Question & AnswerQ&A (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 388)
The title of Presidential Decree No. 388 is the Philippine Sugar Commission Decree.
The policy of the State is to promote the integrated development and stabilization of the sugar industry to enable it to properly discharge its economic and social responsibilities and contribute to national economic development.
The Decree creates the Philippine Sugar Commission (PSC).
The Commission is composed of one Commissioner who serves as Chairman and six Associate Commissioners. All are appointed by the President of the Philippines.
Members must be Filipino citizens with sufficient experience in the sugar industry and be persons of proven honesty, integrity, and recognized competence.
They shall hold office for a term of four years unless sooner removed for cause.
The powers include establishing policies for the sugar industry, entering contracts, levying and collecting fees, acting as the single buying and selling agency of sugar on the quedan-permit level, determining floor-ceiling prices of sugar, promulgating rules and imposing penalties, assuming control of inefficient sugar mills, organizing cooperatives, and other necessary functions.
It is determined based on the total anticipated cost of production per picul plus a reasonable margin of profit set by the Price Control Council, adjusted for economic factors such as devaluation, transportation, wages, and Consumer Price Index changes.
The Chairman of the Commission is the Chief Executive Officer responsible for managing and directing the Commission's business, preparing organizational plans, appointing personnel, and supervising daily operations.
A Special Fund managed by the Commission, with stabilization fees collected from planters and millers, is established for financing the sugar industry's growth, development, and market stabilization.
Two pesos (P2.00) per picul produced and milled for the first five years and one peso (P1.00) per picul thereafter.
They are abolished and absorbed by the Philippine Sugar Commission, with all assets, liabilities, and records transferred to the Commission.
Yes, the Commission is authorized to promulgate rules, regulations, and impose penalties for violations of the Decree.
Yes, the Commission can assume control or supervision of any sugar mill or refinery that fails to meet financial or contracted obligations for two years or becomes inefficient.
The Commission will receive proceeds of revenues and other impositions previously granted to the Philippine Sugar Institute and Sugar Quota Administration, as well as fees, charges, and contributions collected from stakeholders.
Yes, there is a Social Welfare Office under the Office of the Chairman.
The Commission's affairs are audited by a representative appointed by the Chairman, Commission on Audit. Reports shall be submitted annually to the Commission, the President, and the Commission on Audit.
Yes, the Chairman may appoint necessary personnel and fix their salaries with the Commission's approval, and the salaries are exempt from laws on wage and position classification except for clerical and janitorial services.
This Decree took effect immediately upon its signing on February 2, 1974.