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