QuestionsQuestions (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 337)
EO No. 337 was issued pursuant to the powers vested in the President by Section 3 of Republic Act No. 509, which declared a national policy authorizing the President, for a limited period, to fix ceiling prices and promulgate rules and regulations on commodity prices, including appropriation for the purpose.
Its purpose is to fix the ceiling (maximum) selling prices of specified school supplies so these commodities shall not be sold above the set maximum prices.
EO No. 337 states that the ceiling prices were issued upon the recommendation of the Price Administration Board.
The listed school supplies shall not be sold at more than the maximum selling prices, with ceiling prices determined for importers/producers, wholesalers, and retailers.
For each commodity, the order provides three figures: (1) importer’s or producer’s price, (2) wholesale price, and (3) retail ceiling price.
Section 1 includes a category titled “Locally Produced with Imported U.S.A. Materials,” listing specific commodities (e.g., grade pads and composition notebooks) with corresponding ceiling prices.
Section 1 includes another category titled “School Supplies (Imported)” with specified items (e.g., blackboards, chalk, crayons, ink, manila paper) and ceiling prices by market level.
Any school supply not included in the list but having the same size and specification as one of the items in the list shall have the same ceiling price.
It controls the applicability of the ceiling price by requiring that the unlisted item matches both the size and the technical specifications of an item already listed in EO No. 337.
It takes effect upon its promulgation.
It is the maximum amount a retailer may charge or sell the commodity for; sales above this figure would violate the ceiling pricing rule.
The order lists “Grade pads” and “Composition note book (local and imported)” with different grades and page counts, each with ceiling prices.
No. The ceiling prices are expressed differently depending on the commodity’s unit of sale (e.g., per 100 leaves/100 pads, per gross, per ream, per dozen, per each, per box, or per bundle).
It lists blackboards according to style (e.g., “small, style ‘a’ with frame and chalk trough,” “wall blackboard style ‘a’,” and “wall blackboard Masonite”) and gives different ceiling prices for specified external measurements.
It was signed by President Elpidio Quirino and countersigned by Teodoro Evangelista, Executive Secretary, as shown in the “By the President” signature block.