Office of the President of the Philippines

Media

Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: Office of the President of the Philippines
Language: English
Source: The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XXVII (Issue No. 7) July 1951
Year: 1951
Rights
Fulltext: July, 1951 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 223 The Business View A monthly review of facts, trends, forecasts, by Manila businessmen Office of the President of the Philippines From an Official Source JUNE 1—For the record, Malacanan issues the text of a concurrent resolution adopted by the Congress of the Philippines on August 10, 1950, expressing the sense of the Congress to “render every possible assistance” to the United Nations forces in the Korean conflict. President Elpidio Quirino personally escorts former GovernorGeneral Francis Burton Harrison and Mrs. Harrison from their resid ence in Quezon City, where they have been staying for several months, to the M.S. Dofia Aurora which will take them to New York. Governor Harrison has been ill and his departure was kept quiet. The President accepts with regret the resignation of Daniel Aguinaldo as Managing Director of the Price Stabilization Corporation and designates Under-Secretary of Commerce Saturnino Mendinueto as acting Chairman of the Board, lauding Aguinaldo’s services during his incumbency of the office. The Cabinet decides on the standardization of salaries of officials and employees of the government corporations, which entails radical slashes in the salaries of PRISCO and other officials. The Cabinet approves Philippine participation in the 12th session of the Council of Food and Agriculture Organization, in Rome, June 11 to 25, Eutiquio Santa Romana, of the Philippine Legation there to act as observer, and in the International Sugar Council meeting, in London, June 25, which Minister Jose E. Romero will attend as the Philippine delegate. The Cabinet approves the renaming of the Santa Cruz Bridge, Manila, soon to be opened, the General MacArthur Bridge. Announced at Malacanan that the First National ManagementLabor Conference is to be a feature of Philippine Achievement Week, July 4-10; Presiding Judge Arsenio Roldan of the Court of Industrial Relations was designated as chairman of the committee in charge, with J. T. Naylor and L. Siguion-Reyna representing management and Cipriano Cid and Emilio R. Severino, labor. June 2—The President inducts Calixto Duque as interim Chief of Staff, with the rank of major-general. Officials of the U. S. Economic Cooperation Administration leave Manila for Mindanao in company of the Land Settlement and Develop ment Corporation officials, and also Administrator of Economic Coor dination Salvador Araneta and the Reconstruction Finance Corpora tion Chairman Placido L. Mapa, to inspect the land-settlement pro jects there with a view to speeding the Government’s land-for-thelandless program with ECA assistance. June 4—The President orders the investigation of alleged police rackets in Manila and a number of provinces, involving the stopping of cargo trucks from these provinces entering the city to extort money from the drivers and operators. In an interview with the President, Central Bank Governor Miguel Cuaderno and Administrator Araneta strongly recommend the approval of the Import Control Bill. June 5—The President signs nine bills, including the bill creating a Bureau of Soil Conservation (Republic Act No. 622), that penalizing the use of duly marked containers by other than the registered manu facturer (No. 623), that creating a Philippine Tourist Bureau (No. 624) that appropriating P4,000,000 for the expenses of the elections on Nov ember 13 (No. 626), that appropriating an additional P13,235,850 for the expenses of the Government during the present fiscal year (No. 628), that providing for a concurrent Philippine consulate in Singapore, Federation of Malaya, British North Borneo, Sarawak, and Brunei, with a main office in Singapore (No. 629), and that appropriating P350,000 for the operation of the Wage Administration Service in the De partment of Labor (No. 630). June 6—The President signs the bill creating a Philippine Sugar Institute, a semi-public corporation to conduct research work and to otherwise promote the sugar industry (Republic Act No. 632); the governing body will be a 7-member Board of Directors, to be appointed by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, of which 3 shall be recommended by the National Federation of Sugar Cane Planters and 2 by the Philippine Sugar As sociation, the Chairman of the Board also to be designated by the President; operational funds will be obtained from a tax of 10 centavos per picul, to be collected for a period of 5 years, beginning with the 1950-51 crop year, on the annual sugar production. The President signs an Administrative Order creating a Philip pine Committee in connection with the Economic Commission for Asia urn A/srAMF Enjoy real Fuel economy with this high power gasoline that's processed to give more miles per gallon . . . more savings per running mile. CALTEX (PHILIPPINES) INC. and the Far East (ECAFE) of which the Philippines is an active mem ber, the Committee to be composed of the Under-Secretary of Com merce as Chairman, and representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Central Bank, the Office of Economic Coordination, and the Director of Commerce as members. The President approves the sending of an observer to the meeting of the Council for Technical Cooperation in South and Southeast Asia, Colombo, June 25; Jose Alejandrino, of the Philippine Legation in Bangkok, will probably be assigned to the office. The President also approves Philippine participation in the 13th International Congress of Military Medicine and Pharmacy, Paris, June 17 to 23, in the person of Dr. Aristeo Ubaldo, who will defray his own expenses. The President approves the release of P104,000 for the construc tion of a landing field at Oroquieta, Misamis Occidental, by the Civil Aeronautics Administration. The President issues a statement expressing his grief over the sudden death from a heart attack of Senator Tomas Confesor,—“a great Filipino”. Secretary of Education Teodoro Evangelista appoints a committee composed of Dr. Gumersindo Garcia, Lino Castillejo, and Dr. Vidal Tan, to look into the conditions obtaining at the Philippine General Hospital which is a unit of the University of the Philippines. June 7—The Department of Foreign Affairs announces that the entry of Chinese nationals has been practically suspended since October 31, 1950, in execution of a Cabinet policy, either as immigrants or non immigrants, but that this does not apply to Chinese who hold valid re-entry permits. . June 8—The President signs a bill granting honorary Philippine citizenship to former Senator Millard E. Tydings and former Repre sentative John McDuffie (Republic Act No. 634), authors of the Tydings-McDuffie Law of March 24, 1934 (Philippine Independence Act). He also signs Senate Bill No. 42 (now Republic Act No. 635) amending the Securities Act (Commonwealth Act No. 83). The President expresses his approval of the punishment meted out by the Monetary Board to Ceferino Eugenio, Assistant Superin tendent of Banks, as recommended by the investigator, Secretary of Justice Jose P. Bengzon, and expresses his satisfaction over the result of the investigation into the improper trafficking in dollars in the Central Bank. He asks Secretary of Defense Ramon Magsaysay to report immediately on the alleged anomalies in the Philippine Veterans Board involving the fraudulent cashing of veterans’ warrants. The President confers with Monetary Board officials also con cerning their acceptance of the resignation yesterday of Central Bank Deputy Governor Alfonso Calalang; Mr. Calalang has become Presi dent of the new Security Bank and Trust Company. The President appoints Jose Imperial, Consul General in San Francisco, as Minister at Jakarta, to take the place of Ambassador Domingo Imperial, recently appointed Chairman of the Commission on Elections. He appoints Domingo Pidlaoan as Consul Genetai in San Francisco. He also appoints Yusup Abubakar as Consul in the new Singapore consulate. June 9—The President signs House Bill No. 1143 amending certain sections of Republic Act No. 165 which created the Patent Office (Re public Act No. 637). The President issues Executive Order No. 446 authorizing PRISCO to import certain essential commodities without quota allocation and in such quantities as may be found necessary, Executive Order No. 447, fixing new ceiling prices of imported foodstuffs, Executive Order No. 448, fixing new ceiling prices of various building materials, and Executive Order No. 449 fixing new ceiling prices of school supplies. June 10—General Eduardo Gonzalez Gallarza, Spanish Minister of Air, on a goodwill mission, arrives in Manila on a Philippine Air Lines plane. June 11—At a Malacanan reception, General Gallarza presents the President with El Gran Collar de Isabela Catolica, highest decoration conferred by Spain on the heads of other states, for which the President expresses his appreciation but explains the constitutional provision which requires congressional approval of the acceptance of foreign decorations. The General states he would have no objection to entrusting the decoration to the Department of Foreign Affairs until Congress acts. The President receives Vincent Checchi, Manila representative of the U.S. Economic Cooperative Administration, who is leaving for the United States to report on the progress of the E.C.A. program here. The President appoints Dr. Marcos M. Alicante Director of the new Bureau of Soil Conservation. The President signs a number of bills including House Bill No. 1142 on trade-names and trade-marks (Republic Act No. 638). June 13—The President orders the suspension of Col. Juan Be nitez and Maj. Gervasio Francisco, Chairman and Administrative Officer, respectively, of the Philippine Veterans Board, authorizes Secretary Magsaysay to suspend nine other officials in the organiza tion, and asks him, too, to request the Auditor-General to take similar action with respect to two men in the Auditing Office, in connection with the investigation of the fraudulent cashing of veterans’ warrants, believed to run into hundreds of thousands of pesos. The President designates Maj. Gen. Guillermo B. Francisco and Mr. Hilario Hilario to take the places of the two principal officials of the Board. June 15—The President signs the new Import Control Bill (Re public Act No. 650). June 16—The President receives a delegation of the Philippine Flour Millers Association which urges him to veto Senate Bill No. 256 which would require importers to purchase cassava flour in the amount of 30% with every purchase of wheat flour. The President signs House Bill No. 1348 (Republic Act No. 658) amending the Internal Revenue Code re books of accounts; it requires taxpayers whose gross quarterly sales or receipts exceed P25.000 to have their books audited by independent certified public accountants and their income tax returns accompanied by certified balance sheets and other statements. He also signs House Bill No. 771 (Republic Act No. 663) recreating the National Rice and Corn Corporation. Announced that the Department of Foreign Affairs has requested Philippine Ambassador Joaquin Elizalde, in Washington, to make strong representations for a more liberal interpretation of the immigra tion provision (Par. 1, Art. 6) in the Philippine Trades Act of 1946 so as to permit the entry of Philippine non-quota immigrants into the United States after July 3, 1951. June 17—The President hails the offer of the United States Govern ment to make available the lending facilities of the Export-Import Bank to establish credit for Philippine productive projects, stating that this will ‘‘go a long way in helping the Administration’s program of economic development...and reflects the strong confidence of the United States Government in our ability to carry out our economic development program.” June 18—The President at Fort McKinley addresses a complement of some 200 officers and men of the 10th Battalion Combat Team which has just returned from Korea and other officers and soldiers of the . 20th BCT who are leaving shortly to replace them, taking advantage of the occasion to say that he will restore the enforcement of the writ of habeas corpus as soon as possible as he does ‘‘not want to go down in history as having curtailed this right for an indefinite period”. June 19—The President issues Executive Order No. 453 imple menting Republic Act No. 613, and regulating the exportation and re-exportation of certain (strategic) materials and articles. June 20—In ceremonies held in Malacanan, the President receives the credentials of Mons. Egidio Vagnozzi as the first Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See. The President on behalf of the Philippine Government receives a check for P500.000 from Philippine Alien Property Administrator James Mcl. Henderson, representing the final turnover under his Office which will be deactivated as of June 30. Future transfers will be effected by the Office of Alien Property under the U. S. Department of Justice. Announced at Malacanan that the President on the 16th signed Senate Bill No. 256 (Republic Act No. 657),—“to promote the pro duction of cassava flour and to regulate the importation of wheat flour”. Section 2 of the Act reads: ‘For the purpose of carrying out the policy set forth in section one of this Act, the Price Stabilization Corporation is hereby authorized and directed to prescribe as a condition for the issuance of any license to import wheat flour from abroad that the importer shall buy cassava flour in such proportions, not to exceed thirty (30%) per centum of wheat flour by weight, as may be prescribed by the Adminis trator of Economic Coordination, and shall sell cassava flour and wheat flour in the same proportion." The Cabinet approves the renewal for another year of the trade agreement between the Philippines and Occupied Japan through SCAP; the present agreement sets a maximum of P50.000.000 and expires June 30. June 21—The President at a breakfast conference with Represen tative Cipriano Allas, Chairman of the House committee investigating cases of tax evasion, states that he will give him full support and to spare no executive department official who may be involved. June 26—The Cabinet reaffirms the policy of permitting free traffic in gold in the domestic market after the mining companies have sold 25% of their production to the Central Bank. While the smuggling out of gold is prohibited under heavy penalty, gold may be exported under government license. The Cabinet accepts the offer of the United States Government to abandon in favor of the Philippines three sunken U. S. Maritime Commission vessels on condition that the United States Government will be released of any liability; the ships are the Glenn’s Ferry, Char les C. Randelman, and Fairfield. The President directs the Commissioner of the Budget to release P100.000 as the Government’s contribution to the United Nations International Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to be paid in copra with the amount authorized by a resolution of the Cabinet a few days ago. The Cabinet also authorized a nation-wide collection for the benefit of children in connection with the observance of United Nations Day, October 24, a committee in charge to be headed by the Social Welfare Administrator. Under present arrangements, the United States mat ches 72 cents for every 28 cents contributed by UNICEF’s 26 member nations. The President receives a group of some 250 Bureau of Posts tele graph service employees who staged a walk-out in protest against a salary scale under which these skilled workers still receive as little as P60 a month, and expresses his surprise and sympathy; he confers with Secretary of Public Works Sotero Baluyut, Secretary of Justice Jose P. Bengzon (in his capacity as acting Secretary of Labor), and Secretary of Defense Ramon Magsaysay in connection with the matter, and instructs Budget Commissioner Pio Joven to scan the old and new budgets for any funds that may be available to raise the salaries of the underpaid men. (Continued on page 246) 224 246 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL___________ July, 1951 form, but are expressed in direct and practical action from which, I am sure, directly and indirectly, we shall all benefit. Cheerio!” Those interested in English idiom, or in the development of language ability in children, will like this: A little girl asked her father for a treat of some kind, and he said he’d see about it, meaning, of course, that he would take it under consideration. But the little girl took it more lit erally. A while later she asked him, ‘‘Have you looked already?” STEEL FABRICATORS CONTRACTORS ENGINEERS MANUFACTURERS MERCHANDISERS RIVER & HARBOR WORK SHIPS' REPAIRS Operating: MACHINE SHOPS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR FOUNDRY FOR CAST IRON. BRASS & BRONZE STRUCTURAL STEEL FABRICATING SHOP MARINE REPAIR SHOPS WOOD PRESERVING PLANT Distributors of Office of the President . . . (Continued from page 224) June 27—The President gives a luncheon at Malacanan in honor of Rear Admiral Francis P. Old and of his successor, Rear Admiral Eichard H. Cruzen, as commander of the United States naval forces in the Philippines; Admiral Old is scheduled to leave the country June 30. The President confirms the sentence of life imprisonment imposed by the Military Com mission on Lt. Gen. Shigenori Kuroda, for mer commander of the Japanese army of occupation and head of the military admin istration, for atrocities committed by men under his command. The President receives Francisco Dalupan on his return from a trip aboard and urges him to continue his studies on taxation and to assist the Government in finding means to avoid the overlapping of taxes on the coun try’s industries. The President issues Proclamation No. 262 designating the period August 19-September 19 as “Anti-Tuberculosis Month” and authorizing the Philippine Tuberculosis So ciety t * o conduct a national fund and educa tional drive during the month. Announced by the Philippine Council for U. S. Aid that an ECA grant of $603,000 and an approximately equal amount con tributed by the Philippines will provide for a low-cost housing project in Kamias, Quezon City, for some 1,112 families or around 7,500 people; the duplex (two-family) houses will cost around P7.600 and rents will range from P33 to P41 for the residences and from P90 to Pl 15 for commercial buildings; work will be begun before the end of the year. June 28—The President approves the General Appropriations Bill with the excep tion of a few items, the amount of P386,171,490 remaining almost the same with a reduction of only P7.200. PHILCUSA announces that the Bureau of Mines with ECA assistance will shortly begin a survey of strategic mineral deposits. Announced that in accordance with a Presidential directive. Secretary of Educa tion Teodoro Evangelista ordered the stop of the use of Gregorio Zaide’s “Philippine History for Catholic Elementary Schools” as it allegedly contains inaccuracies and was neither submitted to nor approved by the Board on Textbooks. June 29—Announced by the Department of Foreign Affairs that 135 sunken Japanese vessels in Philippine waters have been trans ferred to the Government by James Mcl. Henderson, Philippine Alien Property Ad ministrator. Of the approximately 400 vessels sunk, beached, or damaged during the war, the ownership of 207 was vested in the United States Government, while the rest could not be identified and automatically became the property of the Philippine Government. Of the 207, some were sold to private individuals, leaving a remainder of 135. Proceeds from salvage will go to the Philip pine Government except those from vessels in the San Fernando Bay area which will be turned over to the PAPA for the satisfaction of pending claims against the former enemy owners. June 30—The President issues a statement expressing his great sorrow over the death, from a heart-attack, of Dean Francisco Benitez of the College of Education, Univer sity of the Philippines. ATLANTIC, GULF & PACIFIC CO. OF MANILA (PHILIPPINE CONTRACTORS SINCE 1905) EXECUTIVE OFFICES • ENGINEERING DIV. STRUCTURAL & MECHANIC SHOPS Barrio Punta. Sta. Ana Manila Tala: 6-75-31 • 6-75-32 • 6-75-33 MERCHANDISE SALES DIVISION Robert Dollar Bldg., Muelle de Son Francisco & 23rd St., Port Area. Manila Tel. 3-36-61 (Connecting all Depts.) This ttrnal is one of the best media for advertising addressed to business and plant Managers
pages: 223-224, 246