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WHEREAS, the Philippine has embarked on a program of expansion of its international trade;

WHEREAS, the program requires expeditious documentation of commercial shipments to and from the Philippines;

WHEREAS, certain provisions of the Tariff and Customs Code hamper the issuance of consular invoices covering importations into the Philippines;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby adopt and make as part of the law of the land the following amendments to Republic Act No. 5499:

SECTION 1. Section 1309 of the Tariff and Customs Code as amended by Presidential Decree No. 34 dated October 27, 1972, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 1309. The commercial invoke required by the preceding section shall, in all cases falling under Section 1310, be presented at the time of or before or immediately after the shipment of the articles to a consular officer of the Philippines for certification. Certification shall be made in such form and manner as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The form shall henceforth be referred to in this Act as consular invoice.

"The consular invoice shall be certified in the consular district in which the articles were manufactured or purchased or from which they are shipped, as the case may be; Provided, that in the absence of a Philippine consul in the country of exportation, manufacture or purchase, the invoice may be certified by the consular officer in the district nearest the place of exportation or by any other person specifically designated by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs."

SEC. 2. This Act shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 31st day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-five.