WHEREAS, rapid changes in technology the world over have made it imperative to update the provisions of Republic Act No. 3099, creating the Bureau of Fiber Inspection Service, so as to maximize the returns of fiber producer's investments, establish a more equitable distribution of income and wealth; and impose stricter qualitative and quantitative control by the government of fibers both for export and for local consumption; and

WHEREAS, in view of the expanding social amelioration and economic development programs being undertaken by the government, there is a pressing need for increasing government revenues through income-earning agencies and the expansion and rationalization of abaca and other fiber industries of the country;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution, do hereby order and decree that Republic Act No. 3099 be so amended as to read as follows:

SECTION 1. The Bureau of Fiber Inspection Service is hereby reconstituted and named, "BUREAU OF FIBER DEVELOPMENT AND INSPECTION SERVICE" and shall under the direct supervision of the Department of Trade.

SEC. 2. Upon the issuance of this decree, the Secretary of Trade shall organize the Bureau of Fiber Development and Inspection Service hereinafter referred to as "Bureau," in accordance with the reorganization plan to be submitted for approval by the President. Said Bureau shall have a Director as its head and an Assistant Director to be appointed by the President, with the corresponding salaries of Bureau Directors and Assistant Directors.

SEC. 3. The Bureau shall have its main office in Manila or suburbs and shall have regional offices within and appropriate representative offices outside the Philippines as may be necessary.

SEC. 4. The Bureau shall have the following powers and functions:

1. (a) To maintain and enforce a uniform and standard classification of abaca, and other Philippine commercial fibers intended for export and for local consumption;

2. To determine the official standards for the various commercial fibers that are or may hereafter be produced in the Philippines for local consumption and for exports;
3. To classify grading establishments based on the number of bales pressed per annum;
4. To issue grading permits to persons or entities engaged in the grading and baling of fibers intended for local consumption or for export, after they shall have proven that they possess the necessary qualifications to carry on the work. Such entities shall pay in advance to the Bureau of Fiber Development and Inspection Service an annual fee as follows:

	First Class	P5,000.00
	Second Class	4,000.00
	Third Class	3,000.00
	Fourth Class	1,000.00

Those engaged in buying and selling of Philippine commercial fibers, sorting classifying and bundling of loose Philippine commercial fibers below the category of fourth class establishments shall pay an annual fee of P200.00, payable semi-annually. The said classification shall include planters who buy the share of the tenants from the produce of their plantations. Cooperatives falling under Presidential Decree 175 and Letter of Implementation 23 are exempt from payment of such fee for 10 years from the date of their organization.

Classifiers in duly licensed grading-baling establishments and/or trading establishments, as well as industrial firms engaged in the processing of such fibers into semi-finished or finished products shall pay a minimal fee of Ten Pesos per annum, payable in advance, to the Bureau.

5. To maintain adequate equipment and facilities for the accurate determination of color values in fibers, breaking strength through pull, doubling, abrasion, knotting and other forms of wear and tear; and to uses for fiber for local manufacturers and home industry as a means to stabilize the market and insure more adequate returns for fiber producers;
6. To regulate and control grading and baling establishments;
7. To gather and collate data on fiber balings and shipments by grade, district of production, port of destination and price to guide producers as to the grades in high demand in the local and foreign markets; to observe fiber trading and traffic of loose commercial fibers in the different fiber-producing regions of the country and prevent misdeclaration of origin of production of the different kinds of fibers;
8. To conduct systematic and intensive campaigns towards the improvement of the quality of fibers produced and the methods of production;
9. To make foreign market surveys for the possible establishment or expansion of export markets;
10. To conduct scientific, industrial and economic research on abaca and other fibers with a view to expanding the utilization of those fibers for local and foreign uses;
11. To undertake other activities necessary or incidental to the attainment of the purposes and objectives of the Bureau; and
12. To formulate, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Trade, rules and regulations in order to carry out its functions in accordance with this Decree.

SEC. 5. Grueling, Baling and Inspection of Fibers.—All fibers of which the official standards shall have been established as hereinabove contemplated, shall be graded, baled, inspected, approved and certified as provided in this Decree. No fiber shall be consumed locally or exported from the Philippines in any quantity without first being graded, baled, inspected and certified as already stated above. However, in the case of fiber for domestic utilization, baling may be optional.

SEC. 6. Inspection of Premises of Grading Establishment.—The fiber inspector or other persons acting under his authority shall have free access to the grading and baling sheds and to the warehouses of any grading establishment where the bales are stored within his jurisdiction to conduct inspection for the purpose of satisfying himself as to the propriety of the methods used therein. He shall also see to it that the approved standards are maintained and renewed within a specified period.

SEC. 7. Inspection Fees.—There shall be levied and collected, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Trade, inspection fees by the Bureau or by its authorized agents, an amount not less than P6 nor more than P50 for each bale of fiber inspected and stamped, whether approved or rejected. Different rates of inspection fees may be fixed for other Philippine commercial fibers. Subject to the approval by the Secretary of Trade, inspection fees may be adjusted or modified at any time by the Director of the Bureau within the limits fixed in this Section.

SEC. 8. Special Fund.—Inspection fees which the Bureau is authorized to collect and such other income which may accrue to it shall constitute a special fund to be called "Fiber Development and Inspection Fund" which can only be spent pursuant to a special budget approved by the President as required by Section 7-1(4) of Commonwealth Act No. 246, as amended: Provided, however, That not more than forty percent of the appropriation in any fiscal year shall be spent for personal services, operational expenses, including furniture and equipment: and Provided, further, That unexpended balances shall not revert to the General Fund but shall continue to form part of the special fund available for reappropriation in the ensuing fiscal year.

SEC. 9. Penalties.—The Bureau of Fiber Development and Inspection Service may cause the cancellation of the grading permit issued to a grading-baling establishment if it has been found that such establishment has not conducted its grading and baling operations in accordance with this Decree and the rules and regulations of the Bureau. The individual responsible for the violation of any of the provisions of this Decree, or any rules or regulations of the Bureau, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than six years nor more than ten years or by a line of not less than Five Thousand Pesos nor more than Fifteen Thousand Pesos, or by both fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the Court.

1. Whenever the violation is committed by a corporation, association, partnership or firms, the penalty shall be imposed on the president, partner, manager of principal officer thereof.
2. If the offender is a naturalized citizen, he shall, in addition to the penalty prescribed herein, suffer the penalty of cancellation of his naturalization certificate and such registration in the civil registry and immediate deportation after serving completely his sentence.
3. If the offender is an alien he shall, after serving completely his sentence, suffer an additional penalty of immediate deportation.
4. If the offender is a public officer or employee, he shall in addition to the penalty of imprisonment and fine prescribed herein, be dismissed from office and perpetually disqualified from holding a public office.

SEC. 10. Appropriation.—The sum of two million pesos or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to carry out the purpose of this Decree. Unexpended appropriations as may be available for transfer from the current appropriation of the Philippine Bureau of Standards are transferred to the Bureau of Fiber Development and inspection Service to carry out likewise the purposes of this Decree. Thereafter, the sum necessary for said purposes shall be included in the annual general appropriations Decree.

SEC. 11. Only such personnel of the Bureau of Fiber Inspection Service as may be necessary, including all its pertinent properties, records, assets and liabilities, are hereby transferred to the Bureau. Personnel who may not be absorbed by the new agency may retire under existing retirement laws, if qualified; otherwise, they shall be granted separation pay based on the highest salary received at the rate of one month's salary for every year of service rendered, but not to exceed twelve months.

SEC. 12. Repealing Clause.—All acts, decrees, executive orders, administrative orders, rules and regulations and proclamation or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 13. Effectivity.—This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 1st day of February, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-five.