"(d) Notice to Exporting Member-Country - Upon receipt of a properly documented application and before proceeding to initiate an investigation, the Secretary shall notify the government of the exporting country about the impending anti-dumping investigation. However, the Secretary shall refrain from publicizing the application for the initiation of the investigation before a decision has been made to initiate an investigation.

"(e) Notice to Concerned Parties and Submission of Evidences - Within two (2) days from initiation of the investigation and after having notified the exporting country, the Secretary shall identify all interested parties, I.e., protestee-importer, exporter and/or foreign producer, notify and require them to submit within thirty (30) days from receipt of such notice evidences and information or reply to the questionnaire to dispute the allegations contained in the application. At this point, the respondent is given the opportunity to present evidences to prove that he is not involved in dumping. He shall furnish them with a copy of the application and its annexes subject to the requirement to protect confidential information. The notice shall be deemed to have been received five (5) days from the date on which it was sent to the respondent or transmitted to the appropriate diplomatic representative of the exporting member, or an official representative of the exporting territory. If the respondent fails to submit his answer, he shall declared in default, in which case, the Secretary shall make such preliminary determination of the case on the basis of the information available, among others, the facts alleged in the petition and the supporting information and documents supplied by the petitioner.

"(f) Preliminary Determination - Not later than thirty (30) working days from receipt of the answer of the respondent importer, exporter, foreign producer, exporting member-country and other interested parties, the Secretary shall, on the basis of the application of the aggrieved party and the answer of the respondent/s and their respective supporting documents or information, make a preliminary determination of the application for the imposition of an anti—dumping duty.

"In the preliminary determination , the Secretary shall essentially determine the following:

"(1) Price difference between the export price and the normal value of the article in question in the country of export of origin;

"(2) The presence and extent of material injury threat injury to the domestic industry producing like product or the material retardation like of the establishment of a domestic industry industry; and

"(3) The causal relationship between the allegedly dumped product, commodity or article and the material injury or threat of material injury to the affected domestic industry or material retardation of the establishment of the domestic industry.

"The preliminary finding of the Secretary, together with the records of the case shall, within three (3) days, be transmitted by the Secretary to the Commission for its immediate formal investigations. In case his preliminary finding is affirmative, the burden of proof is shifted to the respondent to rebut the preIiminary finding. The Secretary shall immediately issue, through the Secretary of Finance, written instructions to the Commissioner of Customs to impose within three (3) days from receipt of instructions a cash bond equal to the provisionally estimated anti-dumping duty but not greater than the provisionally estimated anti-dumping margin of dumping in addition to any other taxes and charges imposed by law on articles. The cash bond shall be deposited with the government depository bank and shall be held in trust for the respondent. Moreover, the posting of the cash bond shall only be required no sooner than sixty (60) days from the date of investigation is deemed to be the date the Secretary publishes such notice in two (2) newspapers of general circulation. The Secretary shall cause such publication immediately after a decision to initiate the investigation has been made. The provisional anti-dumping duty may only be imposed for a four (4) month period which may be extended to six (6) months upon request by the exporter/s representing a significant percentage of the trade involved. However, a provisional anti-dumping duty lower than the provisionally estimated margin of dumping can be imposed for a period of six (6) to nine (9) months, if it is deemed sufficient to remove or prevent the material injury.

"(g) Termination of Investigation. The Secretary or the Commission, as the case may be, shall motu proprio terminate the investigation at any stage of the proceedings if the provisionally estimated margin of dumping is less than two percent (2%) of export price or the volume of dumped imports or injury is negligible. The volume of dumped imports from a particular country shall normally be regarded as negligible if it accounts for less than three percent (3%) of the imports of the like article in the Philippines unless countries which individually account for less than three percent (3%) of the imports of the like article in the Philippines collectively account for more than seven percent ( 7%) of the total imports of that article.

"(h) Investigation of the Commission. - Within three (3) working days upon its receipt of the records of the case from the Secretary, the Commission shall start the formal investigation and shall accordingly notify in writing all parties on record and, in addition, give public notice of the exact initial date, time and place of the formal investigation through the publication of such particulars and a concise summary of the petition in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

"In the formal investigation, the Commission shall essentially determine the following:

"(1) If the article in question is being imported into, or sold in the Philippines at a price less than its normal value; and the difference, if any, between the export price and the normal value of the article.

"(2) The presence and extent of material injury or the threat thereof to the domestic industry, or the material retardation of the establishment of a domestic industry;

"(3) The existence of a causal relationship between the allegedly dumped product, commodity or article and the material injury or threat of material injury to the affected domestic injury, or material retardation of the establishment of a domestic industry;

"(4) The anti-dumping duty to be imposed; and

"(5) The duration of the imposition of the anti-dumping duty.

"The Commission is hereby authorized to require any interested party to allow its access to or otherwise provide necessary information to enable the Commission to expedite the investigation.

"The formal investigation shall be conducted in a summary manner. No dilatory tactics or unnecessary or unjustified delays shall be allowed and the technical rules of evidence used in regular court proceedings shall not be applied.

"In case any or all of the parties on record fail to submit their answers to questionnaires/position papers within the prescribed period, the Commission shall base its findings on the best available information.

"The Commission shall complete the formal investigation and submit a report of its findings, whether favorable or not, to the Secretary within one hundred twenty (120) days from receipt of the records of the case: Provided, however, That the Commission shall, before a final determination is made, inform all the interested parties in writing of the essential facts under consideration which form the basis for the decision to apply definitive measures. Such disclosure should take place in sufficient time for the parties to defend their interests.

"(I) Determination of Material Injury or Threat Thereof . The presence and extent of material injury to the domestic industry, as a result of the dumped imports shall be determined on the basis of positive evidence and shall require an objective examination of, but shall not be limited to the following:

"(1) The rate of increase and amount of imports, either in absolute terms or relative to production or consumption in the domestic market;

"(2) The effect of the dumped imports on the price in the domestic market for like product, commodity or article, that is, whether there has been a significant price undercutting by the dumped imports as compared with the price of like product, commodity or article in the domestic market, or whether the effect of such imports is otherwise to depress prices to a significant degree or prevent price increases, which otherwise would have occurred, to a significant degree; and