Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

DECLARATION OF POLICY AND OBJECTIVES

SECTION 1. It is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress to facilitate the sound technological, social and economic development of Philippine agriculture in proper balance with the rest of the national economy and accordingly, to provide adequate means and facilities (a) for collecting, compiling and making available for all purposes, adequate statistical data and information on all aspects of agriculture and natural resources and (b) for undertaking economic researches in agriculture, providing a rational basis thereby for its sound economic and technological development from the standpoint of rural welfare and the national economy.

SEC. 2. To implement the above-stated policy and realize the overall objective thereof, a Bureau of Agricultural Economics, hereinafter referred to as the Bureau is hereby created.

SEC. 3. Agricultural statistics for purposes of this Act shall include statistics of natural resources pertaining to mines, lands, fisheries, forestry and associated industries or occupations.

POWERS, FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF THE BUREAU

SEC. 4. The Bureau of Agricultural Economics shall have the authority and responsibility to coordinate all statistical activities of all bureaus, corporate agencies, offices and divisions under the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources and shall have immediate authority and responsibility for the collection, tabulation, analysis and official presentation and release of all statistics of agriculture pertaining to crops, livestock and livestock products and other related statistics.

SEC. 5. The statistics of mines, lands, fisheries and forestry shall be collected, assembled and compiled, respectively, by the Bureau of Mines, Bureau of Lands, Philippine Fisheries Commission and Bureau of Forestry: Provided, however, That the methods to be used in collecting, assembling and compiling statistics by these bureaus shall be approved by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics which shall submit them for final approval to the Office of Statistical Coordination and Standards of the National Economic Council, and that each of these bureaus shall submit quarterly its compilations to the Bureau of Agricultural Economics: Provided, further, That the Bureau of Agricultural Economics shall collect any original data pertaining to any of the natural resources if it so deems it necessary in answer to any particular need that may arise: Provided finally, That such original data on natural resources shall not be the same as to their nature, specific place of origin and methods of collection, as those already collects the bureau concerned.

SEC. 6. The Bureau shall compile agricultural data from agricultural attaches in the foreign service and also provide same with domestic agricultural information that may needed for dissemination abroad.

SEC. 7 The Bureau shall undertake economic researches and studies in agriculture relative to the economics of farm production including farm organization and management; land economics and agricultural development; labor requirement, farm practices and mechanization; farm costs and returns; agricultural investment, finance, credit, taxation and all factors affecting the success or failure of farm business; and also relative to the rural welfare and agricultural marketing, including prices, foreign trade, transportation, storage and warehousing, food supplies and consumption, farm labor and wages, farm incomes, farm population, rural organization, agricultural relations, laws and legislation.

SEC. 8. The Bureau of Agricultural Economics shall undertake such other activities as the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources may direct within the fields of agricultural statistics and economics.

SEC. 9. The Bureau shall make and publish periodical forecasts of the production for the current year of at least ten selected farm products.

SEC.10. The Bureau shall make and publish final annual estimates of agricultural production by crops, number of each kind of livestock, types of product, regions and provinces.  The Bureau shall also publish, upon completion, of its studies in the form of reports, bulletins, pamphlets or other official publications.

SEC. 11. The collection of data and information by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics may be secured by any technical means or method that is deemed valid and proper, from farmers, individuals, or institutions in rural areas or elsewhere.  Such farmers, individuals or institutions to whom a questionnaire or form is delivered shall be required to submit information or accomplish the form or questionnaire personally or cause the same to be accomplished by their duly authorized agent or representative.

SEC. 12.  Information obtained from farmers, individuals and institutions will be published only in statistical form.  Information pertaining to any single individual, or small groups of individuals, and in particular, the names of all farmers, individuals, and institutions furnishing such information, will be strictly confidential, shall not be divulged to any other government department or to any unauthorized person and may not be used us evidence in the prosecution of any individual or institution, for tax evasion or any other proceeding in any court of law.  The Bureau shall take all proper steps to ensure that such confidential treatment of all data communicated to it can be guaranteed absolutely; and to build up confidence among its respondents that it is so.  In particular, detailed records of individual responses shall be destroyed after (some period to be decided) from the date of collection; excepting only such skeleton records (known technically as sample frames and listing) as may be required for drawing of samples with rotation, and for temporal comparisons.

SEC. 13. The Bureau of Agricultural Economics shall have authority to enter into an understanding or agreement with any other government bureau, agency, or office whereby the collection of certain types of data and information will be facilitated and made less costly, at the desired degree of reliability.

SEC. 14. The Bureau of Agricultural Economics shall serve as the agency for the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, in evaluating, periodically and otherwise, any project or program under the different bureaus and offices of the said Department: Provided, however, That such projects or programs will be in direct line with the overall objective of attaining agricultural development to increase and improve output, productivity and rural well-being: Provided, further, That the evaluation of any project or program shall have been requested by the bureau or office to which the project o program pertains.

SEC. 15. The Bureau shall develop a system of prom the economic education of the farmers in collaborate the Bureau of Agricultural Extension through the personnel and facilities of the latter.

SEC. 16. The Bureau shall make studies and recommendations for the adoption of measures or legislation calculated to improve agricultural conditions and increase the efficiency and productivity of Philippine agriculture.

ORGANIZATION OF THE BUREAU

SEC 17. The Bureau of Agricultural Economics shall be organized, using the present Agricultural Economics Division as its nucleus.

SEC. 18. The Bureau of Agricultural Economics, for its efficient operation and adequate coverage of' the agricultural economy, including related economic sectors, shall be organized according to a scheme in which there shall be a director and two assistant directors.

SEC. 19. The director as head of the Bureau shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon the advice and consent of the Commission on Appointments, on the basis primarily of his proven administrative ability and recognized competence in the field of agricultural economics.  He shall have the full title of Director of Agricultural Economics and shall have a salary range of 62 for purposes of position classification by the Wage and Position Classification Office.

SEC. 20. The two assistant directors are Assistant Director for Agricultural Economics Research and Assistant Director for Agricultural Estimates and Statistics.  Each Assistant director shall be appointed by the President of Philippines upon the advice and consent of the Commission Appointments on the basis primarily of his competence or excellent record as an economist or statistician, as the case may be.  An assistant director have a salary range of 57 for purposes of position classification by the Wage and Position Classification Office.

SEC. 21. The functions, personnel, funds, supplies, and equipment of the present Agricultural Economics Division shall be transferred to the Bureau upon its organization.

SEC. 22. Any law or Provision of law, executive or administrative order, rules and regulations found contrary to or inconsistent with any provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.

SEC. 23. The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall with the recommendation of the Director of Agricultural Economics, promulgate such rules and regulations as will effectively implement the provisions of this Act.

PENAL PROVISIONS

SEC 24. Any person who fails or refuses to give the information required under Section eleven of this Act, or who fails or refuses to accomplish, mail or deliver the form or questionnaire receive by him to the Bureau of Agricultural Economics within thirty days from receipt by him; or any person, who, in accomplishing any such questionnaire or form, knowingly gives data or information which shall prove to be materially untrue in any particular; or any person who signs such questionnaire or form after it has been accomplished in the knowledge that it is untrue in any particular, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than six hundred pesos or by imprisonment for not more than six months or by both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.

APPROPRIATION

SEC. 25. In addition to the amount of the current appropriation for the Agricultural Economics Division of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, there is hereby appropriated the sum of one million five hundred thousand pesos out of any funds of the National Treasury for the operation and maintenance of the Bureau.

EFFECTIVITY

SEC. 26. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, June 22, 1963.