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By virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and in accordance with the Emergency Powers Law, I, Elpidio Quirino, President of the Philippines, do hereby declare a rice emergency in the Philippines on account of the shortage of said cereal in 1948-1949. To cope with the emergency, and as a relief measure for the purpose, of easing the difficulties of the rice-consuming public in meeting their consumption needs, all palay or rice produced from the 1948-1949 crop shall be sold to or acquired by the Government from farmers, associations of farmers, or any other persons or entities engaged in the production thereof on the basis of ?14 per cavan of palay (44 kilos, Macan, second class) delivered Manila: Provided, That any agency designated by the Government to purchase or distribute palay or rice shall not be precluded from licensing any warehouse, mill, ”kiskisan,” and any other facilities operated by the owner to engage in the buying of palay at the price fixed by the Government and in the milling of palay under such terms and conditions as may be deemed equitable and fair, or as agreed upon between the said agency and the owners, or from granting permits to bona fide rice dealers to engage in the purchase and sale of palay and rice at the prices fixed by the Government and under such rules and regulations as may be issued by the President upon the recommendation of the Rice Emergency Board hereby created.

1. Within ten days after the issuance of this Order, any person, corporation, association, partnership, firm or, any other entity, which, at the time of the promulgation of this Order, has cleaned rice already in stock for sale to consumers, or has a valid contract for the purchase or acquisition in any other manner of palay and/or cleaned rice to be harvested or produced from the 1948-1949 crop, shall file with such agency of the Government as the President may designate a statement under oath setting forth the quantity of said cleaned rice, and/or the terms and conditions of said contract, particularly as to quantity and price, and said agency shall have the right, in its discretion, to take over said contract or to permit the parties to continue with the same, subject in either case to the provisions of this Order and to such terms and conditions as it may deem necessary in the public interest.
   
   
2. For the purpose of advising the President in carrying out the policy of the Government in stabilizing the rice industry, and insuring a sufficient rice supply, a Rice Emergency Board is hereby created to be composed of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources as Chairman, the Secretary of Commerce and Industry, the Secretary of Labor, Hon. Jose Cojuangco and Mr. Romualdo Vijandre, as members. The members of the Board who are not officers or employees of the Government shall receive a per diem of ?30 each for every attendance at the meetings of the Board, The Board shall have the following duties:
   
   (A) To advise the Government on the proper coordination of the activities of all existing governmental agencies and private entities engaged in the production, procurement and distribution of rice so as to insure the stability of the rice industry;
   
   (B) In case of emergency, also to advise the President of the necessity of (a) seizing, commandeering and operating any/or all warehouses, mills, “kiskisan,” elevators, driers, and other facilities as may be needed for the production and/or distribution of rice, the reasonable compensation for such seizure, commandeering and operation to be determined by the authorized agencies of the Government after due hearing had been afforded the owners thereof; (b) distributing and transferring rice or palay from onewarehouse to another or from one province or municipality to another for sale to the consumers as the needs of such province or municipality may dictate, and through such agencies as it may recommend, so as to effect an equitable distribution of the cereal; and (c) maintaining a sufficient quantity of rice for each region, province or municipality by such agencies as it may recommend so as to stabilize the rice supply in any and every locality in the country;
   
   (C) To recommend to the President when to declare a rice emergency by reason of the shortage of rice as well as the price thereof during such emergency.
   
   
3. Any person, corporation, association, partnership, firm or any entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring, selling or in any manner disposing of rice or palay in violation of this Order, shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for not more than ten years, or by both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court: Provided, That the sale to consumers of cleaned rice already in stock at the date of the issuance of this Order, as duly reported under oath to, and duly verified by the Government agency to be designated by the President as hereinbefore provided, within ten days from the issuance of this Order shall be excepted from the provisions of this paragraph: And provided, further, That if the violation is committed by the manager, representative, director, agent or employee of any natural or juridical person in the interest of the latter, the same shall render said natural or juridical person amenable to the penalties herein prescribed without prejudice to the imposition of said penalties upon such manager, representative, director, agent or employee: And provided, finally, That the principals or employers who are juridical persons shall be amenable to the prescribed pecuniary penalty. Any alien convicted of any violation of the provisions of this Order shall, after service of sentence, be deported and the court shall so provide in its judgment.
   
   
4. Should a rice emergency be declared in 1949-1950, the minimum price which the Government shall pay to the producers thereof shall be on the basis of P13 per cavan of palay (44 kilos, Macan, second class) delivered Manila; and should an emergency be declared in 1950-1951, the minimum price shall be on the basis of P12 per cavan (44 kilos, Macan, second class) delivered Manila:Provided, That the foregoing prices or such other prices as may be fixed by the President upon recommendation of the Rice Emergency Board shall be in force only during an emergency so declared by the President upon recommendation of said Board and that at normal times marketing and distribution of rice and palay shall be under free competitive enterprise.
   
   
5. All Executive Orders, Administrative Orders, and Proclamations or parts thereof inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Order are to that extent hereby repealed or modified.

This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 19th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and forty-eight, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the third.


By the President:
(SGD.) TEODORO EVANGELISTA
Executive Secretary