EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 1044 - STRENGTHENING THE CONTROL AND SUPERVISION OVER LOG EXPORTS AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE MONITORING SYSTEM

WHEREAS, in spite of the present efforts by the government to check rampant overshipment and illegal exportation of Philippine logs by unscrupulous log exporters and/or smugglers, these illegal practices have not been totally eradicated;

WHEREAS, such illegal practices have been diverting millions of dollars away from the country and have been identified as a major means of salting dollars abroad to the detriment of the national economy;

WHEREAS, the government is determined to stamp out this form of economic sabotage as part of the government’s economic recovery programs by strengthening the control and regulation of log exports through effective monitoring, inspection and surveillance abroad;  

Now, therefore, I, Ferdinand E. Marcos, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby direct and order that:

Section 1. No government agency shall allow the exportation of logs or issue any log export authority unless the log exporter presents a written authorization from the foreign log importer/buyer allowing or consenting to the inspection/re-measurement of the quantity/quality of the log shipment concerned to be conducted by a duly designated government representative surveyor at all unloading ports abroad.

Sec. 2. A fee not to exceed $1 per cubic meter shall be collected from all log exports for use by the Presidential Anti-Dollar Salting Task Force in defraying the expenses to be incurred in the inspection, re-measurement, monitoring and surveillance of Philippine log exports abroad by government designated surveyors/representatives.

Sec. 3. The Minister of Trade and Industry, as Chairman of the Task Force, shall coordinate the inspection, re-measurement, monitoring and surveillance of Philippine log exports abroad, including the appointment and/or designation of government representatives/surveyors mentioned in Section 1 above.

Sec. 4. The Presidential Anti-Dollar Salting Task Force is hereby directed to promulgate the appropriate rules and regulations to implement this Order.  

Sec. 5. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 7th day of August, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-five.