Executive Order No. 350




MALACAÑAN PALACE MANILA BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES [ EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 350 ] CREATING THE PRICE STABILIZATION CORPORATION AND DISSOLVING THE PHILIPPINE RELIEF AND TRADE REHABILITATION ADMINISTRATION AND THE NATIONAL RICE AND CORN CORPORATION Pursuant to the powers vested in me by Republic Act Numbered Four hundred and twenty-two, I, ELPIDIO QUIRINO, President of the Philippines, do hereby order: CREATION, POWERS AND FUNCTIONS Section 1. There is hereby created a public corporation under the name of the “PRICE STABILIZATION CORPORATION” which, in short, shall be known as the “PRISCO.” This corporation shall exist for a period of twenty-five years from the effective date of this Order. It shall have its main office and principal place of business in the City of Manila, and such branches and agencies in other places, within and outside of the Philippines, as may be necessary for the proper conduct of its business. Section 2. The PRISCO shall have the following powers, duties and functions: (a) To undertake the prevention, locally or generally, of scarcity, monopolization, hoarding, injurious speculation, manipulation, private control, and profiteering, affecting the supply, distribution, and movement of all articles, goods, or commodities of prime necessity, which may be placed under economic control by the Board of Directors with the approval of the secretary of Economic Coordination, to safeguard the public interest; and, if and when necessary, in order to accomplish the foregoing objectives, to commandeer, requisition and ration said articles, goods or commodities, and to exercise such other powers as may be provided by law; (b) To aid in the promotion of the rice and corn industry of the Philippines through the maintenance of stable prices for said commodities, and to study and execute such measures as may be necessary and convenient to protect the interest of both the producers and the consumers thereof; (c) To foster, encourage and promote the cooperative movement and mutual aid enterprises in the Philippines as dynamic factors in the country’s economic rehabilitation and development, and to assist Filipino retailers and businessmen, such as by supplying them with merchantable goods at prices that will enable them to compete successfully in the open market; (d) To study, formulate and carry out measures for the promotion of home industries and for accelerating the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Philippine agriculture, industry and trade; (e) To act as the agency and representative of the Republic of the Philippines in carrying out barter or other international economic agreements with other countries; (f) To do all such other things and to transact all such business as may be directly or indirectly necessary, incidental or conducive to the attainment of the purposes of the corporation; (g) Generally, to exercise all the powers of a corporation under the Corporation Law in so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Order. CAPITAL Section 3. The PRISCO shall have an authorized capital of P30,000,000 to be subscribed entirely by the Republic of the Philippines. MANAGEMENT Section 4. The management of the PRISCO shall be vested in a Board of Directors consisting of a chairman and six members, appointed by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments. The majority of the Board shall be composed of men of broad perspective and proved general ability, and the minority thereof of appropriate technical attainment. The said members shall serve as designated by the President in their appointments for terms of one, two, and three years, respectively, from the date they qualify and assume office; but their successors shall be appointed for terms of three years, except that any person chosen to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired term of the member whom he succeeds. For actual attendance at meetings, each director shall receive a per diem of P25. Section 5. The Board of Directors shall have the following powers and duties: (a) To prescribe, amend and repeal, with the approval of the Secretary of Economic Coordination, by-laws, rules and regulations governing the manner in which the general business of the Corporation may be conducted and the powers granted by law to the Corporation may be exercised, including a provision for the formation of such committee or committees as the Board of Directors may deem necessary to facilitate its business; (b) To appoint and fix the compensation of the General Manager, subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines, and to appoint and fix the compensation of the other officers of the Corporation, with the approval of the Secretary of Economic Coordination. The Board, by a majority vote of all the members, may, for cause, suspend and, with the approval of the President of the Philippines, remove the General Manager. Section 6. The powers and duties of the General Manager shall be as follows: (a) To direct and manage the affairs and business of the Corporation, on behalf of the Board of Directors, and subject to its control and supervision; (b) To sit in all meetings of the Board of Directors and participate in its deliberations, but without the right to vote; (c) To submit within sixty days after the close of each fiscal year an annual report, through the Board of Directors, to the Secretary of Economic Coordination; (d) To appoint and fix the number and salaries, with the approval of the Board of Directors, of such subordinate personnel as may be necessary for the proper discharge of the duties and functions of the Corporation, and, with the approval of the Board, to remove, suspend, or otherwise discipline, for cause, any subordinate employee of the Corporation; and (e) To perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the Board of Directors from time to time. Section 7. The Auditor General shall appoint a representative who shall be the Auditor of the PRISCO, and the necessary personnel to assist said representative in the performance of his duties. The salaries of the Auditor and said personnel shall be determined by the Auditor General with the advice of the Board of Directors. Said salaries and all other expenses of maintaining the Auditor’s office shall be paid by the PRISCO. The Auditor of the PRISCO and personnel under him may be removed only by the Auditor General. Section 8. The financial transactions of the PRISCO shall be audited in accordance with law, administrative regulations, and the principles and procedures applicable to commercial corporate transactions. A report of audit for each fiscal year shall be submitted, within sixty days after the close of the fiscal year, by the representative of the Auditor General, through the latter, to the Board of Directors of the Corporation, and copies thereof shall be furnished the President of the Philippines, the Secretary of Economic Coordination and the Presiding Officers of the two Houses of Congress. The report shall set forth the scope of the audit and shall include a statement of assets and liabilities, capital and surplus or deficit; a statement of surplus or deficit analysis; a statement of income and expenses; a statement of sources and application of funds; and such comments and information as may be necessary, together with such recommendations with respect thereto as may be advisable, including a report of any impairment of capital noted in the audit. The report shall also show specifically any program, expenditure, or other financial transaction or undertaking observed in the course of audit, which, in the opinion of the Auditor, has been carried on or made without authority of law. APPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTIONS Section 9. In the appointment and promotion of officers and employees, merit and efficiency shall serve as bases, and no political test or qualification shall be prescribed and considered for such appointments or promotions. Any appointee of the Board or of the General Manager, who is found by the Secretary of Economic Coordination to be guilty of violating this requirement shall be removed from office. Section 10. All officers and employees of the PRISCO shall be subject to the Civil Service Law, rules and regulations, except those whose positions may, upon recommendation of the Board of Directors and the Secretary of Economic Coordination, be declared by the President of the Philippines policy-determining, primarily confidential or technical in nature. TRANSITORY PROVISIONS Section 11. The Philippine Relief and Trade Rehabilitation Administration and the National Rice and Corn Corporation are hereby dissolved. Any reference to the Philippine Relief and Trade Rehabilitation and to the National Rice and Corn Corporation including its designation under Act No. 4198, in any existing law, or in any Executive Order, Administrative Order, or Proclamation of the President of the Philippines shall, with respect to any duty or function assumed by the corporation created in this Order, be deemed hereafter to be reference to the PRISCO. Section 12. The personnel, records, properties, equipment, assets, rights, choses in action, obligations, liabilities, and contracts of the Philippine Relief and Trade Rehabilitation Administration and the National Rice and Corn Corporation are hereby transferred to, vested in, and assumed by the PRISCO, and all their business and affairs shall be liquidated, assumed, and continued by the PRISCO; Provided, That an inventory and valuation of the properties, equipment, assets, rights, choses in action, obligations, liabilities, and contracts of said corporations shall be made by the Auditor General, and during the inventory and valuation, the accountable officers of said corporations shall continue to be fully accountable therefor, until actual physical transfer to, and acceptance by, the corresponding accountable officers of the PRISCO; Provided, further, That the personnel of said corporations hereby transferred shall be reappointed in the PRISCO and those not reappointed within sixty days from the effective date of this Order shall be considered separated from the service. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Section 13. All Acts or parts of acts and all Executive Orders, Administrative Orders, and Proclamations or parts thereof inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly, Section 14. If any provision of this Order should be held invalid, the other provisions shall not thereby be affected.1a⍵⍴h!1 Section 15. The Executive Order shall take effect on October third, nineteen hundred and fifty. Done in the City of Manila, this 3rd day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and fifty, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the fifth. (Sgd.) ELPIDIO QUIRINO President of the Philippines By the President: (Sgd.) TEODORO EVANGELISTA Executive Secretary The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation