ESTABLISHING A PROGRAM TO GRADUALLY WITHDRAW THE USE OF TETRAETHYL LEAD IN GASOLINE AND, AS A SUBSTITUTE THEREFOR, TO USE ETHANOL.

WHEREAS, Tetraethyl (TEL) is an additive to gasoline used to
reduce or prevent engine knock in gasoline-fed vehicles by increasing octane
number and, as an imported item, requires annual expenditures of approximately
two hundred million pesos;

WHEREAS, it has been established that TEL is a poisonous
compound of lead that, when expelled from the exhaust pipes of motor vehicles as
particulates and inhaled, is readily absorbed into the body leading to lead
poisoning and various illnesses and, settling quickly out of the air, it
contaminates the soil resulting in increased danger to health;

WHEREAS, scientific investigations have conclusively shown
that lead pollution in the Philippines is serious and that the adverse
consequences of lead intoxication attributable to TEL in gasoline is grievous,
thus increasing concern in the Philippines about the detrimental effects of free
lead in the atmosphere;

WHEREAS, medical investigations in the Philippines have
shown that in the urban areas Filipino children have been exposed to lead
poisoning beyond tolerable medical limits;

WHEREAS, it is imperative for the Philippines to adopt a
national program designed to arrest the dangers posed by TEL nationwide;

WHEREAS, various chemical compounds can be used for blending
with gasoline to reduce and/or eliminate TEL in gasoline without posing dangers
to health and at the same time improve octane ratings, among which substitutes
is ethanol which is the only one that can be produced locally in sufficient
quantity and -quality, indicating that ethanol is the best choice in the
Philippines to replace TEL as a gasoline additive;

WHEREAS, technical studies have shown that ethanol may be
produced efficiently from sugar cane and in existing sugar districts so that,
considering the plight of the sugar industry which resulted from the depressed
world prices of sugar, the early implementation of an ethanol program will
produce an additional benefit of providing a new market for the local sugar
industry;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the
Constitution, do hereby order and decree:

SECTION 1. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the
State, in view of the growing world-wide concern over the harmful effects
brought about by the use of tetraethyl lead (TEL) in gasoline and as a measure
to protect and safeguard the health of the people against lead poisoning, to
eliminate the use of tetraethyl lead (TEL) in gasoline, and in its stead, to use
ethanol.

SEC. 2. In pursuance of the above policy, the Philippine
National Alcohol Commission (PNAC), under the Ministry of Trade and Industry is
hereby directed to immediately draw up a National Ethanol Program which will
cause the gradual withdrawal of the use of TEL in gasoline by blending ethanol
with gasoline beginning with a 5% blend up to a 20% blend which maximum blend is
to be attained as soon as practicable but not later than 5 years from date
hereof. Such a program shall include the establishment of alcohol distilleries
in appropriate locations throughout the country, with preferential emphasis on
sugar central districts in order to ensure adequate supply of ethanol to support
this program.

SEC. 3. The Ministry of Energy is hereby directed to
implement a program, consistent with the rules and regulations drawn up by PNAC,
which will cause the oil companies operating in the Philippines to blend ethanol
with gasoline, leading to the phase-out of lead in gasoline.

SEC. 4. The National Pollution Control Commission (NPCC) is
hereby directed to coordinate with PNAC in establishing standards for
permissible lead content in the emission of all types of motor vehicles. NPCC is
also hereby directed to enforce such standards.

SEC. 5. The Ministry of Health is hereby directed to monitor
on a regular basis the incidence of lead poisoning in the country and to
recommend or take such remedial measures as may be warranted to counteract its
adverse effects.

SEC. 6. The Philippine National Alcohol Commission shall be
responsible for the implementation of the National Ethanol Program and shall
prepare the implementing rules and regulations therefor.

SEC. 7. All laws, decrees, executive orders, administrative
orders, rules and regulations of parts thereof which are inconsistent with the
provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed, amended or modified
accordingly.

SEC. 8. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 16th day of November, in the year of Our
Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-five.