Organization and Goverce of Insular Constabulary

Inspector and force composition

Section 3 sets the Insular Constabulary strength per province at:
- not less than fifteen privates, one sergeant, and one corporal, and
- not more than one hundred and fifty privates, four sergeants, and eight corporals.
Section 3 requires that the sergeants, corporals, and privates serving in a province be selected from residents of such province.
Section 3 requires enlistment for two years, unless sooner discharged.
Section 3 authorizes the Chief of the Insular Constabulary, with approval of the Civil Governor, to fix the number of privates, sergeants, and corporals within the stated limits.

Chief, assistants, appointments, removal

Section 4 creates the office of Chief of Insular Constabulary.
The Chief is appointed by the Civil Governor, with the consent of the Commission, and must be a peace officer.
The Chief is the head of the Insular Constabulary with general charge and control, and must ensure that brigandage, insurrection, unlawful assemblies, breaches of the peace, and other violations of law are prevented or suppressed, and perpetrators are arrested.
Section 4 fixes the Chief’s annual salary at four thousand dollars.
Section 4 requires the Chief to ensure the Constabulary is properly selected and organized, and is suitably armed, uniformed, equipped, governed, disciplined, and kept effective.
Section 4 authorizes the Chief to appoint at least one provincial inspector and as many more as necessary not exceeding four per province, appointing only persons who are citizens of the United States or of the Philippine Islands, or who have the rights of natives under the Treaty of Paris.
Section 4 authorizes the Chief to suspend and, after due hearing, remove any provincial inspector or any other member of the Insular Constabulary for inefficiency, misconduct, or disloyalty to the United States.
Section 4 directs the Chief to fill vacancies caused by suspension, removal, resignation, death, or disability to act through temporary or permanent appointments.
Section 4 empowers the Chief to make reasonable and proper rules for examination for appointment of provincial inspectors and for selection and promotion of sergeants, corporals, and privates.

Assistant chiefs and district organization

Section 5 creates the offices of First, Second, Third, and Fourth Assistant Chiefs of Constabulary.
Assistant Chiefs are appointed by the Civil Governor with the consent of the Commission, and each receives an annual salary of two thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars.
Section 5 ranks Assistant Chiefs in order of their number and requires them to report to and be under the general supervision and direction of the Insular Chief.
Section 5 provides that, subject to such supervision and direction, each Assistant Chief has all the power and duties of the Insular Chief in their respective districts.
Section 5 requires the Insular Chief to divide provinces into four districts “as nearly equal in population and size as may be,” assign one Assistant Chief to each, and allows the Insular Chief to change district limits and reassign Assistant Chiefs as public interest requires.
Section 5 provides that if the Insular Chief is temporarily absent or unable to perform duties, the duties are performed by the Assistant Insular Chief highest in rank available.

Arms, equipment, discipline manuals, rules

Section 6 requires the Insular Chief to prescribe suitable arms, uniforms, and equipment for the Insular Constabulary.
Section 6 requires the Insular Chief to report to the Commission through the Civil Governor the Chief’s actions and a statement of cost so that appropriation may be made.
Section 6 directs that the guns, revolvers, and ammunition needed to equip the Insular and municipal police must be purchased by the Insular Purchasing Agent on the order of the Chief, and then distributed by the Chief to provinces and municipalities as needed.
Section 6 requires the Insular Chief to keep a record of guns and revolvers distributed, including their numbers, to municipalities and provinces.
Section 6 authorizes the Insular Chief, subject to approval of the Civil Governor, to direct that all or part of the Insular Constabulary be mounted on horses and act as mounted patrol for their provinces.
Section 6 requires the Insular Chief, with Civil Governor approval, to prepare:
- a manual of discipline for provincial and municipal police, and
- a code of rules defining lawful powers and duties.
Section 6 requires translation of the manual and code into Spanish, Tagalog, Visayan, Ilocano, and Bicol, and their circulation among all provincial and municipal police.

Consolidation under exigency

Section 7 authorizes the Insular Chief or Assistant Insular Chief, when necessary due to lawlessness or opposition of a lawless nature against properly constituted authorities, to unite the Constabulary of two or more provinces under the Chief’s command or under a provincial inspector named by the Chief.
Section 7 limits consolidation by requiring it to be not permanent and to last no longer than the immediate exigency requiring it.

Funding of constabulary payment

Section 8 provides that payment of the Insular Constabulary is assumed by the Insular Government.

Provincial command, arrests, warrants, custody

Section 9 provides that provincial inspectors, under general supervision, direction, and control of the Insular Chief and Assistant Chiefs, command the Insular Constabulary in their respective provinces.
Section 9 empowers provincial inspectors to suspend and, after hearing, dismiss any member of the force for inefficiency, misconduct, or disloyalty to the United States, but requires approval of the Assistant Insular Chief in charge.
Section 9 declares the Insular Constabulary to be peace officers.
Section 9 authorizes and empowers Insular Constabulary members to prevent and suppress:
- brigandage,
- unlawful assemblies,
- riots,
- insurrections, and
- other breaches of the peace and violations of law.
Section 9 authorizes and empowers them to make arrests upon reasonable suspicion without warrant for breaches of the peace or other violations of law.
Section 9 requires them to execute lawful warrants or orders of arrest issued by any judge of the First Instance, any justice of the peace, or any other officer authorized by law to issue warrants.
Section 9 mandates that when an arrest is made without warrant, the officer must obtain a warrant from competent authority at the earliest practicable moment under the circumstances.
Section 9 requires that prisoners, with or without warrant, be brought within twenty-four hours if reasonably practicable to a judge or justice of the peace having jurisdiction for examination and release after bail if the offense is bailable.
Section 9 allows, in pursuit of criminals, a provincial inspector in charge to continue pursuit beyond the borders of the province of ordinary jurisdiction and arrest offenders.

Reporting, assistance, and inspections

Section 10 requires the provincial governor, whenever a provincial inspector or other member of the provincial Constabulary is judged guilty of official oppression, extortion, or other violation of duty, to make an immediate report to the Civil Governor with all particulars.
Section 11 provides that upon call of the provincial governor, provincial inspectors in charge must:
- suppress riot or lawlessness, or
- apprehend offenders against the law, or
- assist municipal police in discharging their duties.
Section 11 also requires furnishing a suitable guard for the governor or other provincial office to accompany and protect the governor in proper discharge of duties.
Section 12 requires each provincial inspector to make as frequent inspections as may be of the police force of each and every municipality in the province.
Section 12 requires reports to the Assistant Insular Chief regarding each municipality’s equipment and efficiency, and generally regarding conditions as to peace, observance of law, and order.
Section 12 requires the Insular Chief or Assistant Insular Chiefs to make suitable rules for direction and guidance of provincial inspectors for inspections, and authorizes them to require reports from municipal police chiefs on number, equipment, state of discipline, operational information, and conditions as to peace, law, and order.

Municipal police defects and command takeovers

Section 13 authorizes the provincial inspector, upon finding municipal police officers or men inefficient, dishonest, disloyal to the United States, or guilty of violation of law or duty, to suspend the offender, and after due hearing, dismiss.
Section 13 requires filling the vacancy occasioned by dismissal in the manner provided by the Municipal Code.
Section 14 requires the president of a municipality to report to the provincial inspector in charge when unable to preserve peace with the municipal police under control.
Section 14 requires the provincial inspector, upon notification, to render assistance necessary to maintain or restore peace and order.
Section 14 authorizes the provincial inspector, when notified, temporarily to take command and direct operations of the municipal police in conjunction with the Insular Constabulary until peaceful conditions are restored.

Oath, eligibility, and filing

Section 15 requires every official and member of the Insular Constabulary, before entering duties, to make and subscribe the specified oath recognizing and accepting the supreme authority of the United States of America, maintaining true faith and allegiance, obeying laws and legal orders of duly constituted authorities, and faithfully discharging duties voluntarily without mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
Section 15 requires the oath to be sworn with “so help me God,” but allows striking the last four words in case of affirmation.
Section 15 permits the oath to be taken before any judge, justice of the peace, or notary public.
Section 15 requires filing the oath in the office of the Insular Chief.

Salary classification and monthly payment

Section 16 sets provincial inspectors’ annual salary at not less than eight hundred dollars and not more than one thousand four hundred dollars.
Section 16 divides provincial inspectors into four classes by salary:
- fourth-class inspectors: eight hundred to not more than nine hundred dollars,
- third-class inspectors: nine hundred to not more than one thousand dollars,
- second-class inspectors: one thousand to not more than one thousand one hundred dollars,
- first-class inspectors: one thousand one hundred dollars or more.
Section 16 requires the Insular Chief to classify and assign provincial inspectors to provinces, subject to approval of the Civil Governor.
Section 17 provides that all salaries under the Act are payable monthly.
Section 18 provides that compensation rates of sergeants, corporals, and privates are fixed by the Insular Chief subject to Civil Governor approval.
Section 18 allows different compensation rates in different provinces based on the rate of wages and cost of living.

Criminal offense: extorting under threats

Section 19 makes it a crime for any officer or member of the Insular Police force, found guilty of obtaining for personal use any money or property from any person by threats of arrest, actual arrest, or intended prosecution.
Section 19 prescribes the penalty as imprisonment for not less than one year and not more than ten years.

Election neutrality and removal grounds

Section 20 prohibits Insular Police members from interfering in any way with elections held in the province for municipal or provincial office.
Section 20 allows an Insular Police member who is a resident of the province and entitled to vote to exercise voting rights, but bars participation “as an officer of the election,” solicitation of votes for any candidate, and candidacy at any election.
Section 20 provides that any violation is a ground for removal from office.
Section 20 sets punishment upon conviction before a justice of the peace for violation as a fine of any sum not exceeding one hundred dollars, or imprisonment for any time not exceeding six months, or both.

Amendments to Provincial Government Act

Section 21 amends Section seven of the Provincial Government Act, as amended by Act Numbered One hundred and thirty-three.
Section 21 requires striking a clause calling on the governor to request the Chief Executive of the Insular Government or the district military officer to send troops when local police cannot suppress formidable lawless violence or seditious conspiracy.
Section 21 substitutes language requiring the governor, whenever the public interest requires it, to call on provincial inspectors in charge to suppress disorder, riot, lawless violence, or seditious conspiracy, or apprehend violators of law.
Section 21 provides that when lawless violence or seditious conspiracy and disturbance is of such formidable character as to be beyond the power of local and insular police to suppress, the governor must call upon the Civil Governor of the Islands to request the Military Governor and commanding general to order troops of the Army of the United States to aid local authorities.
Section 21 authorizes, for the provinces of Sorsogon, Masbate, Romblon, Marinduque, and Surigao (between which and Manila there is no telegraphic communication), the provincial governor to make a direct call for aid to the military commander stationed in the province without awaiting results of an application to the Civil Governor and through him to the Military Governor.

Effectivity

Section 22 provides that the Act takes effect on its passage.
The Act was enacted on July 18, 1901.