FURTHER AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED SIXTY-ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THREE AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE OIL INDUSTRY COMMISSION ACT BY AMPLIFYING THE PURPOSES OF THE SPECI…

WHEREAS, under Section 7(j) of Republic Act No. 617H, as
amended, a Special Fund was created to be utilized directly or in the
form of loans through financial institutions of the government, for
projects relating to the consumption or use of crude oil, gas and other
petroleum products; the development of other sources of energy; for
exploration and researches on conservation, anti-pollution and other
similar studies; and to subsidize importation of crude oil and refined
petroleum products by the government agencies and government owned or
controlled corporations to assure adequate and continuous supply of
petroleum products at reasonable prices;

WHEREAS, there is a need to redefine and amplify the
purposes of the Special Fund;

WHEREAS, in order to generate funds with which to conduct
and thereby carry out successfully those economic and social projects to
be financed by the Special Fund, it is necessary to adopt adequate
measures for its financing;

WHEREAS, the foregoing objective can be achieved by
authorizing the Oil Industry Commission to require payment within
certain prescribed limits by those engaged in the petroleum industry to
said Special Fund;

WHEREAS, the Commission may avail itself of said authority
in order to regulate and rationalize prices of petroleum products in
line with announced policy of the government to encourage conservation
and disciplined use of petroleum products;

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

SECTION 1. Section 7(j) of Republic Act No. 6173, as
amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 7(j). Whenever an authorized increase in the prices
of petroleum products would result in an extraordinary gain from
existing inventories, the Commission is hereby empowered to take
measures, including the payment by the persons or companies benefited,
to a Special Fund which is hereby created, of such amounts as the
Commission may determine in an appropriate order, as would assure that
said extraordinary gain shall redound to the public interest.

Until otherwise provided, the Special Fund herein created shall be
utilized for projects relating to the consumption or use of crude oil,
gas, and other petroleum products; for the development of other sources
of energy; for exploration and researches on conservation,
anti-pollution and other similar studies; to subsidize importation of
crude oil and refined petroleum products by government agencies, or
government owned or controlled corporations, to assure adequate and
continuous supply of petroleum products at reasonable prices; and such
other special economic and social projects as may be determined by the
President of the Philippines. The Special Fund shall be administered as
the President may direct.”

SEC. 2. A new section shall be inserted between Sections
15 and 16 of Republic Act No. 6173, as amended, to be known and cited as
Section 15-A to read as follows:

“SEC. 15-A. Payment to Special Fund.—The Commission
is hereby empowered to require through an appropriate order, payment by
persons or companies engaged in the business of importing, manufacturing
and/or marketing petroleum products, to the Special Fund created under
Section 7(j) of this Act, of amounts not exceeding fifteen centavos
(P0.15) per liter of refined petroleum products. In the exercise of this
power, the Commission shall take into account the requirements of the
Special Fund in relation to the purposes for which it was created, the
effect of the payment on prices of petroleum products and corollarily,
its cost impact on the economy and/or the consuming public and the cost
and profit levels of the industry.”

SEC. 3. All acts, executive orders, administrative orders,
rules and regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent herewith
are hereby revoked or modified accordingly.

SEC. 4. This Decree shall take effect upon its approval.

Done in the City of Manila this 15th day of May, in the year of
Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.