Covered law and scope of amendments
- Section 1 amends Section 1 of Commonwealth Act No. 408, reaffirming that the rules are known as the Articles of War.
- Sections 2 to 40 amend multiple specific Articles (including Articles 2, 4, 8, 9, 14, 18, 19, 23, 81, 34, 38, 47, 49, 50, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 71, 72, 80, 83, 93, 94, 95, 96, 105, 107, 108, 109, 110, 113-A, and 120) of Commonwealth Act No. 408.
- Republic Act No. 242 regulates the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Constabulary through the Articles of War framework.
Policy and stated purpose
- The law modifies the Articles of War to govern persons subject to military law and to define military jurisdiction, courts-martial powers, procedures, punishable offenses, and disciplinary processes.
Persons subject to military law; jurisdiction
- Article 2 provides that the term “any person subject to military law” (and “persons subject to military law”) includes:
- All officers, Nurse Corps members, and soldiers in active service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the Philippine Constabulary; reserve force members from the dates of their call to active duty and while on such active duty; trainees undergoing military instructions; and other persons lawfully called, drafted, or ordered into duty or training in the service, from the dates they are required by the terms of the call, draft, or order.
- Cadets, flying cadets, and probationary second lieutenants.
- All retainers to the camp and all persons accompanying or serving with the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the field in time of war or when martial law is declared though not otherwise subject to these articles.
- All persons under sentence adjudged by courts-martial.
- Article 14 assigns summary courts-martial authority to try any person subject to military law except an officer, a Nurse Corps member, a cadet, a flying cadet, or a probationary second lieutenant, for non-capital crimes or offenses punishable under the Articles of War.
- Article 14 bars summary courts-martial from trying certain categories without applicable conditions, and limits punishments (see penalties section).
Courts-martial composition and appointment
- Article 4 states that all officers in active duty in the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the Philippine Constabulary may serve on courts-martial for the trial of any person lawfully brought before such courts.
- Article 4 requires the appointing authority, when detailing court members, to choose officers best qualified by age, training, experience, and judicial temperament, and it bars appointing officers with less than two years’ service as members in excess of the minority membership if it can be avoided without manifest injury to the service.
- Article 8 provides that general courts-martial may be appointed by the President, the Chief of Staff, the Chief of Constabulary, and—when empowered by the President—specified commanding officers (including major command/task force, division, military area, Military Academy Superintendent, and separate brigade/body of troops).
- Article 8 requires that when the appointing commander is the accuser or prosecutor, the general court-martial must be appointed by a superior competent authority.
- Article 8 makes officers ineligible to sit as members if they are the accuser or a witness for prosecution or defense.
- Article 8 mandates a law member in general courts-martial, who must be an officer of the Judge Advocate General’s Service unless none is available, in which case the appointing authority must detail an officer from another branch specially qualified; the law member performs duties in addition to membership as prescribed by the President’s regulations.
- Article 9 authorizes special courts-martial appointment by specified commanding officers, and requires superior appointment when the appointing commander is the accuser or prosecutor; it also allows appointment by superior authority when deemed desirable.
- Article 9 provides that officers are ineligible to sit on special courts-martial as members when they are the accuser or a witness for prosecution or defense.
Summary courts-martial limits and challenges
- Article 14 limits summary courts-martial punishments to:
- Confinement in excess of one month is not allowed.
- Restriction to limits for more than three months is not allowed.
- Forfeiture or detention of more than two-thirds of one month’s pay is not allowed.
- Article 14 bars bringing noncommissioned officers before a summary court-martial without the authority of the officer competent to bring them to trial before a general court-martial if the noncommissioned officers object thereto.
- Article 14 empowers the President, by regulations, to except from summary court-martial jurisdiction any class or classes of persons subject to military law.
- Article 18 provides that members of general or special courts-martial may be challenged by the accused or the trial judge advocate for cause stated to the court.
- Article 18 requires the court to decide the relevancy and validity of challenges and bars receipt of a challenge to more than one member at a time.
- Article 18 provides that challenges by the trial judge advocate ordinarily must be presented and decided before those offered by the accused.
- Article 18 grants each side a peremptory challenge, but bars challenging the law member except for cause.
- Article 18 allows the law member to remain unchallenged unless cause exists.
Oaths, secrecy, witness reporting duties
- Article 19 requires the trial judge advocate of a general or special court-martial to administer an oath to members before trial.
- Article 19 provides that the oath compels members to try and determine matters based on evidence, administer justice without partiality, and decide doubts per the rules, articles, conscience, best understanding, and custom of war in like cases.
- Article 19 requires members to keep findings or sentence confidential until published by the proper authority or duly announced by the court, and to avoid divulging votes or opinions of any particular member except when required as evidence by a court of justice in due course of law.
- Article 19 requires the court’s president to administer an oath to the trial judge advocate and assistant trial judge advocates regarding faithful and impartial performance and confidentiality of findings or sentence until duly disclosed to proper authority.
- Article 19 requires all persons who give evidence before a court-martial to be examined on oath (truth, whole truth, nothing but the truth).
- Article 19 requires reporters of court-martial proceedings to take oath or affirmation before entering duties to faithfully perform reporter functions.
- Article 19 requires interpreters to take oath or affirmation before entering duties to truly interpret the case.
- Article 19 provides that in case of affirmation the closing sentence of adjuration will be omitted.
Charges and pre-trial process
- Article 71 requires charges and specifications to be signed by a person subject to military law and under oath stating personal knowledge or investigation and that the matters are true in fact to the best of the signatory’s knowledge and belief.
- Article 71 bars referring any charge to a general court-martial for trial until after a thorough and impartial investigation that includes inquiries into:
- the truth of the matters set forth,
- the form of charges,
- what disposition is in the interest of justice and discipline.
- Article 71 requires that during the investigation the accused be given full opportunity to cross-examine available witnesses against him and to present evidence he desires for defense or mitigation, and the investigating officer must examine available witnesses requested by the accused.
- Article 71 requires that if charges are forwarded after investigation, they must be accompanied by a statement of the substance of testimony taken on both sides.
- Article 71 requires that before directing trial by general court-martial, the appointing authority must refer the charge to his staff judge advocate for consideration and advice.
- Article 71 requires immediate steps when a person subject to military law is placed in arrest or confinement to try him or dismiss the charge and release him.
- Article 71 provides that any officer responsible for unnecessary delay in investigating or carrying the case to final conclusion shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
- Article 71 provides timing and service rules for general courts-martial:
- Within eight days after the accused is arrested or confined, if practicable, the commanding officer must forward charges to the officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction and furnish the accused a copy.
- If furnishing a copy is not practicable, the commanding officer must report reasons for delay to superior authority.
- The trial judge advocate must cause service of charges upon the accused; failure to do so is ground for a continuance unless the trial is had on the charges furnished to the accused as provided.
- Article 71 requires a peace-time limitation: in time of peace, no person shall, against his objection, be brought to trial before a general court-martial within five days subsequent to the service of charges upon him.
Custody, records, and prisoner handling
- Article 72 prohibits a provost marshal or commander of a guard from refusing to receive or keep any prisoner committed to his charge by an officer belonging to the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the Philippine Constabulary, provided the committing officer delivers at the time a written account signed by himself of the crime or offense charged.
- Article 72 requires that any officer who refuses in violation of these requirements shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
- Article 34 requires that the trial judge advocate of each general or special court-martial, with such expedition as circumstances permit, forward the original record of proceedings to the appointment authority or his successor in command after action on each case.
- Article 34 requires that after having been acted upon, all such records be transferred to the Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
- Article 23 requires, in contempt prosecution for refusal to testify or produce documentary evidence (where the witness is not subject to military law), that the City Fiscal or City Attorney or Provincial Fiscal file and prosecute an information upon certification by the military court/commission/court of inquiry/board/officer.
Review, confirmation, rehearing, and separate system
- Article 47 requires President confirmation for specified sentences before execution:
- Any sentence respecting a general officer.
- Any sentence extending to the dismissal of an officer, except that in time of war a sentence extending to dismissal of an officer below the grade of brigadier general may be carried into execution upon confirmation by the commanding general of the Army in the field.
- Any sentence extending to suspension or dismissal of a cadet, flying cadet, probationary second lieutenant, and
- Any sentence of death, except in cases of persons convicted in time of war, of murder, mutiny, desertion, or as spies; in those excepted cases, sentence of death may be carried into execution subject to Article 50, upon confirmation by the commanding general of the Army in the field.
- Article 47 provides that when the competent confirming authority has already acted as the approving authority, no additional confirmation by him is necessary.
- Article 50 requires that the Judge Advocate General constitute a board of review consisting of one or more officers of the Judge Advocate General’s Service.
- Article 50 empowers the President or any reviewing or confirming authority, when disapproving or vacating a sentence whose execution has not been duly ordered, to authorize or direct a rehearing.
- Article 50 provides that rehearing must be before a court composed of officers not members of the court that first heard the case.
- Article 50 bars the accused at rehearing from being tried for any offense for which he was found not guilty by the first court.
- Article 50 bars imposing any sentence in excess of or more severe than the original sentence unless the new sentence is based on a finding of guilty of an offense not considered upon the merits in the original proceedings.
- Article 50 requires that rehearing occur in all cases where findings or sentence have been vacated because the board of review approved by the Judge Advocate General determined the record is legally insufficient to support findings or sentence, or errors of law injuriously affected substantial rights of the accused—unless, based on the board’s recommendations, findings/sentence are approved in part, or the record is returned for revision, or the case is dismissed by the reviewing or confirming authority.
- Article 50 requires that after any rehearing ordered by the President, the record of trial be transmitted by the Judge Advocate General with the board’s opinion and recommendations to the Chief of Staff for the action of the President.
- Article 50 empowers the President to establish a separate system of review for cases where the accused is a member of the Philippine Constabulary; until the President directs otherwise, trial records in such cases remain subject to the requirements and procedure fixed by Article 50.
Sentence mitigation, remission, commutation
- Article 49 provides that the power to execute a sentence includes power to mitigate or remit the whole or any part of the sentence.
- Article 49 allows mitigation or remission of any unexecuted portion by the military authority competent to appoint a court of the kind that imposed the sentence, excluding penitentiaries and Disciplinary Barracks of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or Philippine Constabulary where the person is held.
- Article 49 allows superior military authority to mitigate or remit, but bars remitting or mitigating any sentence approved or confirmed by the President by any other authority.
- Article 49 prohibits any authority inferior to the President from remitting or mitigating an approved sentence of loss of files by an officer, except as provided in Article 52.
- Article 49 empowers, when enabled by the President, the commanding general of the Army in the field or the area commander to:
- approve or confirm and commute (but not approve or confirm without commuting),
- mitigate, or remit,
- and then order execution as commuted/mitigated/remitted,
for sentences requiring Presidential confirmation before execution.
Limits on court-martial time for trial
- Article 38 provides a statute of limitations for court-martial trials:
- Except for desertion or murder committed in time of war, or for mutiny or war offenses, no person subject to military law shall be tried or punished by a court-martial for any crime or offense committed more than two years before arraignment.
- Article 38 increases the limitations period to three years for:
- desertion in time of peace, or
- any crime or offense punishable under articles ninety-four and ninety-five.
- Article 38 excludes from computation:
- any period of the accused’s absence from the jurisdiction of the Philippines, and
- any period during which, due to some manifest impediment, the accused is not amenable to military justice.
- Article 38 bars the article from authorizing trial or punishment for offenses already barred by existing law.
Disciplinary punishment by commanding officers
- Article 105 authorizes commanding officers of detachments, companies, squadrons, commissioned vessels, or higher commands to impose disciplinary punishments for minor offenses under regulations prescribed by the President.
- Article 105 prohibits disciplinary punishment unless the accused does not demand trial by court-martial.
- Article 105 authorizes disciplinary punishments including:
- admonition,
- reprimand,
- withholding of privileges for not exceeding one week,
- extra fatigue for not exceeding one week,
- restriction to certain specified limits for not exceeding one week, and
- hard labor without confinement for not exceeding one week.
- Article 105 forbids disciplinary punishments that include forfeiture of pay or confinement under guard.
- Article 105 allows that in time of war or grave public emergency, a commanding officer of grade brigadier general or higher may impose forfeiture of not more than one-half of the officer’s monthly pay for one month on an officer of his command below the grade of a major.
- Article 105 grants a right to appeal: a person punished under this authority who deems the punishment unjust or disproportionate may appeal through the proper channel to the next superior authority, and must undergo the punishment in the meantime.
- Article 105 empowers the commanding officer who imposes punishment, his successor, and superior authority to mitigate or remit any unexecuted portion.
- Article 105 provides that enforcing disciplinary punishment is not a bar to trial by court-martial for a crime or offense growing out of the same act or omission.
- Article 105 permits the fact that disciplinary punishment has been enforced to be shown in trial and treated as a factor in determining measures of punishment upon a guilty finding.
Contempt; refusals to appear or testify
- Article 23 deems any person not subject to military law guilty of contempt if the person willfully:
- neglects or refuses to appear as a witness,
- refuses to qualify as a witness,
- refuses to testify,
- or refuses to produce documentary evidence the person was legally subpoenaed to produce,
before any military court, commission, court of inquiry, or board, or before any officer appointed to conduct an investigation under Article 71, or before an officer designated to take a deposition to be read in evidence.
- Article 23 mandates punishment for contempt by the court of first instance of the province or city where the subpoena was issued, with jurisdiction conferred for such purpose.
- Article 23 requires the City Fiscal/City Attorney/Provincial Fiscal to file and prosecute an information upon certification by the military court/commission/court of inquiry/board/officer.
- Article 23 provides that the punishment on conviction follows the penalties in Rule sixty-four (sections 6 and 7).
- Article 23 requires the payment or tender of witness fees as the Chief of Staff may prescribe, plus traveling expenses of ten centavos per kilometer of travel, payable from appropriations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the Philippine Constabulary.
Direct contempts by military tribunals
- Article 81 allows a military tribunal to punish any person who commits direct contempt as defined in rules of court.
- Article 81 limits punishment by providing that if punishment exceeds ten days confinement or a fine not exceeding two hundred pesos, or both, the limit applies as stated.
Specific offenses amended; desertion and related
- Article 54 punishes fraudulent enlistment: any person who procures enlistment in the military service or Philippine Constabulary by willful misrepresentation or concealment as to qualifications and receives pay or allowance shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
- Article 55 punishes officers who knowingly enlist or muster prohibited persons: the officer shall be dismissed or suffer other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
- Article 57 imposes dismissal for knowingly false returns: any officer whose duty is to render returns who knowingly makes a false return shall be dismissed and suffer other punishment as a court-martial may direct; officers who omit returns through neglect or design are punished as a court-martial may direct.
- Article 58 defines desertion-related acts:
- An officer who tenders resignation and, before due notice of acceptance, quits post or proper duties without leave and with intent to absent himself permanently is deemed a deserter.
- A soldier who again enlists without a regular discharge is deemed to have deserted the service of the Philippines; if enlistment is in the Armed Forces of the Philippines or Philippine Constabulary, he is deemed to have fraudulently enlisted therein.
- Any person subject to military law who quits organization or place of duty with intent to avoid hazardous duty or shirk important service is deemed a deserter.
- Article 59 provides punishments for desertion:
- If committed in time of war, the offense suffers death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
- If committed at any other time, the offense suffers any punishment excepting death that a court-martial may direct.
- Article 60 punishes advising or aiding another to desert:
- If committed in time of war, death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
- If committed at any other time, any punishment excepting death that a court-martial may direct.
- Article 61 punishes entertaining a deserter: an officer who retains in command a soldier known to be a deserter and fails to inform superior authority of the organization to which the deserter belongs is punished as a court-martial may direct.
- Article 107 allows civil officers authorized under Philippine laws to arrest offenders and to summarily arrest a deserter and deliver him to proper custody.
- Article 108 requires soldiers/trainees to “make good time lost”: any soldier or trainee who deserts, is absent without proper authority for more than one day, is confined for more than one day under sentence, or while awaiting trial and awaiting disposition if trial results in conviction, or becomes unable for more than one day due to intemperate use of drugs or alcoholic liquor, or due to disease or injury resulting from the person’s own misconduct, becomes liable after return to full-duty status to serve additional time to complete the required part of the enlistment/training period before furlough to the Army reserve.
Crimes against persons; disrespect; spies
- Article 63 punishes disrespect:
- Any officer who uses contemptuous or disrespectful words against the President, Vice-President, Congress of the Philippines, or Secretary of National Defense is dismissed or punished otherwise as a court-martial may direct.
- Any other person subject to military law who so offends is punished as a court-martial may direct.
- Article 83 punishes spies in time of war: any person found lurking or acting as a spy in or about fortifications, posts, quarters, or encampments of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or elsewhere is tried by general court-martial or military commission and, upon conviction, suffers death.
- Article 93 punishes murder or rape in time of war by requiring death or imprisonment for life, as a court-martial may direct.
Crimes involving felonies; public property; frauds
- Article 94 punishes various crimes by subjecting to court-martial any person subject to military law who commits any felony, crime, breach of law, or violation of municipal ordinance recognized as an offense of a penal nature and punishable under penal laws of the Philippines or municipal ordinances:
- inside an Armed Forces reservation, or
- outside such reservation when the offended party (and each offended party if more than one) is a person subject to military law.
- Article 94 requires that in imposing penalties for offenses within this article, the penalties provided in the penal laws of the Philippines or in such municipal ordinances must be taken into consideration.
- Article 80 requires security of captured property: all public property taken from the enemy is government property and must be secured for government service; any person subject to military law who neglects to secure it or wrongfully appropriates it is punished as a court-martial may direct.
- Article 95 punishes frauds against the Government affecting matters and equipments:
- Any person with charge/possession/custody/control of money or other property of the Philippines furnished or intended for military service who knowingly delivers or causes delivery of a lesser amount than that for which he receives a certificate or receipt.
- Any authorized person who makes or delivers any paper certifying receipt without full knowledge of the truth of statements and with intent to defraud the Philippines.
- Any person who steals, embezzles, knowingly and willfully misappropriates, applies to his own use or benefit, or wrongfully or knowingly sells or disposes of specified government ordnances, arms, equipment, ammunition, clothing, subsistence stores, money, or other property furnished or intended for military service.
- Any person who knowingly purchases or receives in pledge for obligation or indebtedness any such property from any soldier/officer/other person part of or employed in the forces/service, when the seller/pledger has no lawful right.
- Article 95 provides punishment on conviction by fine or imprisonment, or other punishment adjudged by court-martial, or by any or all of said penalties.
- Article 95 provides continuing liability: if the accused receives discharge or dismissal after committing any such offense, the accused remains liable to arrest and hold for trial and sentence by a court-martial as if no discharge/dismissal occurred.
- Article 95 specifically continues liability for an officer guilty of embezzlement of ration savings, post exchange, company, or other like funds, or embezzlement of money or other property trusted to his charge by enlisted men, even if the officer receives discharge/dismissal or is dropped from the rolls.
Officer conduct and enlistment discipline
- Article 96 requires dismissal for conviction of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman: any officer, Nurse Corps member, cadet, flying cadet, or probationary second lieutenant convicted of such conduct shall be dismissed from the service.
- Article 63 and Articles 54 to 57 collectively define punishable enlistment, return, and conduct-related wrongdoing under the Articles of War.
Discharge and enlistment oath
- Article 109 prohibits discharge of enlisted men without:
- a certificate of discharge signed by a field officer of the regiment/organization to which the enlisted man belongs, or by the commanding officer when no field officer is present; and
- discharge only after the term of service expires.
- Article 109 allows discharge before term expiration only by order of the President, the Chief of Staff, the Chief of Constabulary, or by sentence of a general court-martial.
- Article 110 requires that every soldier take an enlistment oath or affirmation at the time of enlistment, pledging faith and allegiance, honest and faithful service against enemies, support and defense of the Constitution, obedience to the President and orders of officers, and voluntary assumption of obligations without mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
Effects of deceased persons; disposition; proceeds
- Article 113-A sets rules for disposition of effects upon death of persons subject to military law:
- The commanding officer permits the legal representative or widow, if present, to take possession of all effects then in camp or quarters.
- If no legal representative or widow is present, the commanding officer directs a summary court officer to secure all such effects.
- Article 113-A gives the summary court officer authority to collect and receive debts due the decedent’s estate by local debtors and to pay undisputed local creditors within available money.
- Article 113-A requires prompt transmission of wills or papers involving property-rights to the **Judge Advocate General