WHEREAS, under Presidential Decree No. 726, the National Grains Authority is given the exclusive authority to import wheat grains without customs duties, taxes and other charges;

WHEREAS, the above tax exemption privilege is no longer needed because of the adequacy of supply of palay and its substitutes;

WHEREAS, the withdrawal of the said tax exemption, which in effect is a subsidy to foreign wheat producers, will generate additional funds to finance the varied undertakings of the government;

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 of Presidential Decree No. 726 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Section 1. Any provision of law, order or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding, the National Grains Authority (NGA) shall have the authority to determine and import exclusively, from whatever source abroad, the annual wheat grain requirements of the country: Provided, That the NGA shall include wheat grain in its total grains policy in coordination with the rice and corn policies: Provided, further, That the NGA shall have the authority to negotiate, for and in behalf of the Republic of the Philippines, the importation of wheat grains on a government-to-government basis; and Provided, finally, That the importation of wheat grains shall be subject to customs duties, taxes and other charges."

SEC. 2. Any provision of law, decree, order or regulation inconsistent or contrary with the provisions of this decree are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 3. This decree shall take effect upon its approval.

Done in the City of Manila, this 4th day of March, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen hundred and seventy-six.