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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Declaration of policy &mdash It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State:

1. To establish an agricultural market news service as a means of promoting orderly marketing, stabilizing prices and minimizing spoilage and waste of perishable agricultural products;
2. To provide systematically the informational means and basis for the development of a strong bargaining power among farmers as against those to whom they sell their produce, directly or indirectly, as well as against those from whom they buy the things they need and can not produce;
3. To diffuse economic education among the farmers, enabling them to improve as much as possible in their favor to the point to equality the terms of trade between agriculture on the one hand and the non-agricultural industries on the other;
4. To reduce as much as possible monopolistic practices in trade in connection with agricultural products which have always been prejudicial to the producer and the consumer as well; and
   
5. To make the activities of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics directly and intimately related to the promotion of agricultural well-being.

SEC. 2. Powers and functions of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. &mdash For the effective implementation of the policy enunciated in Section one hereof, the Director of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, is hereby authorized and empowered to organize, within six months after the approval of this Act, the Office of Agricultural Marketing News Service, which shall be directly under the control and general supervision of the Director of said bureau: Provided, however, That the said office shall be headed by a ranking economist of recognized competence and experience in the field of agricultural economics, with formal training and/or experience in agricultural marketing, and shall have a salary range of fifty-five of the WAPCO salary scale for purposes of position classification: Provided, further, That the Secretary of Agricuture and Natural Resources, upon the recommendation of the Director of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, shall promulgate such rules and regulations as will effectively implement the provisions of this Act: Provided, finally, That the said office shall be delegated the full authority to implement the following aims, powers, duties and functions:

1. To coordinate with any government bureau, office, or agency in gathering and disseminating all information in relation to agricultural marketing and allied matters in connection with the advancement of the agricultural industry ;
2. To establish regional centers of operation in strategic places whereby accurate, reliable and understandable reports and information on the trends of the market are to be gathered and disseminated;
3. To disseminate widely and promptly among the farmers and the general public agricultural news of current general interest regarding demand, market conditions, prices, supplies, and other related information pertinent to the marketing of various agricultural products;
4. To keep records of reliable and accurate agricultural market reports and market news-broadcasts;
5. To extend immediate technical guidance, especially to small farmers, in the marketing of their products like planning their operation to expand their trade to meet potential demands; and
6. To enforce all such rules and regulations as have been promulgated by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources upon the recommendation of the Director of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics for the effective implementation of the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 3. Cooperation of government bureaus; offices, or agencies, required. &mdash Fox the effective implementation of this Act, all bureaus, offices, and agencies, having to do directly with the communication and diffusion of information of any kind, among the people, relating to the policies, plans, programs and activities of the Government, are hereby required to extend their cooperation and make available to the Office of Agricultural Marketing News Service, their appropriate facilities upon request of the Director of the Bureau of Agriculture Economics.

SEC. 4. Appropriation. &mdash In order to carry out the policy enunciated in Sections one and two hereof, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of one million pesos which shall be immediately made available for disbursement by the Director of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, pursuant to the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 5. Penalty for failure to comply with lawful duties towards the bureau and/or office. &mdash Persons concerned in the implementation of this Act who fail to perform their duties accordingly shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than six hundred pesos or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, at the discretion of the court.

SEC. 6. Repealing clause. &mdash Any law or parts of laws, executive or administrative orders or regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.

SEC. 7. Effectivity. &mdash This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, June 20, 1964.