Amendments to M.O. No. 393 (August 28, 1996) Re: Presidential Task Force on the Sugar Industry

November 21, 1996

MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 407

AMENDING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 393, DATED AUGUST 28, 1996 WHICH ESTABLISHED THE PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE ON THE SUGAR INDUSTRY

I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby amend certain provisions of Memorandum Order No. 393, dated August 28, 1996, and order the following:

SECTION 1. Section 2 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Section 2.	Composition. — The Task Force shall have the following composition:
Chairman	:	Executive Secretary
Co-Chairman	:	Secretary, Department of Agriculture
Members	:	Secretary, Department of Trade and
		Industry
		Secretary, Department of Justice
		Secretary, Department of Finance
		Secretary, Department of Agrarian Reform
		Secretary, Department of Labor and
		Employment
		Director General, National Economic and
		Development Authority
		Administrator, Sugar Regulatory
		Administration"

SECTION 2. Section 3 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Section 3. Private Sector Participation. — The President shall appoint one ( 1 ) representative each from the sugar millers, planters, traders and consumer groups upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and one (1) representative of the workers upon recommendation of the Secretary of Labor and Employment, as members of the Task Force."

SECTION 3. Section 4 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Section 4. Regional Task Groups. — There is also hereby created a Regional Task Group (RTG) on the Sugar Industry for each of the sugar producing regions of the country to serve as the regional counterpart of the PTF. Its composition shall be parallel, to the extent possible, to that of the PTF, with the Chairman and members appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and the workers' representative upon the recommendation of the Labor Secretary."

SECTION 4. Section 5 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Section 5. Duties and Functions. — The PTF shall undertake within nine (9) months from the effectivity of this Order, the following tasks:

xxx xxx xxx

SECTION 5. Funding. — The funds necessary for the implementation of this Order shall be sourced from the Competitiveness Export Enhancement Fund (CEEF) of the Department of Agriculture (DA). An initial fund of Three Million (P3,000,000.00) Pesos to be drawn from the CEEF shall be provided by the DA to the Task Force.

SECTION 6. Effectivity. — This Memorandum Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 21st day of November, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Six.