WHEREAS, in these times of economic difficulty, local industries require urgent government assistance to keep their businesses viable;

WHEREAS, Section 401 of the Tariff and Customs Code of 1978, as amended, empowers the President to increase, reduce, or remove existing rates of duty, as well as to modify the tariff nomenclature.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1.   The articles specifically listed in Annex "A"^[1] hereof, as classified under Section 104 of the Tariff and Customs Code of 1978, as amended, shall be subject to the rates of import duty in accordance with the schedule indicated opposite each article.

SECTION 2.   The Nomenclature and the rates of import duty on tariff headings not enumerated and those listed but represented by the symbol "X X X" shall remain in force and effect.

SECTION 3.   Upon the effectivity of this Executive Order, the articles specifically listed in the aforesaid Annex "A" which are entered or withdrawn from warehouses in the Philippines for consumption shall be levied the rates of duty herein prescribed.

SECTION 4.   All other Presidential issuances, administrative rules and regulations, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby revoked or modified accordingly.

SECTION 5.   This Executive Order shall take effect immediately following its complete publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

Adopted: 09 April 2002

By the President:

(SGD.) ALBERTO G. ROMULO
Executive Secretary