REPUBLIC ACT No.

2207

AN ACT PROHIBIT THE IMPORTATION OF RICE AND CORN AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION
THEREOF.

Section 1. Declaration of Policy. It is the expressed policy of Congress to protect and promote the interests of local
producers and planters of rice and corn in a manner consistent with the general welfare of consumers and to
foster and accelerate self-sufficient of the country in so far as those staple commodities are concerned.

Section 2. Prohibition. It shall be unlawful for any person. association, corporation or government agency to import
rice and corn into any point in the Philippines: Provided, however, That should there be an existing or imminent
shortage in the local supply of the above-mentioned commodities of such gravity as to constitute a national
emergency, upon certification to this effect by the National Economic Council, based on the studies of the Office of
Statistical Coordination of said body, the President of the Philippines may authorize the importation of these
commodities, through any government agency that he may designate, in such quantities as the National Economic
Council may determine necessary to cover the shortage, subject to the taxes, duties and/or special charges as now
provided by law: Provided, further, That contracts for such importation shall be only on straight-sales basis, and
awarded only after a public bidding, with sealed bids.

Section 3. Penalties. Any person who violates any provision of this Act or who, being an officer or employee of the
Government, violated abets or tolerates the violation of any provision of this Act, shall be punished by a fine of five
thousand pesos and imprisonment of five years.

In case the offender is an officer or employee of the government, he shall, in addition, suffer the penalty of
perpetual disqualification to hold public office and to participate in any public election.

If the violation is committed by a corporation or association, the penalty shall be imposed individually upon the
president, director, manager or managing partner, and other officials thereof responsible for the violation.

If the violation is committed by or in the interest of a foreign juridical person duly licensed to engage in business in
the Philippines, the immediate revocation of such license to engage in business shall form part of the penalty to be
imposed.

If the offender is an alien, he shall, in addition to the penalty imposed by the Court, be deported within ten days
after service of the sentence.

Rice and corn imported in violation of this Act shall be confiscated by the Government and distributed to welfare
and charitable institutions.

Section 4. Repeal. All Acts, Executive Orders, Proclamations and Regulations or parts thereof which are
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.

Section 5. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, May 15, 1959.

Signed on September 26, 1972

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 4

PROVIDING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RICE AND CORN INDUSTRY AND CREATING FOR THIS PURPOSE THE
NATIONAL GRAINS AUTHORITY.

WHEREAS, there were pending before Congress prior to the promulgation of Proclamation No. 1081, dated
September 21, 1972, certain priority measures vital to the national development program of the Government, and
which were duly certified by the President as urgent measures.

WHEREAS, one of these priority measures is the proposed bill entitled “An Act to Develop the Rice and Corn Industry,
Create the National Grain Authority and Provide Funds Therefor.”

WHEREAS, the rice and corn industry has not been fully harnessed for the economy of the country nor has it been
the object of a truly integrated development, planning, programming and implementation;

NOW, THEREFORE, I FERDINAND E. MARCOS, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as
Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated
September 21, 1972 and General Order No. 1 dated September 22, 1972, as amended, in order to effect desired
changes and reforms in the social, economic and political structure of our society, do hereby decree that the “Act to
Develop the Rice and Corn Industry, Create the National Grain Authority and Provide Funds Therefor” as hereto
attached is hereby adopted, and approved and made as part of the law of the land.

Changes and modifications in the said “Act to Develop the Rice and Corn Industry, Create the National Grain
Authority and Provide Funds Therefor” shall be made from time to time, as necessity requires, to be correspondingly
announced by me or by my duly authorized representative.

This decree shall take effect immediately.

All concerned shall act accordingly.

Done in the City of Manila, this 26th day of September in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-two.
 REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8178

AN ACT REPLACING QUANTITATIVE IMPORT RESTRICTIONS ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, EXCEPT RICE, WITH
TARIFFS, CREATING THE AGRICULTURAL COMPETITIVENESS ENHANCEMENT FUND, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

Section 1. Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Agricultural Tariffication Act.”

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is the policy of the State to make the country’s agricultural sector viable, efficient
and globally competitive. The State adopts the use of tariffs in lieu of non-tariff import restrictions to protect local
producers of agricultural products, except in the case of rice, which will continue to have quantitative import
restrictions.

Consistent with the constitutional mandate of protecting Filipino firms against unfair trade, it is furthermore the
policy of the State to employ anti-dumping and countervailing measures to protect local producers from unfair trade
practices, rather than use quantitative import restrictions.

To help the agricultural sector compete globally, the State shall seek to raise farm productivity levels by providing
the necessary support services such as, but not limited to, irrigation, farm-to-market roads, post-harvest equipment
and facilities, credit, research and development, extension services, other market infrastructure and market
information.

Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. – The following definitions apply to the terms used in this Act:

(a) “Agricultural products” shall have the same meaning as agricultural products under Chapters 1-24 of Presidential
Decree No. 1464, otherwise known as the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, as amended.

(b) “Applied rate” is the rate of import duty that is actually used by Customs authorities in the collection of Customs
revenues.

(c) “Bound rate” refers to maximum limits on tariffs on products committed by the Philippines to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) under the Uruguay Round Final Act.

(d) “In-Quota Tariff Rate” refers to the tariff rates for minimum access volumes committed by the Philippines to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Uruguay Round Final Act.

(e) “Minimum Access Volume” refers to the volume of a specific agricultural product that is allowed to be imported
with a lower tariff as committed by the Philippines to the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Uruguay Round
Final Act.

(f) “Quantitative Import Restrictions” refers to non-tariff restrictions used to limit the amount of imported
commodities, including but not limited to discretionary import licensing and import quotas, whether qualified or
absolute.

(g) “Tariff” refers to a tax levied on a commodity imported from another country. It earns revenues for the
government and regarded as instruments to promote local industries by taxing their competitors. The benefit is
accorded to the local producers by the maintenance of a domestic price at a level equal to the world price plus the
tariff.
(h) “Tariffication” refers to the lifting of all existing quantitative restrictions such as import quotas or prohibitions,
imposed on agricultural products, and replacing these restrictions with tariffs.

Sec. 4. Repeal. – The following laws and all other laws or provisions of law prescribing quantitative import restrictions
or granting government agencies the power to impose such restrictions on agricultural products, except rice, are
hereby repealed:

(1) Republic Act No. 1296, entitled: “An Act to Prohibit the Importation of Onions, Potatoes, Garlic, and Cabbages,
Except for Seedling Purposes, and to Provide Penalties for the Violation Thereof”;

(2) Republic Act No. 2712, entitled: “An Act to Prohibit the Importation of Coffee”;

(3) Presidential Decree No. 1297, as amended, entitled: “Centralizing the Importation of Ruminants for Breeding,
Slaughter and Beef”;

(4) Paragraph 10 of Section 23 of Republic Act No. 7607, entitled: “An Act Providing a Magna Carta for Small
Farmers”;

(5) Paragraph (a) of Section 15 of Republic Act No. 7308, entitled: “Seed Industry Development Act”;

(6) Section 4 of Republic Act No. 4155, as amended, entitled: “An Act to Promote and Strengthen the Virginia Tobacco
Industry”; and

(7) Presidential Decree No. 1483, entitled: “Authorizing the Importation of Foreign Cigar Leaf Tobacco for Blending
Purposes.”

Sec. 5. Amendment. – Subparagraph (xii), paragraph (1) Section 6 of Presidential Decree No. 4 (National Grains
Authority Act), as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

“Sec. 6. (a) Powers. –

“(xii) to establish rules and regulations governing the importation of rice and to license, impose and collect fees and
charges for said importation for the purpose of equalizing the selling price of such imported rice with normal
prevailing domestic prices.

“In the exercise of this power, the Council after consultation with the Office of the President shall first certify to a
shortage of rice that may occur as a result of a short-fall in production, a critical demand-supply gap, a state of
calamity or other verified reasons that may warrant the need for importation: Provided, That this requirement shall
not apply to the importation of rice equivalent to the Minimum Access Volume obligation of the Philippines under
the WTO. The Authority shall undertake direct importation of rice or it may allocate import quotas among certified
and licensed importers, and the distribution thereof through cooperatives and other marketing channels, at prices
to be determined by the Council regardless of existing floor prices and the subsidy thereof, if any, shall be borne by
the National Government.”

Sec. 6. Tariffication. – In lieu of quantitative restrictions, the maximum bound rates committed under the Uruguay
Round Final Act shall be imposed on the agricultural products whose quantitative restrictions are repealed by this
Act. The President shall issue the corresponding tariffs beginning 1996 up to year 2000: Provided, That the schedule
of the initial and final applied rates shall be consistent with the country’s tariff binding commitments.

In case of shortages or abnormal price increases in agricultural products, whose quantitative restrictions are lifted
under this Act, the President may propose to Congress, revisions, modifications or adjustments of the Minimum
Access Volume (MAV): Provided, however, That in the event Congress fails to act after fifteen (15) days from receipt
of the proposal, the same shall be deemed approved.

Sec. 7. Mechanism for the Implementation of Minimum Access Volume (MAV). – An equitable and transparent
mechanism for allocating the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) of agricultural products, whose quantitative
restrictions are herein lifted, shall be developed and established, having the least government intervention,
addressing the requirements of each geographical area, and without entailing any cost to importers/users of these
products to the detriment of local consumers and other end-users.

For this purpose and in accordance with the abovementioned guiding principles, the Cabinet Committee created by
Memorandum Order No. 245 dated December 13, 1994 to oversee and manage the minimum access quotas
committed by the Philippines under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Uruguay Round with the inclusion
of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and in consultation with all concerned agricultural
farmer/producer/processor/importer groups, shall submit to Congress within a period of sixty (60) days from the
effectivity of this Act, the appropriate mechanism for the implementation of the minimum access volumes.

Sec. 8. Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund. – To implement the policy enunciated in this Act, there is
hereby created the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, hereinafter referred to as the Fund. The
proceeds of the importation of minimum access volume shall accrue to the General Fund and shall be deposited
with the National Treasury.

The entire proceeds shall be set aside and earmarked by Congress for irrigation, farm-to-market roads, post-harvest
equipment and facilities, credit, research and development, other marketing infrastructure, provision of market
information, retraining, extension services, and other forms of assistance and support to the agricultural sector.

The Committees on Agriculture and Food, Appropriations and Finance of both the Senate and the House of
Representatives shall conduct a periodic review of the use of the Fund. The Fund shall have a life of nine (9) years,
after which all remaining balances shall revert to the General Fund.

Sec. 9. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, executive issuances, rules and regulations inconsistent with this Act are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Sec. 10. Separability Clause. – The provisions of this Act are hereby declared to be separable, and in the event one
or more of such provisions are held unconstitutional, the validity of the other provisions shall not be affected
thereby.

Sec. 11. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect thirty (30) days from the date of its publication in the Official
Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved, March 28, 1996.