Extension of Maximum Support to Exporters and Remittance of All Export Proceeds

June 23, 1983

LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 1336

DIRECTING ALL AGENCIES OF GOVERNMENT TO EXTEND MAXIMUM SUPPORT TO EXPORTERS AND TO ENSURE THAT ALL EXPORT PROCEEDS ARE REMITTED

Whereas, the encouragement of exports and the support of export industries is one of the basic policies of government, consistent with which (1) full credit support is extended through the Central Bank and the banking system, and (2) tax and other incentives are granted to exporters by operation of law and in the exercise of the functions of the Ministries concerned;

Whereas, the policy to allow the peso to seek its true international value has been implemented intentionally to benefit exporters and local manufacturers, as against importers and as a result of which policy the earnings of both commodity and service exporters have greatly increased;

Whereas, the quickening of the world economy will directly increase both volume and value of export proceeds, thereby contributing to the country's foreign exchange earnings and thus to the stability of the peso's international value, to exporting company earnings and thus to the economy's growth rate and ultimately to employment, income and domestic price stability;

Whereas, it is only to be expected by the nation that exporters share their gains with the other sectors of the economy;

Whereas, most exporters share with the rest of the country, the benefits of government credit, tax and policy support, in terms of returning to the country the full measure of their foreign exchange earnings and in so doing help ease Balance of Payments pressure;

Whereas, there are some exporters who have forgotten the support extended to them and proceeded to undervalue exports, salt abroad the foreign exchange that would otherwise inwardly remitted and in other ways sabotage the export and Balance of Payments program; cd

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by Law, do hereby Order and Instruct:

1. All agencies of government, particularly the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Central Bank of the Philippines shall study and evaluate existing policies and support to exporters with the aim of removing red tape and all bottlenecks that hamper exports and of further expanding policy, credit and procedural support where possible;

2. All agencies of government shall likewise exert all effort to apprehend and prosecute violators of law and of tax, foreign exchange and other regulations. The agencies concerned shall pay particular attention to the following:

a. The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of the Philippines shall aggressively exercise their responsibility to superintend the quantity and value of exports, in order to eliminate shipment and undervaluation of exports; cdt

b. The Ministry of Finance shall implement the provisions of tax treaties with foreign countries, for the purpose of identifying tax evaders who have sought shelter and protection for their persons or assets in foreign countries;

c. The Central Bank shall design and operationalize an effective system of monitoring orders received, shipments made and foreign exchange receipts turned in for major export industries. This shall be done with the Ministry of Finance and the Bureau of Customs, the National Census and Statistics Office and all agencies concerned, particularly the Ministry of Trade and Industry for garments, electronics and other non-traditional exports, the Ministry of Natural Resources for log and other natural resources exports, and all other Ministries and agencies concerned;

3. The Prime Minister and the Executive Committee shall oversee the implementation of this Letter and shall report on the progress of implementation.

DONE in the City of Manila, this twenty-third day of June, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Three. casia