Use of Military Titles and Insignia Regulation

Republic Act No. 493 is designed to prohibit unauthorized persons from using or conferring military or naval grades or titles reserved for the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the Philippine Constabulary.
Republic Act No. 493 regulates the wearing, use, manufacture, and sale of military-related insignias, decorations, medals, badges, patches, and identification cards associated with the Armed Forces or Constabulary.

Section 1 covers any person or association of persons not in the service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the Philippine Constabulary.
Section 2 covers any person not in the service of the Armed Forces or the Philippine Constabulary, except those excluded from the prohibition in Section 1.
Section 3 covers any person who uses, wears, manufactures, or sells medals, decorations, badges, insignias, patches, or identification cards authorized for the Armed Forces or Constabulary.
The term “duly prescribed insignia, badge or emblem of rank” means any insignia, badge or emblem of rank which is, or may hereafter be, prescribed by Congress, the Secretary of National Defense or the Chief of Constabulary (Section 2).

Section 1 makes it unlawful for persons or associations not in the service of the Armed Forces or the Philippine Constabulary to use or confer upon himself or another any military or naval grade or title prescribed by laws and regulations for the Armed Forces or Constabulary.
Section 2 makes it unlawful for persons not in the service of the Armed Forces or the Philippine Constabulary to use or wear:
- the duly prescribed insignia, badge or emblem or rank of members of the Armed Forces or the Philippine Constabulary, or
- any colorable imitation of those items.
Section 3 makes it prohibited to use, wear, manufacture and sell any medal or decoration, badge, insignia, patch, or identification card that has been, or may be, authorized or prescribed/awarded for members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, or any colorable imitation thereof, unless authorized under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of National Defense.

Section 1 provides that the prohibition on use of military or naval grades/titles does not apply to:
- All veterans of any war recognized by the Philippine or United States of the Government, and only for the ranks for which they are recognized.
- Commissioned officers and personnel of the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey, the quarantine service, and the customs service.
- Commissioned and enlisted reservists, including recognized guerilla officers on inactive status, when using their authorized grades for a purely military purpose.
- Trainees in the Armed Forces while undergoing any period of trainee instruction pursuant to law.
Section 2 provides that the wearing/using prohibition does not apply to using or wearing military or naval insignia, badge or emblem of rank:
- in any play-house or theater or in moving-picture films, while actually engaged in representing a military or naval character, and
- only when the representation does not tend to bring discredit or reproach upon the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine Constabulary, or the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey.
Section 2 further requires that any use or wearing of such insignia when representing a military or naval character is subject to supervision and regulation by the Secretary of National Defense.

Section 2 defines duly prescribed insignia/badges/emblems/ranks as those prescribed by Congress, the Secretary of National Defense, or the Chief of Constabulary.
Section 3 prohibits use/wearing/manufacture/sale of authorized medals/decoration items and identification cards except when authorized under regulations that the Secretary of National Defense shall prescribe.

Section 4 imposes penalties for conferring military or naval grades/titles in violation of Section 1:
- Upon conviction, the offender is punished by a fine of not less than PHP 2,000 and not exceeding PHP 5,000, or imprisonment for not less than 2 years and not exceeding 5 years, or both.
Section 4 imposes penalties for violating any other provisions of the Act:
- Upon conviction, the offender is punished by a fine of not less than PHP 100 and not exceeding PHP 2,000, or imprisonment for not less than 1 month and not exceeding 2 years, or both.
Section 4 provides that when the violation is committed by a corporation, the manager and all members of the board of directors or governing body are liable individually in accordance with the penalties in Section 4.

Section 5 repeals all laws or portions thereof inconsistent with the provisions of Republic Act No. 493.
Republic Act No. 493 does not provide any separability or sunset clause.