QuestionsQuestions (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1635)
PD 1635 extends retirement/separation benefits by granting a gratuity equivalent to one month of base and longevity pay for every year of service to specified military survivor-beneficiaries who are not covered under RA 340 (as amended) or PD 1044.
Entitlement arises upon the death of an officer or enlisted man who would have been entitled to retire under Section 1 of RA 340 (as amended) or to separate under PD 1044, but died without any eligible beneficiary to receive retirement pension/benefits under those laws.
It inserts a new provision as Section 3-A of Republic Act No. 340 (as amended).
First, the officer/enlisted man’s unmarried surviving legitimate, adopted, or acknowledged natural children who have reached 21 years of age; in their absence, the surviving parent or parents; and in default thereof, the surviving unmarried brothers and sisters.
The children must be unmarried and must have reached 21 years of age.
Yes. Section 3-A expressly includes unmarried surviving legitimate, adopted, or acknowledged natural children.
If no such children exist, the surviving parent or parents become entitled to the gratuity.
In default of surviving parents, the surviving unmarried brothers and sisters are entitled.
The gratuity is equivalent to one month of the decedent’s base and longevity pay on the date of death for every year of service.
It is payable in one lump sum.
PD 1635 applies when the deceased died without any beneficiary eligible to receive retirement pension or benefits under RA 340 (as amended) or PD 1044.
They establish the earlier scheme of survivor benefits and the groups initially excluded (parents, unmarried children of majority age, and unmarried brothers/sisters), which PD 1635 aims to correct for certain cases.
The benefits extend to beneficiaries of military personnel who died in line of duty on or after September 21, 1972 (the declaration of Martial Law).
Indirectly, yes: Section 2 extends benefits to deaths in line of duty on or after September 21, 1972, even though PD 1635 was issued on August 24, 1979.
To justify including parents and siblings as survivor beneficiaries by aligning the benefit scheme with the Civil Code’s intestate succession rules (e.g., brothers and sisters inherit in default of direct descendants/ascendants) and the Filipino tradition of family solidarity.
They are entitled in equal shares (unmarried children of majority age; or in their absence, parents; or in default, brothers and sisters).
No. Brothers and sisters are entitled only in default of surviving parents—meaning if parents exist and are eligible, they take precedence.
The unmarried surviving legitimate, adopted or acknowledged natural children who have reached 21 years old have priority; parents are entitled only in their absence.