippines, upon recommendation by the National Economic Council. "In addition, the Commission shall have the following specific powers, functions and duties: "(a) To prepare sufficiently in advance of need, on the basis of the previously approved reparations program and approved applications for reparations goods and services, a tentative schedule of goods and services clearly indicating thereon the name of the applicant end-user and the amount allocated for each project to be procured from Japan every year which, when approved by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the National Economic Council, shall form the basis of consultation between the Philippine and Japanese governments towards the formulation of the schedule called for in Article four of the Reparations Agreement. A copy each, duly certified by the Commission, of the approved applications and studies of the projects included in the tentative schedule shall be transmitted to the Mission together with the tentative schedule. No additional project, and no change involving any item or project in a tentative or agreed schedule, whether by addition, substitution or deletion, whether in kind, quantity, or value, whether partial or total, shall be submitted to the Japanese Government until the same has been endorsed by the National Economic Council and approved by the President in accordance with the foregoing, except in cases where the proposed change involves only the increase or decrease in the amount allocated for a specific item or project listed in the tentative or agreed schedule, and does not involve any addition of, or change in, any other item or project as provided above, and the total of such increase or decrease, whether effected at one time or several times, does not exceed ten per cent of the amount originally allocated for the corresponding item or project in the tentative schedule: Provided, That in any case, any increase or decrease in allocation must be within the limits set forth in paragraph (g) of Section Two of this Act. The agreed schedule, and any addition, substitution or deletion hereinabove referred to, as. may thereafter be made in accordance with this Act and agreed to by the Japanese Government, shall, after its conclusion with the Japanese Government, be immediately published in full, indicating clearly the name of the end-users concerned, for three consecutive times every other day in two newspapers of general circulation, one in Tagalog and one in English by the Commission in the Philippines, and both in English by the Philippine Reparations Mission in Japan. (a-l) To issue procurement orders for the acquisition of reparations goods and/or services on the basis of the agreed schedule. The procurement order shall specify, among others, the following: (1) the name of the applicant end-user; (2) the item in the agreed schedule; (3) the name of the project; (4) the amount of the procurement order; and (5) the date of issuance of the procurement order. The amount of each procurement order shall be strictly in accordance with the allocation for each project as agreed upon between the Philippine and Japanese Governments. The procurement orders for all the projects shall be issued only after the conclusion of the agreed schedule but in no case later than forty-five days thereafter. No procurement order for the acquisition of goods and/or services intended for government agencies shall be issued by the Commission until after it shall have duly ascertained and verified that the agencies concerned have (1) the capacity and have duly provided for the repayment of the goods and/or services, in the event that such agencies are required to pay for same, and (2) the technical capacity to take delivery and utilize efficiently the goods applied for, and unless all the following conditions shall have been previously complied with: (1) the government agency concerned must have previously prepared and submitted to the satisfaction of the Commission a financial, economic and technological study concerning the feasibility of the project together with the complete plans and specifications thereof; (2) the application must have been previously approved by resolution of the Commission; (3) the project must be among those specifically included in the reparations schedule agreed upon and effective between the Philippine and Japanese Governments at the time of the issuance of the procurement order; and (4) the agreed schedule showing the names of the applicant end-users must have been published in accordance with this Act. No procurement order for the acquisition of reparations goods and/or services intended for private parties shall be issued by the Commission until after it shall have duly ascertained and verified that the applicant concerned (1) has enough financial resources and capacity to pay, and (2) has the technical capacity to take delivery and utilize efficiently the goods applied for, and unless all the following conditions shall have been previously complied with: (1) the private applicant end-user concerned must have previously prepared and submitted to the satisfaction of the Commission a financial, economic and technological study of the project together with the complete plans and specifications thereof favorably endorsed as prescribed in Section two of this Act, and a certification from the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Bureau of Commerce, as the case may be, attesting that the applicant end-user concerned is qualified under this Act; (2) the application must have been previously approved by resolution of the Commission, (3) the project concerned must be among those specifically included in the reparations schedule agreed upon and effective between the Philippine and Japanese Governments at the time of issuance of the procurement order: Provided, That no procurement order shall be issued until after the private applicant end-user concerned shall have made a down payment for the project applied for which shall not be less than two-per cent of the value of the project if it doe's not exceed fifty thousand pesos and five per cent if the value of the project exceeds fifty thousand pesos; and (4) the agreed schedule showing the names of the applicant end-users must have been published in accordance with this Act. The private applicant shall be required to submit proof to substantiate that both his financial resources and capacity to pay are commensurate with the value of the goods and/or services applied for, and that he has had experience or has contracted an appropriate number of experts in the particular field. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no procurement order shall take effect until after the lapse of one week after its final publication indicating the name and address of the applicant end-user, the name of the project subject of the procurement order, and the specific item in the reparations schedule agreed upon and effective between the Philippine and Japanese Governments at the time of issuance of the procurement order, three successive times every other day in two newspapers of general circulation, one in Tagalog and one in English, in the Philippines, and both in English in Japan, by the Commission and the Mission, respectively. As required herein, the Commission shall publish each and every procurement order within one week after its issuance, and the Mission, within one week after receipt of the procurement order. Any procurement order which does not wholly comply with all of the above requirements shall ipso facto be considered null and void, if such non-compliance has been through the fault or negligence of the applicant end-user. After the procurement order for reparations intended for a specific end-user has been properly issued in accordance with the foregoing, such procurement order may not be revoked or suspended except when the end-user in whose favor the procurement order has been issued as adjudged, after due investigation wherein he has been given the opportunity to be heard and represented by counsel, to be disqualified or found guilty of fraud in connection with his application under this Act: Provided, That pending final decision, the procurement of the goods, except actual delivery thereof to the end-user concerned, shall not be suspended: Provided, however, That an end-user who has been found disqualified by the Commission may appeal to the President within thirty days from the receipt of the Commission's decision. The decision of the President which must be made not later than thirty days after the submission of the appeal to him, shall be final, and shall become effective upon receipt thereof by the end-user concerned. In case the end-user fails to appeal, the decision of the Commission shall become final immediately after the lapse of the period for appeal. A party who has been adjudged disqualified shall forfeit the down payment without prejudice to any action, criminal or otherwise, which may be taken against him by the proper government agency. The Commission is hereby required to render a decision on any complaint submitted to it regarding the qualifications of an end-user within ninety days from the date of the formal submission of such complaint in writing. "(d) To provide for the care, custody, protection and proper delivery to end-users of all such reparations goods as provided in this Act. In the performance of this function, the Commission and the Mission together shall endeavor to have the end-user inspect the goods with the assistance, of a reputable establishment engaged in marine cargo survey and superintendence doing business in the Philippines, the cost for whose services shall form part of the value of the goods procured, accept them, and provide for their expeditious shipment from Japan to the point of installation in the Philippines in order to minimize, if not altogether eliminate, storage costs, extra handling costs, deterioration and damage in transit. "(h-1) To utilize such portion of the annual reparations payments from Japan corresponding to the government sector as may be necessary to guarantee repayment of the loans extended by any Japanese financial institution or institutions for the financing of the Marikina River Multipurpose, the telecommunications, and railroad expansion and improvement projects as may be agreed upon between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of Japan: Provided, That the authority provided in this paragraph shall be exercised only to guarantee loans authorized by law: Provided, further, That procurement of goods under said loans shall be in the manner provided for in the procurement of any reparations goods by any government agency as provided for in this Act, any provision of Republic Act Numbered Two thousand six hundred twelve to the contrary notwithstanding."