Covered law and structural changes
- Section 1 of Act No. 2751 amends Act Numbered Twenty-seven hundred and fifteen by striking out Section 26.
- Section 1 inserts in lieu of the removed Section 26 the new Section 26 provisions on the Signal Corps organization and aviation section composition.
- Section 1 inserts Section 26A, which creates cadet positions for the aviation section.
- Act No. 2751 expressly states that its organizational rules operate alongside the Militia Commission’s powers under Act Numbered Twenty-seven hundred and twenty-seven.
Legislative policy and governance intent
- Section 26 establishes a detailed personnel structure for the Signal Corps, including the field signal battalion and the aviation section.
- Section 26A establishes a recruitment, training, and qualification pathway for commissioned officers for the aviation section through aviation cadets.
- The act ensures that aviation cadet appointments and allowances remain constrained by a specific compensation ceiling.
- The act ties aviation cadet governance to the Militia Commission and the Governor-General for approvals and reductions after organizational milestones.
Definitions and key offices created
- Section 26 specifies ranks and named units within the Signal Corps, including the field signal battalion and its component companies: telegraph company, radio company, and outpost company.
- Section 26 defines the aviation section composition in terms of two aero squadrons plus additional squadrons approved through the Militia Commission and the Governor-General.
- Section 26A creates two positions of cadets for each position of commissioned officer in the aviation section.
- Section 26A prescribes that aviation cadets have a rank placed between the highest enlisted and the lowest commissioned personnel of the National Guard.
Organizational scope and coverage of personnel
- Section 26 applies to the organization of the Signal Corps within the Philippine militia framework established by Act Numbered Twenty-seven hundred and fifteen.
- The Signal Corps includes: one chief signal officer (colonel); one lieutenant-colonel; one major; two captains; two first lieutenants; plus the field signal battalion and aviation section.
- Section 26 sets the internal manpower structure of the field signal battalion and its companies for telegraph, radio, and outpost functions.
- Section 26 sets the aviation section structure as consisting of two aero squadrons and additional squadrons subject to recommendation and approval.
- Section 26A governs the entry, eligibility, oath, pay, allowance ceiling, and possible abolition of cadet positions for the aviation section.
Signal Corps and field signal battalion structure
- Section 26 provides that the field signal battalion consists of:
- one major, one first lieutenant, one sergeant-major, one supply sergeant, one color sergeant, one sergeant clerk, twenty-five privates first class,
- one telegraph company, one radio company, and one outpost company.
- Section 26 defines the telegraph company personnel composition as:
- one captain, two first lieutenants, one master signal electrician, one supply sergeant, one first sergeant, eight sergeants first class, fourteen sergeants, twenty-four corporals, three horseshoers, three cooks, seventy privates first class, and twelve privates.
- Section 26 defines the radio company personnel composition as:
- one captain, two first lieutenants, one master signal electrician, one supply sergeant, one first sergeant, ten sergeants first class, eighteen sergeants, thirty corporals, three horseshoers, three cooks, sixty-eight privates first class, and nine privates.
- Section 26 defines the outpost company personnel composition as:
- one captain, four first lieutenants, one master signal electrician, one supply sergeant, one first sergeant, four sergeants first class, ten sergeants, twenty-eight corporals, three horseshoers, three cooks, seventy-four privates first class, and twenty privates.
Aviation section organization and cadet recruitment
- Section 26 provides that the aviation section consists of two aero squadrons and such additional squadrons as the Militia Commission may recommend and the Governor-General approve.
- Section 26 states that each aero squadron consists of:
- one major, one captain, sixteen first lieutenants, four master signal electricians, one sergeant major, one first sergeant, two sergeant clerks first class, one sergeant first class, one truck foreman, sixteen sergeant mechanics first class, one sergeant assistant truck foreman, one mess sergeant, one supply sergeant, twelve sergeant mechanics, one sergeant photographer, one sergeant chauffeur, thirty-three corporals, six cooks, thirty-nine privates first class, and thirty privates.
- Section 26A creates two positions of cadets for each position of commissioned officer in the aviation section.
- Section 26A requires that only applicants who:
- pass the examination prescribed by National Guard regulations (or, in default, regulations prescribed for examination for the aviation service in the army of the United States), and
- take the oath of allegiance to the Government of the United States and to the Government of the Philippine Islands (which oath may be administered by any officer of the National Guard),
be admitted as aviation cadets.
- Section 26A fixes the cadet pay and allowances at an amount set by the Militia Commission subject to Governor-General approval, with a maximum that shall in no case exceed fifty pesos per month, with subsistence.
- Section 26A provides that after two squadrons of the aviation section have been organized, the Militia Commission may abolish the positions of cadet with the approval of the Governor-General.
- Section 26A provides that commission vacancies occurring thereafter may be filled by privates or non-commissioned officers of the aviation section, on nomination by the commanding officer of the same.
Powers preserved for Militia Commission
- Section 26 mandates that its provisions shall not be construed to limit in any manner the powers vested in the Militia Commission by Act Numbered Twenty-seven hundred and twenty-seven of the Philippine Legislature.