National Defense Act of the Philippines

Mobilization, resources, and person obligations

The Act declares that military service is obligatory for all citizens of the Philippines and that classification, selection, examination, induction, training, and release follow Title III.
It requires that registration of citizens for military service be a civil function carried out by civil authorities, under supervision of the Provost Marshal General.
During national mobilization, the Government—through the appropriate department or delegated authority—has the right to secure by mutual agreement or by requisition all necessary resources (tangible and intangible), services, and other assets or possessions (public or private), for national defense.
It recognizes a National Mobilization that requires President issuance on approval of the National Assembly.
It authorizes the President to decree Partial Mobilization when the safety of the Philippines is endangered, requires prompt summoning and reporting to the National Assembly on the cause and extent, and provides that the National Assembly determines annulment.
It authorizes technical advisers from the Army of the United States, appointable and maintainable by the President for such period as deemed necessary, not extending beyond the President’s term.

Council of National Defense

The Act creates a Council of National Defense composed of: the President, Vice President, head of each executive department, the Chief of Staff, and six other members designated by the President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments of the National Assembly.
The Council includes a permanent secretary, an Army officer.
It directs the Council to advise the President on all matters of national defense policy.
It requires the Council to have a permanent staff that preserves a documentary record of deliberations.
It makes the President the Chairman of the Council.
It authorizes the President to set, by executive order, the Council’s method of operation, detailed duties, and its rights to summon witnesses or consultants.
It provides that funds for Council operation come from appropriations for the Executive Department.

Territorial military organization

The Act requires the Philippines be divided into military districts, subdivided into military provinces, for recruiting national manpower, preparatory military training, executing mobilization plans, and supplying armed forces in peace and war.
It assigns a District Commander: a commissioned officer of the regular army, with assistants as directed by the Chief of Staff.
It requires District Commanders in peace to be responsible for training, discipline, tactical training, and defense plan preparation; in war, responsible for defense of the district under the Chief of Staff’s control.
It assigns a Provincial Commander: a commissioned officer of the regular army to supervise recruitment laws and mobilization rules within the province and supervise civil authorities executing these duties.
It provides that the Provincial Commander acts as a member of the Provincial Governor’s Staff with assistants as directed by the Chief of Staff.
It requires that recruiting areas conform as far as possible to political subdivisions of the Philippines.

Mobilization centers and reserve readiness

The Act requires mobilization centers be located in municipalities, townships, and municipal districts according to military population and the percentage assigned to reserve units.
It assigns the Chief of Staff authority to determine the location and type of mobilization centers, and the Provincial Commander responsibility for their operation at all times.
It directs constitution of mobilization centers to store arms, equipment, clothing, and records of units other than the Regular Force to be mobilized in a national emergency.
It requires advance provision for shelter for men and animals of mobilized units to reduce the mobilization period.
It requires one mobilization center for each battalion or similar unit, or for the best interests of the Philippines, for regiments or larger units.
It mandates that Provincial Commanders ensure stored materials are properly cared for and secured and that records turned over by military units are preserved intact.
It requires that, whenever practicable, the Constabulary be charged under Provincial Commanders with care of arms, equipment, materials, and records at mobilization centers.

Military organization: Army structure and duties

The Act provides that the Army of the Philippines consists of a Regular Force and a Reserve Force.
It defines the peace establishment as including organizations necessary for complete and prompt mobilization for national defense and performance of national police duties in peace and war.
It requires ongoing organization of the Army into battalions, regiments, divisions, and higher units as practicable.
It provides that within one year following passage, the personnel and duties of the Philippine Constabulary transfer to the control of the Chief of Staff, who then becomes responsible for functions performed at the time of passage in both peace and war.
It lists Regular Force branches, corps, services, and units including: Infantry, Cavalry, Field Artillery, Coast Artillery Corps, Air Corps, Corps of Engineers, Signal Corps, active elements of the Offshore Patrol, General Staff Corps, and Services (Adjutant General’s Service, Judge Advocate Service, Quartermaster Service, Medical Service, Ordnance Service, Chaplain Service), plus Military Academy professors and cadets, detached officers/enlisted men/unassigned recruits, other personnel as provided, and the Constabulary.
It states that commissioned and enlisted personnel permanently assigned to services are “officers and enlisted men of the Staff,” and those not permanently assigned are “officers and enlisted men of the line.”

Regular force: command, appointments, and service limits

It requires that in peace, the number of active commissioned officers and active enlisted men required for the Regular Force be recommended annually by the Chief of Staff.
It directs that commissioned and enlisted personnel of the Regular Force be drawn from all provinces of the Philippines as practicable.
It authorizes the President to assign regular officers and enlisted men to various branches, corps, and services.
It provides that officers and enlisted men of the Regular Force not assigned to any provided duty are carried on detached officers’ and detached enlisted men’s lists.
It requires that the Constabulary organization be formed from Regular Force personnel as prescribed by the Chief of Staff.
It charges the Constabulary with executing laws on discharge of military obligations by male citizens, and supervising preparatory military instruction as prescribed by the Chief of Staff.
It provides that the President may attach reserve officers to regular units; duty periods not exceeding 21 days annually are treated as regular annual training, while periods exceeding 21 days annually are classified as extended tours of active duty.
It permits the President to attach trainees for prescribed training periods to regular units as necessary.
It governs appointment and promotion of officers: all commissioned officers must be Philippine citizens, with a President discretion to retain existing Constabulary commissions; the Act prescribes grades including third lieutenant through general officer, with possible subdivision of general grades.
It provides that commissioned officer appointments and promotions are made by the President; appointments and promotions from colonel onward require the consent of the Commission on Appointments.
It sets age eligibility for original commissioned appointments generally as not less than twenty-one nor more than twenty-six years, with special rules for Medical Corps appointments requiring not less than 25 nor more than 35 years.
It caps the distribution of commissioned officers above certain ranks (percent limits): above colonel 1.2%, above lieutenant colonel 2.6%, above major 5.2%, above captain 14.9%, above first lieutenant 45.2%.
It establishes seniority precedence: Regular Force officers take precedence over Reserve Force officers of like grades; Regular and Reserve lists set seniority and cannot be changed except by operation of this or other laws.
It bars cross-authority between purely military and purely civil functions except when specifically prescribed in this or other acts.
It requires peace-time reserve promotions follow President policies and provides that in peace no reserve officer may be promoted until at least two years in the next lower grade.
It authorizes the President to discharge any reserve officer at any time in discretion.
It provides that until superseded by later National Assembly laws, existing regulations, courts-martial procedure, and provisions on punishment, discharge, dismissal, resignation, and retirement of Philippine Constabulary officers/enlisted men apply (as modified) to all officers and enlisted men on active duty in the Army.
It authorizes temporary higher wartime ranks without vacating permanent commissions for Regular Force officers (with rules on which appointments President alone makes), and provides that other wartime appointments go through the Reserve Force.
It permits transfer of an officer to another branch/service with Chief of Staff approval without loss of rank, but prohibits transfers to or from chaplains or medical service.
It permits, with American government approval, not to exceed one-half of one per cent of Regular Force commissioned officers below lieutenant colonel to be detailed to foreign military schools, with pay and allowances of the officer’s own grade in the host country if equal or higher.
It permits not to exceed one-half of one per cent of commissioned Regular Army officers per fiscal year to be detailed as students/observers/investigators at educational institutions or industrial plants, hospitals, and other places, without extra Philippine Government expense other than tuition.
It authorizes the President to detail regular officers to Reserve Force units and provides that commanders of Reserve divisions and larger units are selected from Regular Force officers.
It permits reservation active duty orders under appropriations and limits employment on active duty to no more than six months in each five years without the reserve officer’s own consent, unless there is a national emergency expressly declared by the National Assembly.

General Staff and Provost Marshal General functions

The Act creates the General Staff Corps consisting of the Chief of Staff, the Central General Staff, and the General Staff with troops.
It makes the Chief of Staff directly subordinate to the President and presiding over the Central General Staff.
It requires the Chief of Staff, through the Central General Staff, to cause necessary plans for recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, mobilizing, training, and demobilizing the Army in peace and war, and for use of military forces for national defense.
It requires the Chief of Staff to annually report to the President for transmittal to the National Assembly the condition of the Army, including statements as to strength, cost, unexpended balances, requirements, and similar matters.
It defines the Central General Staff membership including the Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, Provost Marshal General, and other officers of grade not below first lieutenant as the President directs.
It assigns to the Central General Staff preparation of national defense and mobilization plans in emergencies, investigation and reporting on matters affecting efficiency and readiness for operations, inspections for thoroughness and uniformity, functions prescribed for infantry/cavalry/artillery/air units and Constabulary, and professional aid to the Chief of Staff.
It defines the General Staff with troops as officers not below first lieutenant necessary for headquarters of divisions and higher units and assigns professional aid, harmonization of plans and operations, detailed instruction preparation, and supervision of execution.
It makes the Provost Marshal General responsible, under the Chief of Staff’s direction, for duties previously devolving upon the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary.
It authorizes the Provost Marshal General to exercise supervision and control over kinds and classes of police forces as directed by the President to maintain peace, law, and order throughout the Philippines.
It requires the Provost Marshal General, under Chief of Staff direction, to handle training, discipline, administration, and interior economy of the Philippine Constabulary.
It provides that the Provost Marshal General’s office includes a Recruiting Division, Constabulary Division, and other divisions as prescribed by the Provost Marshal General under Chief of Staff supervision.
It assigns the Recruiting Division responsibility for execution of registration, examination, and assignment of male citizens for military obligations under Title III.
It assigns the Constabulary Division functions carried out by the Chief of Constabulary and headquarters administrative staff, except procurement/storage/issue of military supplies and equipment, recruiting of personnel, and operation of the Military Academy.

Services and offshore patrol authority

The Act lists the Services: Adjutant General’s Service, Judge Advocate’s Service, Quartermaster Service, Medical Service, Ordnance Service, and Chaplain Service.
It provides that each Service has a Chief and assistants as the President directs; the head of each Service is responsible under the Chief of Staff for efficient performance and execution of orders.
It assigns to the Adjutant General’s Service operating functions of procurement, assignments, promotion, transfer, retirement, and discharge of officers and enlisted men of Regular and Reserve Forces.
It assigns to the Judge Advocate’s Service legal assistance as required by military forces.
It assigns to the Quartermaster Service procurement, storage, and issue of supplies (except supplies assigned to other services), utilities operation, acquisition of real estate and issuance of licenses connected with military reservations, transportation of the Army by land and water, disbursement and accounting of National Defense funds, and other fiscal duties required by law or directed by the Chief of Staff.
It allows technical assistants from other branches/services to be detailed to the Quartermaster Service for not to exceed three years.
It allows officers accountable for government money to entrust money to other officers as agents for disbursements, while requiring that both the entrusting officer and agent officer be bonded and held pecuniarily responsible to the Philippine Government.
It assigns the Medical Service to physical examination matters, health and sanitation of personnel and animals, and procurement of technical medical equipment.
It assigns the Ordnance Service to purchase, procurement, storage, and issue of ordnance, chemical warfare, engineer, and signal material as directed by the President.
It assigns Ordnance Service sections to study, experiment, and develop technical material and equipment for their services.
It assigns the Chaplain Service responsibility for religious welfare of the Army.
It provides that the Offshore Patrol comprises marine equipment and personnel acquired by the Philippine Government and assigned to the control of the Chief of Staff in peace or war, and it grants the Offshore Patrol duties and powers as prescribed by the Chief of Staff.

Enlistment, reenlistment, and exemption effects

The Act authorizes enlistment in the Regular Force for any male citizen age eighteen to thirty who is able-bodied, free from disease, of good moral character and habits, of average intelligence, and with required educational attainments.
It sets enlistment term at three years.
It requires enlistment by recruiting officers at stations of the Regular Force.
It requires written and duly attested consent of the father (or the mother if she is the only surviving parent), or the publicly known guardian for unmarried minors age eighteen to twenty-one.
It requires that enlistments for service in any province (except Regular Division, Artillery Corps, and Air Corps) be drawn from residents of that province, and it requires apportionment among provinces as practicable.
It provides that reenlistment and retirement privileges of noncommissioned officers are governed by regulations prescribed by the President.
It provides that an enlisted man who served honorably for at least three years and does not reenlist is exempt from further military service except in a national emergency, but must register his address at the military headquarters nearest his place of residence.

Military academy: admission, quota, commissioning

The Act establishes the Philippine Military Academy as a military training school for training selected candidates for permanent commission in the Regular Force.
It names the student body as the Cadet Corps of the Army of the Philippines.
It authorizes the President to appoint annually, subject to physical and mental examinations, up to a total maintaining Cadet Corps strength not to exceed three hundred and fifty.
It sets candidate admission requirements: single; good physical condition; age not less than seventeen nor more than twenty-two.
It requires nominations by Members of the National Assembly, with each Assembly member allowed to nominate any number of candidates.
It requires that appointment of entrants be from those who pass physical and mental examinations with the highest ratings, subject to a quota of three members allotted per Assembly district.
It requires a second examination within the same year for district nominees if no candidate from a district attains required minimum ratings on the first examination.
It provides that if still none attain required minimum ratings, vacancies in the district quota are filled by the President from successful candidates at large.
It authorizes the President to fix the pay and allowances of Military Academy students.
It provides that if, after entrance and before course completion, a student is found physically unfit for military duty due to injury or disease incident to service, the student is retired with the rank of cadet and entitled to retired pay and allowances of a third lieutenant of the Regular Force.
It requires commissioning upon satisfactory completion: candidates are commissioned third lieutenants in the Regular or Reserve Forces, with relative rank based on final standing as determined by the Faculty Board and Commandant and approved by the Chief of Staff.

Reserve force composition and officer training

The Act defines the Reserve Force as consisting of Infantry Divisions as the President directs, additional separate regiments/battalions/companies and similar separate units as the President authorizes, all reserve classes not assigned to those units, and Reserve elements of the Offshore Patrol.
It requires that reserve land and air unit organization generally correspond to tactical units of the Regular Force as far as practicable.
It authorizes the Chief of Staff to detail or assign Regular Force enlisted men to duty with Reserve units as necessary.
It provides that any person selected for training as a commissioned officer must undergo a theoretical course of not less than six months prescribed by the Chief of Staff, then be assigned as probationary third lieutenant to a Regular unit for another period of six months.
It provides that those who display leadership and fitness may be appointed and commissioned third lieutenants of the Reserve Force and assigned to Reserve organizations.
It provides that those who fail to complete the course are transferred to the Reserve Force as enlisted men and assigned to an organization.
It requires Reserve Officers’ Training Units at colleges and universities designated by the President where every physically fit student must pursue military instruction to qualify for a commission as a third lieutenant of Reserve.
It states that if pursued to completion, the course exempts students from trainee instruction, but not from registration.
It authorizes the Chief of Staff, by mutual agreement with institutions, to designate senior military instructors and necessary commissioned/enlisted personnel, and to issue necessary arms, equipment, and property.
It requires annual submission by senior instructors of graduating class names recommended for further training, and authorizes ordering of recommended graduates to organizations of the Regular Force for a six months’ probationary period before commissioning third lieutenants of the Reserve Force.
It provides for graduates not recommended or failing qualification: assignment to the nearest age group in the Reserve and assignment as private or noncommissioned officers.
It requires students of military age who do not complete studies in institutions with ROTU to be liable for trainee instruction immediately upon severing connection; if more than 20 years of age, assignment to the trainee class next to be called.
It authorizes the President to appoint and commission Reserve officers upon recommendation of the Chief of Staff.
It directs that appointments above third lieutenant be made from those formerly holding Reserve commissions in the United States Army and from former officers of the Philippine Scouts and Constabulary as far as practicable.
It requires physically recommended Regular Force enlisted men ages twenty-one to thirty to pursue a six-month instruction course, and after satisfactory completion they may be commissioned third lieutenants of the Reserves; it states that except upon mobilization, no Regular Force enlisted man may perform reserve officer service.
It requires medical reserve officers to be procured from graduates of medical colleges and universities under regulations prescribed by the President.
It requires physical examination for reserve officers upon each assignment to active duty and provides that any reserve officer found physically unfit for active field service is discharged.
It requires young men completing trainee instruction selected for training as reserve noncommissioned officers to complete a prescribed three months course; upon completion they are warranted in the officer grade and transferred to the Reserve Force and organization.
It empowers the Chief of Staff to establish special and advanced schools for technical and supply officers and for advanced training for selected officers for field, staff, and command duties.
It requires all reserve officer candidates (except medical officers) to qualify for appointment as third lieutenants of the line before permitted to pursue any special course for technical and supply services.

Active duty training of reservists and reporting

The Act prescribes reserve active duty training periods as set by the Chief of Staff and provides minimum/echelon guidance: First Reserves annually not less than ten days, Second Reserves annually not less than five days, and Third Reserves every third year not less than seven days.
It provides that during active duty training, reservists are subject to laws and regulations prescribed for the Regular Force.
It provides that except with a reservist’s own consent, no enlisted reservist may be required in time of peace to serve more than thirty days on active duty in any calendar year.
It provides that failure to report for active duty training as directed by the Chief of Staff is punishable as a court-martial may direct.
It protects Government employees called for trainee instruction or regular annual active duty training from compelled loss of position or loss of pay due to military obligation absence.

Military service: liability, training classes, registration, penalties

The Act establishes that all Filipinos are liable to military service.
It starts obligation to undergo military training at youth age ten through schooling until age eighteen; at eighteen, a youth enters the Junior Reserve and is assigned until age twenty-one, when he becomes subject to service with the colors and thereafter with the Reserve Force until age fifty.
It classifies training before the calendar year in which a youth attains twenty-one as “Preparatory Military Training.”
It requires all school girls receive such instruction and training as the Chief of Staff deems necessary for auxiliary service.
It classifies able-bodied male citizens age twenty to fifty (inclusive), except those exempted, into:
- Trainees (age twenty to twenty-two), selected to receive military training;
- First Reserve (age twenty-two to thirty inclusive**, including those who completed trainee instruction even if not yet age twenty-two);
- Second Reserve (age thirty-one to forty inclusive); and
- Third Reserve (age forty-one to fifty inclusive).
It requires young men to register for military training in the calendar year they become twenty, with trainee instruction called trainee instruction and governed by periods and regulations set by the President.
It caps trainee instruction duration: except for trainees selected for duty with elements of the Regular Force, trainee instruction shall not exceed five and one-half months, and shall not be extended beyond twelve months except with the trainee’s specific consent.
It requires the President to issue a proclamation calling upon all young men who attain age twenty in a calendar year to register on or after January 1, 1936, and to hold annual registration each year during the same period thereafter.
It requires registration to occur in suitable registration places prescribed by city, municipality, or municipal district government where the registrant resides.
It requires the President to provide rules by proclamation for registration method and trainee selection.
It requires the Provost Marshall General to conduct a drawing on May 15 each year to determine those called for trainee instruction in the next calendar year and to publish names of those drawn immediately and thoroughly.
It requires Provincial Governors to ensure each young man in their province who has been drawn is notified at once.
It prohibits registration for military service for any person convicted of a crime against the Government or of an offense involving moral turpitude unless previously pardoned by the President.
It exempts from registration: members of the Philippine Scouts and the Philippine Army; young men residing abroad (who must register within five days after return to determine obligation); persons prevented from registering due to incarceration awaiting trial or undergoing sentence (who register upon release); and it provides consequences based on age after return/release (if under thirty on return, liable for military service and enters if drawn at next national drawing after return; if over thirty on return, no liability to service with the colors).
It exempts from trainee instruction: ecclesiastics regularly ordained and serving as members of the clergy and seminary students of a recognized church or sect; physicians properly certified and practicing as such; superintendents of penitentiaries, corrective prisons, and insane asylums; personnel of the coast guard revenue cutter and lighthouse inspection services; pilots, navigators, and marine superintendents; and others later exempted by law.
It imposes penalties for failure to register: upon conviction, a person must be sentenced to serve not more than one year in prison or pay a fine of not to exceed two thousand pesos, or both; conviction does not exempt the person from military service required.

Acceptance boards, classification, deferments, and appeals

It requires appointment of Acceptance Boards by the President for a term of three years, with boards appointed for municipalities and municipal districts as population requires; the President determines number and location.
It requires each Acceptance Board to consist of five members, including two physicians, and where practicable, two officers of the Philippine Army stationed in the province, with the President designating the Chairman.
It directs that medical members advise the board on cases where physical condition is in question.
It mandates majority-vote decisions by the board on action and all other matters.
It requires young men called for trainee instruction, upon reporting, to complete a questionnaire of prescribed form and undergo physical examination.
It requires classification into: Class I (Fit for unlimited service), Class II (Fit for limited service only), Class III (Deferred until later date), and Class IV (Exempted for physical reasons).
It authorizes trainee instruction deferments for not more than three years during employment/functions for designated government officers and employees, organized police force officials and agents, and officials of land, air, and marine transport, as designated by the President in executive orders.
It limits the effect of deferments for these persons: they are exempted from military service except trainee instruction and except for active service in a national emergency expressly declared by the National Assembly, making them liable for military service or special assignment as directed by the President.
It authorizes deferments for indispensability to dependent family support, agricultural reasons, and key men in industry, commerce, or agriculture, but limits such deferments to not exceed one year, after which liability to training is the