WHEREAS, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the economy will not afford relying much longer on petroleum as the primary source of motive fuel because of exorbitant costs and supply uncertainties;

WHEREAS, motive fuel must continue to be supplied in order to ensure the lifeblood of the entire Philippine economic system and to enable agricultural products to reach their markets, thereby maintaining rural employment levels and the continuous flow of purchasing power to the rural areas;

WHEREAS, it is desirable to accelerate to shift in energy utilization from depletable fuels to regenerative forms, such as alcohol from large professionally-managed energy farms;

WHEREAS, the technical feasibility of alcohol use as a  motor fuel has been amply demonstrated in extensive experiments conducted over the last few years;

WHEREAS, alcohol usage has been severely disadvantaged by a high revenue tax on alcohol which has aggravated its price relationship with other traditional fuels like gasoline;

WHEREAS, alcohol production and use is a complex agro-industrial operation whose initial planning and implementation must necessarily span in different disciplines and cut across the responsibility spheres of different ministries and government agencies;

WHEREAS, there is a growing consensus that government cannot and must not lose time in giving impetus to an immediate and concerted implementation of this program;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby create an Inter-Agency Committee for accelerating the implementation of a National Alcohol Program composed of the following members:

Ministry of Energy Chairman Philippine Sugar Commissioner Co-Chairman Minister of Finance Vice-Chairman Minister of Agriculture Member Minister of Natural Resources Member Minister of Industry Member Minister of Land Reform Member

The objective of the Inter-Agency Committee is to produce and recommend a comprehensive National Alcogas Program that would be ready for immediate implementation upon approval by the President.

It is necessary, therefore, that the physical details, implementing schedules, and identities of implementors be included in the total program.

The following agencies are further given these respective tasks:

1. The Ministry of Energy to plan, and prepare to install, the requisite logistical hardware and infrastructure to enable the alcohol output to be moved from the distillery site, to the blending stations, all the way to the pump stations with the minimum disruption.

Coordination with agencies in charge of alcohol production will be necessary to optimize on locating new logistic installations relative to plantation sites and vice-versa.

2. The Ministries of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Natural Resources, as well as the Philippine Sugar Commission, are to submit a prioritized listing of agricultural lands that are best suited for and can be made available for alcohol plantation at the least economic disturbance to other agricultural sectors, and to accompany this listing with a schedule of availability.
   
   
3. The PhilSuCom to accelerate the alcohol projects at Hinoba-an in the Visayas and Cagayan Valley in Luzon, and to submit reports on the progress and other implementing details of both projects. The PhilSuCom will also prepare an economic cost study of sugar-based alcohol production for the information and reference of the Committee.
   
   
4. The Ministry of Agriculture to study the technical aspects and problems of alcohol production from corn and cassava. The Ministry will also prepare an economic cost analysis of alcohol production from cassava and corn for the Committee's information.
   
   
5. The Ministry of Industry to start planning the design and manufacture of car and truck engines that will accommodate this programmed shift to alcohol fuels, with enough flexibility for dual firing, if necessary. The Ministry shall also plan on incorporating this into the progressive car and truck manufacturing programs.
   
   
6. The Ministry of Finance to make recommendations, in consultation with PhilSuCom, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Agriculture, on the extent of reduction or elimination of sales taxes on alcohol, to enable alcogas to compete effectively with gasoline prices at the pump stations.

This Committee is further authorized to constitute itself into smaller sub-committees or to call upon any person or institution for the purpose of properly planning highly-specialized aspects of the alcohol implementation program, as it may deem appropriate.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 6th day of July, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Nine.

SOURCE: CD ASIA