WHEREAS, in the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the republic of the Philippines entered into on September 11, 1946, the United States agreed to sell and grant and the Philippines agreed to buy and accept all that property owned by the United States on the effective date thereof but surplus to its needs in the Philippines, with the exceptions and limitations therein set forth;

WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 33 authorizes the President of the Philippines to create or designate an agency or instrumentality to accept and administer the surplus properties acquired under said Agreement, and to sell or dispose of so much of such surplus properties as may not be needed by the Government, its subdivisions and instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations, under such terms and conditions as may be deemed most advantageous;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Manuel Roxas, President of the Philippines , by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and section 2 of Republic Act No. 33, do hereby create and constitute a commission to be known as the surplus Property Commission which shall be composed of a Chairman and two members to be appointed by the President.

The Surplus property Commission shall have the following powers, functions and duties:

(a) To accept all the properties sold and granted and those that shall hereafter be sold and granted to the Philippines pursuant to the Agreement between the United States of America and the Philippines entered into on September 11, 1946 ;

(b) To provide for the care, custody, and protection of all such properties;

(c) To administer all the properties acquired under the said Agreement and to sell or dispose of so much of such properties as may not be needed by the Government, its subdivisions and instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations, under such terms and conditions as may be deemed most advantageous. To promote the rehabilitation of industry, business, and agriculture, sales shall be made to as large a number of people as possible and preference or priority shall be given in the sales to local manufacturers, businessmen, and farmers. Sales with a consideration of over P100,000 shall not be final, until approved by the President.

(d) To appropriate by a special budget and with the approval of the President from the proceeds of the sales of such properties the necessary amount or amounts for the administration and custody of such property and for the operating expenses of the Commission.

(e) To appoint and fix the salaries of the executive officer of the Commission and the heads of the service units thereof, and upon the recommendation of the heads of service units concerned, to appoint and fix the salaries of all other officials and subordinate personnel of the Commission;

(f) To enter into contracts and to sue and be sued;

(g) To submit to the President a weekly report of sales and transactions.

The different bases wherein surplus properties are located shall, in so far as practicable, be provided with parallel organizations. Each base shall have a local committee composed of one member from the locality and two other members.

All departments, bureaus, and offices of the Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, including the corporations owned or controlled by the Government and the local governments shall extend, upon the request of the Commission, such assistance and facilities as the latter may not need in the performance of its work.

Officials and employees of the Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, including those of the corporations owned or controlled by the Government as well as those of local governments, who may be called upon and are appointed to serve under the Surplus Property Commission shall, during the period of their service therein, be paid such salaries as may be fixed by the Commission, and they shall be paid from funds of the Commission. Their duties may be discharged by the temporary assignment or designation of persons already in the service, and the persons so designated or assigned shall, in addition to the salary of their own positions, be entitled to receive the difference between such salary and that authorized by law for the position temporarily vacated by the incumbent assigned to the Surplus Property Commission.

The proceeds of all sales made by the Surplus Property Commission, except as otherwise appropriated in accordance with paragraph (d) above, shall be deposited in the Philippine National Bank to the credit of a special fund to be used exclusively for the purposes directed by law.

The Government Procurement Commission created by Executive Order No. 85, dated January 7, 1946 , is hereby abolished and all its functions, properties, records, funds, appropriations and personnel are hereby transferred to the Surplus Property Commission herein created.

Done at the City of Manila, this 18th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and forty-six, and of the Independence of the Philippines , the first.

 

	(Sgd.) MANUEL ROXAS
	President of the Philippines
By the President:
(Sgd.) EMILIO ABELLO
Chief of the Executive Office