Date Filed: 26 September 2018

WHEREAS, Republic  Act  (RA)  No.  7581  or  the  œPrice  Act,   as  amended, declares that it is the policy of the State to:

(i)  Ensure the availability of basic necessities and prime commodities at reasonable prices at all times without denying legitimate business a fair return on investment;

(ii)  Provide effective and sufficient protection to consumers against hoarding, profiteering and cartels with respect to the supply, distribution, marketing and pricing of said goods, especially during periods of calamity, emergency, widespread illegal price manipulation and other similar situations;

(iii) Develop, adopt and promulgate measures to stabilize prices at reasonable levels; and

(iv) Establish a mechanism that will readily protect consumers from inadequate supply and unreasonable price increase on occasions of calamities, emergencies and like occurrences;

WHEREAS, Section 2(b) of Executive Order (EO) No. 18 (s. 1986), mandated the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to establish and maintain such balanced relation between production and requirement of sugar and such marketing conditions that will insure stabilized prices at a level reasonably profitable to the producers and fair to consumers;

WHEREAS, Section 61(c) of RA No. 8550 or the œPhilippine Fisheries Code of 1998,   as  amended,  provides  that  fishery  products  may  be  imported  when certified necessary by the Department of Agriculture (DA);

WHEREAS, RA No. 8178 or the œAgricultural Tarrification Act of 1996,  as amended, allows importation of certain agricultural products beyond the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) upon payment of appropriate rates of duties and compliance with other conditions specified therein;

WHEREAS, non-tariff barriers and certain administrative constraints, procedures and fees unduly add to the costs of importation and limit supply, which in turn, push up the prices of agricultural commodities to the detriment of Filipino consumers, especially the poor;

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to tame price spikes of basic agricultural commodities   by   adopting   measures   that   remove   non-tariff  barriers  and streamline  administrative  procedures  to  allow  importation  that  will  address shortfall  on  supply  and  ensure  stable  prices  of  agricultural  products  in  the domestic market; and

WHEREAS, Section 17, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution vests in the President the power of control over all executive departments, bureaus and offices, as well as the mandate to ensure the faithful execution of laws;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and existing laws, do hereby order:

Section  1.  Removal  of  Non-Tariff  Barriers  and  Streamlining  of Administrative Procedures. Subject to conditions imposed by applicable laws and consistent with their respective legal mandates, the National Food Authority (NFA), SRA, and DA, in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), shall undertake immediate measures to remove administrative constraints and other non-tariff barriers on the importation of agricultural products, such as but not limited to the following:

(a)  Streamline procedures and requirements in the accreditation of importers and minimize the processing time of applications for importation;
(b)  Exempt traders that are already accredited from registration requirements;
(c)  Facilitate importation of certain agricultural products beyond their authorized MAV and, where applicable, reduce or remove fees relative thereto in order to ensure their sufficient supply in the domestic market at more affordable prices;
(d)  Liberalize  issuance  of  permits  and  accreditation  of  traders  who  want  to import rice to break monopoly, and
(e)  As may be necessary, temporarily allow direct importation by sugar-using industries to lower their input cost, subject to reasonable regulations.

Section 2. Additional Rice Importation. As a result of a short-fall in production, a critical demand-supply gap, or other verified circumstances that may warrant the need for importation, the NFA Council is hereby authorized to approve additional rice importation beyond the MAV commitment specified under EO No. 23 (s. 2017) for allocation to the private sector, subject to conditions imposed by RA No. 8178, as amended, as well as other applicable laws.

Section  3.  Importation  of  Fishery  Products. The  DA,  in  accordance  with Section  61(c)  of  RA  No.  8550,  as  amended,  shall  issue  the  appropriate Certificate  of  Necessity  to  allow  importation  of  adequate  volumes  of  fish  to augment the 17,000 metric tons of fish imports already being distributed in the market.

Section 4. Expedite Unloading of Agricultural Imports. Subject to Section 419 of RA No. 10863 or the œCustoms Modernization and Tariff Act,  and other applicable laws, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) shall prioritize the unloading and release of agricultural products imported under this Order.

Section 5. Other Remedial Measures. The DA and the DTI shall take concrete steps to improve logistics, transport, distribution and storage of agricultural products to reduce input costs.

Section 6. Creation of a Surveillance Team. The DTI, NFA, National Bureau of Investigation, and Philippine National Police, with the assistance from the private sector,  shall  form  a  Surveillance  Team  that  will  monitor  importation  and distribution of agricultural products under this Order to ensure their distribution to warehouses  and  retail  outlets,  prevent  illegal  acts  of  price  manipulation  as defined under RA No. 7581, as amended, as well as other forms of unfair commercial practices.

Section 7. Reportorial Requirement. The DA, DTI, NFA, SRA, and the BOC are directed to submit a monthly report on the status of implementation of this Order to the Office of the Executive Secretary.

Section 8. Separability. In the event that any provision of this Order or any part hereof is declared invalid, illegal or unconstitutional, the provisions not thereby affected shall remain in force and effect.

Section 9. Repeal. All orders, rules and regulations, and other issuances or parts thereof that are inconsistent with the provisions of this Order, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 10. Effectivity. This Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE, in the City of Manila, this 21st day of September, in the year of our Lord, Two Thousand Eighteen.


(SGD) RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE
President

By the President:

(SGD) SALVADOR C. MEDIALDEA
Executive Secretary