LESSON 2_National Defense Act No.

1 of 1935

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Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the students should do the following:

1. Identify the 8 National Defense Policies of the Philippines;

2. Enumerate the purposes of military training;
3. Explain how citizens of the Philippines are employed in the Military Service;
4. Discuss how the male citizens of the Philippines are enlisted and reenlisted in the Military;
and
5. Explain the importance of military training for both male and female.

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COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 1

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE NATIONAL DEFENSE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PENALIZING CERTAIN
VIOLATIONS THEREOF, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

TITLE I

National Defense

PRELIMINARY ARTICLE

Title of Act

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as “The National Defense Act.”

ARTICLE I

National Defense Policy

SECTION 2. The national defense policy of the Philippines shall be as follows:

(a) The preservation of the State is the obligation of every citizen. The security of the Philippines and
the freedom, independence, and perpetual neutrality of the Philippine Republic shall be guaranteed
by the employment of all citizens, without distinction of age or sex, and all resources.

(b) The employment of the nation’s citizens and resources for national defense shall be effected by a
national mobilization.

(c) The national mobilization shall include the execution of all measures necessary to pass from a
peace to a war footing.
(d) The civil authority shall always be supreme. The President of the Philippines as the Commander-
in-Chief of all military forces, shall be responsible that mobilization measures are prepared at all
times.

(e) A national mobilization shall be ordered in any case of threatened or actual aggression.

(f) The national defense organization shall be adapted as closely as possible to the territorial and
administrative organization of the Philippines.

(g) The mobilization plans of financial, industrial, economic, social, intellectual, and moral forces and
resources of the Philippines shall conform to the provisions of the Constitution of the Philippines
and shall be prepared by the executive departments concerned in accordance with the following
general policies: (1) The respective responsibilities of the several executive departments in
mobilization planning will be prescribed by the President; (2) forces and resources shall be
employed so as to secure unity and continuity of effort until the threatened or actual aggression to
the Philippines has been overcome.

(h) No profit incident to war shall accrue to any individual, corporation, association or partnership.

ARTICLE II

Employment of Persons and Resources

SECTION 3. Military service shall be obligatory for all citizens of the Philippines, and the methods
and procedure for the classification, selection, examination, induction, training, and release of all
citizens from their military obligations shall be as prescribed in Title III of this Act.

SECTION 4. The registration of citizens for military service shall be a civil function carried out by the
civil authorities under the supervision of the Provost Marshal General.

SECTION 5. During a national mobilization the Government of the Philippines, acting through the
appropriate governmental department, or by delegated authority, shall have the right to secure by
mutual agreement or by requisition all such resources, tangible and intangible, and all such services
and all other assets or possessions, public or private, as may be necessary for national defense.

ARTICLE III

The Council of National Defense

SECTION 6. There shall be a Council of National Defense which shall consist of the President, the
Vice President, the head of each executive department, the Chief of Staff, and six other members to
be designated by the President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments of the National
Assembly, and a permanent secretary of the Council who shall be an officer of the Army. The
Council shall advise with the President on all matters of national defense policy. It shall have a
permanent staff which shall preserve a documentary record of the Council’s deliberations.

SECTION 7. The President of the Philippines shall be Chairman of the Council of National Defense.

SECTION 8. The method of operation of the Council of National Defense, its detailed duties, and its
rights to summon witnesses or consultants shall be fixed in executive orders to be issued by the
President. Funds for its operation shall be provided in the appropriations for the Executive
Department.

ARTICLE IV

Territorial Organization

SECTION 9. For the purpose of recruiting the national manpower, providing preparatory military
training, executing the national mobilization plans, and supplying the needs of the armed forces in
peace and war, the Philippines shall be divided into military districts which will be further
subdivided into military provinces, as the President may direct.

SECTION 10. In every military district a commissioned officer of the regular army shall be assigned
as District Commander. He shall be provided with such assistants as the Chief of Staff may direct.

In time of peace, he shall be responsible, under the Chief of Staff, for the training, discipline, and
tactical training of all units within his district, and for the preparation of defense plans; and in time
of war, he shall be responsible, under the control of the Chief of Staff, for the defense of his district.

SECTION 11. In every military province, a commissioned officer of the regular army shall be assigned
as Provincial Commander. He shall supervise, under the District Commander, the execution of all
recruitment laws and the laws and regulations governing the mobilization of persons and resources
for national defense within the province. This supervision shall apply to the activities of the civil
authorities charged with these duties, and for the purposes of this supervision, he shall be a
member of the Provincial Governor’s Staff, and shall be provided with such assistants as the Chief
of Staff may direct.

SECTION 12. Recruiting areas will as far as possible conform with political subdivisions of the
Philippines.

ARTICLE V

Mobilization Centers

SECTION 13. Mobilization centers shall be located in municipalities, townships and municipal
districts according to their military population and the percentage of such population assigned to
units of the reserve.

The Chief of Staff shall determine the location and type of mobilization centers to be provided, and
the Provincial Commander shall be responsible for the operation of these mobilization centers at all
times.

ARTICLE VI

National and Partial Mobilization

SECTION 14. A National Mobilization shall be decreed by the President of the Philippines on approval
of the National Assembly.
SECTION 15. Whenever the safety of the Philippines is endangered, the President may decree a
Partial Mobilization. He shall promptly summon and report to the National Assembly the cause for,
and extent of, the Partial Mobilization. The National Assembly shall determine whether or not the
Partial Mobilization so decreed shall be annulled.

ARTICLE VII

Technical Advisers

SECTION 16. The President of the Philippines shall have authority to appoint and maintain such
technical advisers from the Army of the United States and for such period of time as he may deem
necessary, which shall in no case extend beyond his term of office.

TITLE II

Military Organization

ARTICLE I

Composition and Organization of the Army

SECTION 17. The Army of the Philippines shall consist of the Regular Force and the Reserve Force.

SECTION 18. The organized peace establishment, including the Regular Force and the Reserves,
shall comprise all organizations necessary to form the basis for a complete and prompt mobilization
for the national defense and for the performance of national police duties in peace and war. The
army shall at all times be organized in so far as practicable into battalions, regiments, divisions and,
if necessary, higher units.

The personnel and duties of the Philippine Constabulary shall, within one year following the passage
of this Act, be transferred to the control of the Chief of Staff, who shall thereafter be responsible in
both peace and war for the functions performed by the Constabulary at the time of passage of this
Act.

ARTICLE II

The Regular Force

SECTION 19. The Regular Force shall consist of the Infantry, the Cavalry, the Field Artillery, the Coast
Artillery Corps, the Air Corps, the Corps of Engineers, the Signal Corps, and the active elements of
the Offshore Patrol; the General Staff Corps; the Services consisting of the Adjutant General’s
Service, the Judge Advocate Service, the Quartermaster Service, the Medical Service; the Ordnance
Service, and the Chaplain Service, the professors and cadets of the Military Academy; of detached
officers, of detached enlisted men, of unassigned recruits, of such other officers and enlisted men
as may be provided for, and of the Constabulary. Officers and enlisted men permanently assigned to
the services shall be known as officers and enlisted men of the Staff; officers and enlisted men not
permanently assigned to a service shall be known as officers and enlisted men of the line.

In time of peace the number of active commissioned officers and of active enlisted men required for
the Regular Force shall be recommended annually by the Chief of Staff.
In so far as may be practicable, the commissioned and the enlisted personnel of the Regular Force
shall be drawn from all provinces of the Philippines.

SECTION 20. Officers and enlisted men of the Regular Force shall be assigned to the various
branches, corps and services as the President may direct.

All officers and enlisted men of the Regular Force who are not assigned to duty with any branch,
corps or service herein provided for shall be carried on the detached officers’ list and detached
enlisted men’s list, respectively.

SECTION 21. The organization of the Regular Force shall be as follows:

(a) The Constabulary shall be organized from such personnel of the Regular Force and in such
manner as the Chief of Staff may prescribe.

In addition to the normal peace-time duties now prescribed, the Constabulary shall be charged with
the execution of laws pertaining to the discharge of their military obligations by male citizens of the
Philippines, and with the supervision of such preparatory military instruction as the Chief of Staff
may prescribe.

(b) All other regular units shall be organized as the President may direct.

(c) The President may attach to regular units or may assign to duty with any component of the
Regular Force such number of reserve officers as he may deem necessary. All periods of such duty
as do not exceed 21 days annually shall be considered as regular annual training; all periods in
excess of 21 days annually shall be classed as extended tours of active duty.

(d) The President may likewise attach for their prescribed period of military training such number of
trainees to regular units as he deems necessary.

SECTION 22. The appointment, promotion, and discharge of officers in the Army shall be as follows:

(a) All commissioned officers in the Army shall be citizens of the Philippines; Provided, That the
President may in his discretion retain in the Army any officer now holding a commission in the
Philippine Constabulary. Commissioned grades authorized in the Army of the Philippines shall
include third lieutenant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel,
colonel, and general officer: Provided, That the general officer grade may be further subdivided into
grades as prescribed by the President: And provided, also, That individuals permanently
commissioned in a grade above that of colonel shall be known as General Officers of the Line; those
not so commissioned but holding an office in the Army to which the grade of general officer is
attached shall be known as General officers of the Staff.

(b) Officers shall be commissioned in the Army of the Philippines subject to such examinations for
the determination of fitness and proficiency as the President may prescribe. All appointments and
promotions shall be made by the President, but the appointments and promotions in the Army from
the rank of colonel shall be made with the consent of the Commission on Appointments of the
National Assembly.

(c) Except as hereinafter authorized, all appointments of regular officers shall be in the grade of
third lieutenant, from among applicants who at the time of appointment shall be not less than
twenty-one nor more than twenty-six years of age. Priority in filling vacancies in the grade of third
lieutenant will be given: first, to graduates of the Military Academy of the Philippines or of the
Military or Naval Academies of the United States; second, to graduates of senior military training
units in schools and colleges; third, to enlisted men who at the time of appointment shall have
served more than one year in the Army of the Philippines; and fourth, to others: Provided, That
original appointments in the Medical Corps shall be in the grade of first lieutenant from among
applicants who at the time of appointment shall not be less than 25 nor more than 35 years of age:
And provided, also, That during the five years following the approval of this Act, the President is
authorized to fill vacancies in any commissioned grade in the Army of the Philippines by
appointment of officers of the Philippine Constabulary who are citizens of the Philippines and of
such officers of the Philippine Scouts and of the Officers’ Reserve Corps, U. S. Army, and of
graduates of the United States Naval Academy, citizens of the Philippines, as have, prior to their
appointment in the Army of the Philippines, legally and honorably severed their connection with the
active elements of the Army of the United States, and of such others as may qualify through
professional and military examination prescribed for the purpose.

(d) Officers will be distributed among grades as determined by the President of the Philippines:
Provided, That the number of officers commissioned above the grade of colonel shall at no time
exceed 1.2 per cent of the authorized strength of the officer corps; above the grade of lieutenant
colonel shall not exceed 2.6 per cent; above the grade of major shall not exceed 5.2 per cent; above
the grade of captain shall not exceed 14.9 per cent; above the grade of first lieutenant shall not
exceed 45.2 per cent.

(e) In determining relative standing, officers of the Regular Force shall take precedence over
officers of like grades in the Reserve Force. Officers in each grade in the Regular Force and in the
Reserve Force shall be separately listed in order of rank in a manner to be prescribed by the
President, which list shall establish the seniority of each officer in the Regular and Reserve Forces,
respectively, and which seniority shall not be thereafter changed except through operation of this or
other laws: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall be construed as giving officers with purely
military functions authority over officers with purely civil functions and vice versa, except as
specifically prescribed in this or in other acts.

(f) Promotion of regular and reserve officers shall be accomplished under such policies and
procedure as the President may direct, provided that in time of peace no reserve officer may be
promoted to any grade until he has served at least two years in the next lower grade.

Any reserve officer may, in the discretion of the President, be discharged at any time.

(g) Until superseded by laws formulated by the National Assembly for specific application to the
Army of the Philippines, all regulations, courts-martial procedure, and provisions of law now
pertaining to the punishment, discharge, dismissal, resignation, administration, and retirement of
officers and enlisted men of the Philippine Constabulary shall, as modified by provisions of this and
other laws, apply to all officers and enlisted men on active duty in the Army.

(h) In time of war any officer of the Regular Force may be appointed to higher temporary rank
without vacating his permanent commission, such appointments in grades below that of colonel
being made by the President alone, but all other appointments in time of war shall be in the Reserve
Force.
(i) Upon his own application and with the approval of the Chief of Staff, any officer may be
transferred at any time to a branch or service other than his own without loss of rank: Provided,
That no transfers to or from the chaplains or medical service shall be permitted. Transfers in time of
war shall be made as prescribed by the Chief of Staff.

(j) With the approval of the American Government, not to exceed one-half of one per cent of the
commissioned officers of the Regular Force below the grade of lieutenant colonel may be detailed to
duty at foreign military schools.

While on such duty, officers so detailed shall receive the pay and allowances of commissioned
officers of their own grade in the army of the country in which the military school is located:
Provided, That such pay is equal to or higher than that received by the officer so detailed.

(k) Not to exceed one-half of one per cent of the commissioned officers of the Regular Army in any
fiscal year may be detailed as students at such technical, professional, and other educational
institutions, or as students, observers, or investigators at such industrial plants, hospitals, and other
places, as shall be best suited to enable such officers to acquire a knowledge of or experience in the
specialties in which it is deemed necessary that such officers shall perfect themselves: Provided,
That no expense shall be incurred by the Philippine Government in addition to the pay and allowance
of the officers so detailed, except for the cost of tuition at such technical, professional, and other
educational institutions.

(l) The President is authorized to detail or assign to duty with units of the Reserve Force such
officers of the Regular Force as he deems necessary. Commanders of divisions and larger units of
the Reserve Force shall be selected from officers of the Regular Force.

(m) Transfers of reserve officers within their category shall be made under such rules as the
President may prescribe.

To the extent provided for from time to time by appropriations for this specific purpose, the
President may order reserve officers to active duty at any time and for any period, but, except in
time of a national emergency expressly declared by the National Assembly, no reserve officer shall
be employed on active duty for more than six months in each five years without his own consent.

SECTION 23. The General Staff Corps shall consist of the Chief of Staff, the Central General Staff, and
the General Staff with troops.

(a) The Chief of Staff shall be directly subordinate to the President of the Philippines. He shall
preside over the Central General Staff.

Under the direction of the President of the Philippines, he shall cause to be made, by the Central
General Staff, the necessary plans for recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, mobilizing,
training, and demobilizing the Army in peace and in war and for the use of the military forces for
national defense. He shall render annually to the President, for transmission to the National
Assembly, a full report upon the condition of the Army of the Philippines, including statements as to
strength, cost, unexpended balances, requirements, and so on.

(b) The Central General Staff shall consist of the Chief of Staff, the Deputy Chief of Staff, the Provost
Marshal General, and such other officers of grades not below that of first lieutenant as the
President may direct.
It shall be the duty of the Central General Staff to prepare plans for the national defense and for the
mobilization of the man-power and material resources of the nation in an emergency, to investigate
and report upon all matters affecting the efficiency of the Army and its state of preparation for
military operations; to perform such inspections of the Army as may be necessary to insure
thoroughness and uniformity in training and compliance with regulations; to perform for the infantry,
cavalry, artillery and air units and the Constabulary such functions as the Chief of Staff may
prescribe; and to render professional aid and assistance to the Chief of Staff.

(c) The General Staff with troops shall consist of such number of officers not below the grade of first
lieutenant as may be necessary to perform the General Staff duties of the headquarters of divisions
and higher units.

It shall be the duty of the General Staff with troops to render professional aid and assistance to the
general officers over them; to act as their agents in harmonizing the plans, duties and operations of
the various organizations and services under their jurisdiction, in preparing detailed instructions for
the execution of the plans of the commanding generals and in supervising the execution of such
instructions.

SECTION 24. Except as herein otherwise provided, the Provost Marshal General shall, under the
direction of the Chief of Staff, be responsible for the performance of all duties heretofore devolving
upon the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary. He shall exercise such supervision and control over
all kinds and classes of police forces as may be directed by the President, for the maintenance of
peace, law and order throughout the Philippines.

The Provost Marshal General is charged, under the direction of the Chief of Staff, with the training,
discipline, administration and interior economy of the Philippine Constabulary.

The office of the Provost Marshal General shall contain a Recruiting Division, a Constabulary
Division and such other divisions as the Provost Marshal General, under supervision of the Chief of
Staff, shall prescribe.

The Recruiting Division, under the supervision of the Provost Marshal General and the Chief of Staff,
shall be responsible for the execution of all laws and regulations regarding the registration,
examination and assignment of male citizens of the Philippines in connection with the fulfillment of
their military obligations as prescribed in Title III of this Act.

The Constabulary Division, under the supervision of the Provost Marshal General and the Chief of
Staff, shall be charged with all functions now carried out by the Chief of Constabulary and His
Headquarters Administrative Staff, except those pertaining to the purchase, procurement, storage
and issue of all military supplies, equipment, material and animals, to the recruiting of personnel,
and to the operation of the Military Academy.

SECTION 25. The Services shall consist of the following: (a) The Adjutant General’s Service, the
Judge Advocate’s Service, the Quartermaster Service, the Medical Service, the Ordnance Service
and the Chaplain’s Service. Each Service shall consist of a Chief of Service and such assistants as
the President may direct. The head of each service shall be responsible, under the supervision of the
Chief of Staff, for the efficient performance of duties herein assigned to his service, and for the
execution of all instructions and orders issued him by the Chief of Staff.
(b) The Adjutant General’s Service shall be charged, under such regulations as the Chief of Staff may
prescribe, with the operating functions of procurement, assignments, promotion, transfer,
retirement, and discharge of all officers and enlisted men of the Regular and Reserve Forces.

(c) The Judge Advocate’s Service shall render such legal assistance as may be required by the
military forces.

(d) The Quartermaster Service shall be charged with the purchase, procurement, storage, and issue
for the Army, of all supplies, except those whose procurement is assigned to other services; with
the operation of utilities, with the acquisition of real estate and the issue of licenses in connection
with government military reservations; with the transportation of the Army by land and water, and
with the disbursement of all funds for the National Defense, the accounting for same, and with such
other fiscal duties as may be required by law or directed by the Chief of Staff: Provided, That such
commissioned technical assistants from other branches or services as may be required shall be
detailed to the Quartermaster Service for a period of not to exceed three years: Provided, further,
That under such regulations as the Chief of Staff may prescribe, officers of the Quartermaster
Service, accountable for government moneys, may entrust moneys to other officers for the purpose
of having them make disbursements as their agents, and the agent officer as well as the officer who
entrusts the money to him shall be bonded and held pecuniarily responsible to the Philippine
Government.

(e) The Medical Service shall be charged with all matters pertaining to the physical examination,
health, and sanitation of personnel and animals of the Army, including the procurement of technical
medical equipment.

(f) The Ordnance Service shall be charged with the purchase, procurement, storage, and issue of
such ordnance, chemical warfare, engineer and signal material as the President may direct.

The several sections of the Ordnance Service are charged with the study, experiment and
development of all technical material and equipment pertaining to their respective services.

(g) The Chaplain Service shall have charge of the religious welfare of the Army.

SECTION 26. The offshore patrol shall comprise all marine equipment and personnel acquired by the
Philippine Government and assigned either in peace or in war to the control of the Chief of Staff. It
shall have such duties and powers as may be prescribed by the Chief of Staff.

ARTICLE III

Enlistment and Reenlistment

SECTION 27. Any male citizen of the Philippines between eighteen and thirty years of age, able-
bodied, free from disease, of good moral character and habits, of average intelligence, and
possessed of such educational attainments as may be prescribed, may be enlisted in the Regular
Force under the following restrictions:

(a) Enlistments shall be for a term of three years, and may be made by the recruiting officers at
stations of the Regular Force.
(b) Unmarried minors between eighteen and twenty-one years of age may be enlisted only on the
written and duly attested consent of the father, the mother when she is the only surviving parent, or
the publicly known guardian.

(c) Enlistments for service in any province, except for the Regular Division, the Artillery Corps, and
Air Corps, shall be from among residents thereof. In so far as practicable, enlistments in these
forces shall be apportioned among the various provinces of the Philippines.

SECTION 28. Regulations applying to the reenlistment and to the retirement privileges of
noncommissioned officers of the Regular Force shall be prescribed by the President.

SECTION 29. An enlisted man who shall have served honorably at least three years and does not
reenlist shall be exempt from further military service except in a national emergency. He shall be
required, however, to register his address at the military headquarters nearest to his place of
residence.

ARTICLE IV

Military Academy

SECTION 30. There shall be established a military training school to be named the Philippine Military
Academy, for the training of selected candidates for permanent commission in the Regular Force.
The student body in the Military Academy shall be known as the Cadet Corps of the Army of the
Philippines.

SECTION 31. The President is authorized to appoint to the Military Academy annually, subject to such
physical and mental examinations as he may prescribe, the number of cadets necessary to maintain
the Cadet Corps at a strength of not to exceed three hundred and fifty. Cadets shall be selected from
among qualified candidates as hereinafter provided. Candidates for admission shall be single, in
good physical condition, not less than seventeen nor more than twenty-two years of age, and shall
be nominated by the Members of the National Assembly, each of whom may nominate any number
of candidates. The President shall appoint from among those who pass the physical and mental
examinations with the highest ratings the number or numbers necessary to fill the existing
vacancies: Provided, That a quota of three members of the Cadet Corps shall be allotted to each
Assembly district: Provided, further, That in case no candidates from a given Assembly district attain
the required minimum ratings, a second examination shall be given during the same year to
nominees from that district. If on the second examination no candidate shall attain the required
minimum rating, the vacancies in the district quota shall be filled by the President from successful
candidates at large.

The pay and allowances of students at the Military Academy shall be fixed by the President.

Any student who shall, after entrance to the Academy and before completion of the prescribed
course of training, be found to be physically unfit for military duty by reason of injury or disease
incident to the service, shall be retired with the rank of cadet and shall be entitled to the retired pay
and allowances of a third lieutenant of the Regular Force.

Upon satisfactory completion of the course of instruction at the Military Academy candidates shall
be commissioned third lieutenants in the Regular or Reserve Forces with relative rank in the order
of final general standing as determined by the Faculty Board and Commandant of the Academy, and
approved by the Chief of Staff.

ARTICLE V

The Reserve Force

SECTION 32. The Reserve Force shall consist of such number of Infantry Divisions located as the
President may direct; of such additional separate regiments, battalions, companies, and similar
separate units as the President may authorize; of all reserve classes not assigned to the above
units, and of the Reserve elements of the Offshore Patrol.

The organization of reserve land and air units shall, in so far as practicable, be that of
corresponding tactical units of the Regular Force.

SECTION 33. The Chief of Staff may detail or assign to duty with Reserve units such enlisted men of
the Regular Force as he deems necessary.

ARTICLE VI

Reserve Officers and Noncommissioned Officers

SECTION 34. Any person who shall have completed his trainee instruction and who is selected for
training as a commissioned officer shall pursue a theoretical course of training of not less than six
months to be prescribed by the Chief of Staff, upon completion of which he shall be assigned to duty
with a Regular unit as probationary third lieutenant for another period of six months. At the end of
this service those who have displayed qualities of leadership and who have demonstrated their
fitness to command may be appointed and commissioned third lieutenants of the Reserve Force and
assigned to an organization thereof. Those who fail to complete the course of training shall be
transferred to the Reserve Force as enlisted men and shall be assigned to an organization thereof.

SECTION 35. At such colleges and universities as the President may designate there shall be
established and maintained Reserve Officers’ Training Units of such arms and services as he shall
specify, where every physically fit student shall be required to pursue a course of military
instruction designed to qualify him for a commission as a third lieutenant of Reserve. In so far as
may be practicable, the student shall be permitted to choose the arm or service in which he wishes
to train. This course of military instruction, if pursued to completion, shall exempt students from
trainee instruction. It shall not exempt them from registration.

SECTION 36. The Chief of Staff shall, by mutual agreement with the head of the institution, designate
the senior military instructor and such commissioned and enlisted personnel as may be necessary
for each institution. He is authorized to issue to such institutions the arms, equipment and other
property which he deems essential to the conduct of this instruction.

SECTION 37. Each year the senior military instructor shall submit to the Chief of Staff the names of
those members of the graduating class whom he recommends for further training. These graduates
may be ordered to organizations of the Regular Force for a six months’ probationary period. At the
end of this service those who have displayed their fitness for Commission may be appointed and
commissioned third lieutenants of the Reserves and assigned to an organization thereof.
SECTION 38. Graduates who are not recommended for training as third lieutenants and those who
fail to qualify for appointment as such shall be assigned to the nearest age group in the Reserve and
assigned to an organization thereof as private or noncommissioned officers as recommended.
Students of military age who do not complete their courses of study at an institution of learning
provided with a Reserve Officers’ Training Unit shall be liable for trainee instruction immediately
upon severing their connection with the institution. If more than 20 years of age, they shall be
assigned to the trainee class next to be called.

SECTION 39. The President shall appoint and commission, upon the recommendation of the Chief of
Staff, such reserve officers as shall in his opinion be needed.

SECTION 40. In so far as may be practicable, original appointments by the President in grades above
third lieutenant shall be made from among those formerly holding Reserve commissions in the
United States Army and from former officers of the Philippine Scouts and Constabulary.

SECTION 41. Noncommissioned officers of the Regular Force between the ages of twenty-one and
thirty years who are recommended for appointment as third lieutenants shall pursue the course of
instruction of six months prescribed for those who have completed their trainee instruction, and
who are recommended for training to qualify as reserve officers. Upon satisfactory completion of
this course they may be appointed and commissioned third lieutenants of the Reserves and
assigned to an organization of the Reserve Force. Except upon mobilization, no service as a reserve
officer may be performed by an enlisted man of the Regular Force.

SECTION 42. Medical reserve officers shall be procured from graduates of medical colleges and
universities under such regulations as may be prescribed by the President.

SECTION 43. Reserve officers shall be physically examined upon each assignment to active duty.
Any reserve officer found physically unfit for active field service shall be discharged.

SECTION 44. Young men who complete their trainee instruction and are selected for additional
training to qualify them as noncommissioned officers of the Reserve Force shall pursue a
prescribed course of three months. Upon satisfactory completion thereof they shall be warranted in
the noncommissioned officer grade for which they shall have qualified, and then transferred to the
Reserve Force and assigned to an organization thereof.

SECTION 45. The Chief of Staff shall be empowered to organize and establish such special and
advanced school units as he may deem proper for the special training of officers of the technical
and supply sections and services, and for the advanced training of selected officers for field, staff,
and command duties.

SECTION 46. All candidates for appointment as reserve officers, except medical officers, shall be
required to qualify for appointment as third lieutenants of the line before being permitted to pursue
any special course pertaining to the technical and supply services.

ARTICLE VII

Active Duty Training of Reservists

SECTION 47. Periods of active duty training in the Reserve Force shall be as prescribed by the Chief
of Staff. In so far as may be practicable, the active duty periods for the three echelons shall be as
follows: 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.

During such periods of active duty training the reservist shall be amenable to the laws and
regulations prescribed for the Regular Force. Except with his 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.

SECTION 48. Any reservist who fails to report for active duty training as directed by the Chief of Staff
shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

SECTION 49. Any employee of the Government called for trainee instruction, or for regular annual
active duty training, shall not be compelled to lose his position or to suffer a loss of pay due to his
absence in the fulfillment of his military obligations.

SECTION 50. Mobilization centers shall be constituted as follows:

(a) Mobilization centers shall be established for the purpose of providing storage for the arms,
equipment, clothing, and records of units, other than those of the Regular Force, to be mobilized in a
national emergency, of making provision in advance of mobilization for the necessary shelter for
men and animals of such units during mobilization, and of reducing to a minimum the period
necessary for mobilization.

(b) One mobilization center shall be established for each battalion or similar unit or, when for the
best interests of the Philippines, for regiments or larger units.

(c) Provincial Commanders, acting under the Chief of Staff, shall be responsible that all arms,
equipment, and other material stored in such buildings within their respective provinces are
properly cared for and secured, and that all records turned over to the chief caretaker by military
units are preserved intact.

The Constabulary shall, whenever practicable, be charged under the Provincial Commanders with
the care of the arms, equipment and other materials, and of the records at mobilization centers.

TITLE III

Military Service

ARTICLE I

Obligation to Serve and Length of Service

SECTION 51. All Filipinos are liable to military service.

SECTION 52. The obligation to undergo military training shall begin with youth in school,
commencing at the age of ten years, and shall extend through his schooling until he shall reach the
age of eighteen years. At this age he shall enter the Junior Reserve to which he shall be assigned
until he is twenty-one years of age when he shall become subject to service with the colors, and
thereafter with the Reserve Force until he shall reach fifty years of age. The training which he may
undergo prior to the calendar year in which he attains, twenty-one years of age shall be termed
“Preparatory Military Training.”
All school girls shall receive such instruction and training as the Chief of Staff may deem necessary
for auxiliary service.

All able-bodied male citizens between the ages of twenty years and fifty years, both inclusive,
except those specifically exempted, shall be classified as follows:

Trainees — Those between the ages of twenty and twenty-two who have been selected to receive
military training.

First Reserve — Those between the ages of twenty-two years and thirty years, both inclusive, and
including also all those who have completed trainee instruction even though they may not have
attained the age of twenty-two.

Second Reserve — Those between the ages of thirty-one years and forty years, both inclusive.

Third Reserve — Those between the ages of forty-one years and fifty years, both inclusive.

SECTION 53. Young men shall be required to register for military training in the Army in the calendar
year in which they will become twenty years of age. This class of training shall be known as trainee
instruction and shall be given for such periods, at such times, and under such regulations as the
President may from time to time prescribe. Except for those trainees selected for duty with
elements of the Regular Force, the period of trainee instructions shall not exceed five and one-half
months. In no case shall the period of trainee instruction be extended beyond twelve months except
with the specific consent of the trainee.

ARTICLE II

Procurement of Trainees

SECTION 54. On January first, 1936, or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, the President shall
issue a proclamation calling upon all young men, citizens of the Philippines, who shall attain the age
of twenty years in that calendar year, to register for military instruction. Registration shall take
place in suitable registration places to be prescribed by the city, municipality, or municipal district
government in which they reside, between the dates of April first and seventh. Annual registration
shall be held during the same period in succeeding years.

SECTION 55. The President shall provide by proclamation all necessary rules and regulations for the
method and procedure of registration and the selection of trainees for military service.

SECTION 56. On May fifteenth of each year, the Provost Marshal General shall conduct a drawing
which shall determine those registrants who are to be called for trainee instruction in the next
calendar year. He shall cause immediate and thorough publication to be given of the names of those
who shall have been drawn. Provincial Governors shall be responsible that each young man in their
province who shall have been drawn is notified at once of this fact.

SECTION 57. No person convicted of a crime against the Government or of an offense involving
moral turpitude shall be permitted to register for military service unless he shall have been
previously pardoned by the President.

SECTION 58. The following persons are exempt from registration:

(a) Members of the Philippine Scouts and the Philippine Army.

(b) Young men, citizens of the Philippines who are residing abroad. These persons shall register
within five days after their return to the Philippines in order to determine their obligation for military
training.

If under thirty years of age on their return, they shall be liable for military service, and shall enter
thereon if drawn at the next national drawing for military service following their return.

(c) Persons who, because of incarceration awaiting trial or undergoing sentence of a court of law,
are prevented from registering. They shall upon their release from custody register for military
trainee instruction with the president of the municipality or township in which they reside. If under
thirty years of age at the time of release, they shall be liable for trainee instruction; if over that age,
they shall not be required to serve with the colors.

SECTION 59. The following registrants are exempted from trainee instruction:

(a) Ecclesiastics regularly ordained and serving as a member of the clergy and seminary students of
a recognized church or sect.

(b) Physicians properly certified and practicing as such.

(c) Superintendents of penitentiaries, corrective prisons, and insane asylums.

(d) The personnel of the coast guard revenue cutter and lighthouse inspection services.

(e) Pilots, navigators and marine superintendents.

(f) Such others as may hereafter be exempted by law.

SECTION 60. Any person failing to register for military service as herein provided shall, upon
conviction, be sentenced to serve not more than one year in prison or to pay a fine of not to exceed
two thousand pesos or both, at the discretion of the court. Conviction for this offense shall not
exempt the person convicted from the military service herein required.

ARTICLE III

Examination, Classification, Deferments

SECTION 61. Acceptance Boards shall be appointed by the President for a term of three years.
Boards shall be appointed for such municipalities and municipal districts as the population may
require. The President shall determine the number and location of boards required for the
administration of this law. They shall consist of five members, two of whom shall be physicians.
Where practicable, two members shall be officers of the Philippine Army stationed in the province.
The President shall designate the Chairman of the board.

SECTION 62. The medical members shall advise the board in cases where the young man’s physical
condition for military service is in question. Decision by the board as to action on such cases and
upon all other matters shall be by majority vote.
SECTION 63. Young men who have been called for trainee instruction, upon reporting to the
Acceptance Boards, shall be required to complete a questionnaire of a prescribed form, and to
undergo a physical examination. The board shall then classify the young men into the following
classes:

(a) Class I — Fit for unlimited service.

(b) Class II — Fit for limited service only.

(c) Class III — Deferred until a later date.

(d) Class IV — Exempted for physical reasons.

SECTION 64. The following, during the period of their employment or functions, may have their
trainee instruction deferred for not to exceed three years:

(a) Such officers and employees of the insular, provincial, municipal, and municipal district
governments, as the President may designate in executive orders.

(b) Officials and agents of organized police forces.

(c) Officials of land, air, and marine transport.

The persons above mentioned shall be exempted from all military service except trainee instruction
and except for active service in a national emergency, expressly declared by the National Assembly
when they shall be liable for military service or special assignment as directed by the President.

SECTION 65. Deferments may likewise be granted by the Acceptance Boards for those who are
indispensable to the support of their dependent families, for agricultural reasons, and for certain
key men in industry, commerce or agriculture; provided that such deferments shall not exceed one
year, after which they shall be liable to such training in the same manner as that prescribed for any
other citizen.

SECTION 66. Deferments for any cause whatsoever shall be made only upon presentation to the
Acceptance Boards of supporting evidence either by testimony of witnesses or by documentary
evidence or both.

SECTION 67. The Acceptance Board shall be responsible for the prompt forwarding of the trainee’s
name, together with all documents and records pertaining to him, to his future station.

SECTION 68. Where the Acceptance Board denies the claim for deferment of any individual, he may,
within ten days, appeal his case to the Central Review Board in Manila.

SECTION 69. Where dependency was the cause for deferment and that condition continues after the
termination of the period of deferment, the young man shall be liable to trainee instruction, and if
drawn therefor he shall enter upon such instruction. During the period of his absence undergoing
instruction, an allowance for the partial support of his dependent or dependents, who have no other
means of support, shall be made by the Philippine Government. The corresponding acceptance
board shall determine the dependent or dependents entitled to this allowance, which shall be fixed
by Executive Order.
SECTION 70. The expenses incident to the administration of the Acceptance Boards shall be borne by
the Government. Except for governmental officials, the salaries of members of the Board shall not
exceed P500 per annum, provided that no governmental official, whose salary is paid from the
Philippine Government Treasury, shall receive any additional compensation by reason of service on
such Boards.

SECTION 71. The District and Provincial Military Commanders or their duly appointed assistants shall
supervise the recruitment of the man-power in their districts or provinces. This responsibility shall
extend to a supervision of registration and the administration and operation of all Acceptance
Boards within the territorial limits of their commands. They shall have access at all times to the
records pertaining to registration, examination, and classification. They shall report all irregularities
coming to their attention to the Provost Marshal General. Provincial Commanders shall submit such
reports through the Provincial Governor and District Commander.

ARTICLE IV

Central Review Board

SECTION 72. The Central Review Board shall consist of five citizens appointed by the President who
shall designate the Chairman of the Board. One member shall be an officer of the Philippine Army,
representing the Provost Marshal General. Initially, one member shall be appointed for five years,
one member for four years, one member for three years, one member for two years, and the
remaining member for one year. Thereafter, all appointments shall be for five years. In case any
vacancy occurs before the expiration of the terms of office of any member, his successor shall
serve only the unexpired portion of said term. No member shall be eligible for reappointment. Upon
the expiration of the term of office of the Chairman, that office shall devolve upon the member
having the longest service on the Board. The Board shall hold its sessions in the City of Manila.

SECTION 73. Decision in all matters before the Board shall be by majority vote. The Board shall have
authority to employ such staff of assistants and the services of necessary medical examiners as
may be authorized by the President.

SECTION 74. All cases of appeal from the decision of the Acceptance Boards which shall be
forwarded by the Provincial Governors shall be reviewed by the Central Review Board. The
appellant shall be authorized to be represented by legal counsel, and to present such facts and
evidence in support of his case as he shall deem advisable. The decision of the Board shall be
rendered without unnecessary delay and shall be final.

SECTION 75. The salaries of the members of the Board shall not exceed three thousand pesos per
annum, except that the military member shall receive the pay and allowance of his rank and service.
These salaries and those of the assistants and medical examiners, as well as all expenses incident
to the operation of the Board, shall be borne by the Philippine Government. Officers and employees
of the Government serving as members of the Board or as assistants or examiners thereof, if any,
shall not receive any additional compensation.

ARTICLE V

Incorporation into the Service

SECTION 76. Upon reporting at the designated training station the young man shall be examined
physically, and, if fit for the service of his classification, he shall be assigned to duty with an
organization and sworn in. If the examination discloses any cause for a change in his classification,
the change shall be effected by the local Commander immediately and his assignment to training
instruction varied accordingly. Where a change of station is necessary to provide the requisite
training, the Commanding Officer shall be empowered to issue the necessary orders covering his
transportation. Upon joining his organization, he shall be sworn in. In case of physical disability
disqualifying him for military service, he shall be returned to his home and prompt report made of
such action to the Provost Marshal General and to the president of the municipality or municipal
district of his residence.

ARTICLE VI

Transfer to Reserve Force

SECTION 77. Upon completion of the prescribed course of trainee instruction, and, unless the soldier
shall enlist in the Regular Force or shall be selected for further training to qualify him as a
commissioned or noncommissioned officer, he shall be transferred to the Reserve Force and
assigned to an organization thereof by the Adjutant General. From this time his name shall be
carried on the rosters of the Reserve Force.

Upon transfer to the Reserve Force, such arms, accoutrements and clothing as shall be prescribed,
shall be transferred to the mobilization center of his organization.

SECTION 78. On completion of his training instruction the trainee shall pass into the First Reserve
where he shall be assigned to an organization. He shall continue to serve in the First Reserve until
he shall reach thirty years of age. On January first of the year in which he shall become thirty-one
years of age, he shall be transferred to the Second Reserve where he shall be assigned to an
organization in that echelon. He shall serve in the Second Reserve until he shall become forty years
of age. On January first of the year in which he shall become forty-one years of age, he shall be
transferred to the Third Reserve in which he may be assigned to an organization. He shall serve in
this class until he shall be fifty years of age.

SECTION 79. Enlisted men in the Reserve Force shall report for physical examination as may be
required by the President.

ARTICLE VII

Preparatory Military Training

SECTION 80. The purpose of preparatory military training shall be as follows: To develop the national
spirit; to make the youth physically strong; to make the youth morally confident, and to prepare the
youth for military service.

SECTION 81. Preparatory military training shall begin with the youth in elementary grade school at
the age of ten years and shall extend through the remainder of his schooling into college or the
university as set forth hereinbefore. In case the youth ceases to attend school, or for any reason
shall have no schooling, he shall become liable for service in the Junior Reserve on reaching the
age of eighteen years.
SECTION 82. Preparatory military training is compulsory upon the youth attending school and upon
others when they shall become eighteen years of age.

SECTION 83. The physically unfit shall not be required to undergo military training. Physical fitness
shall be determined by a provincial board of medical officers which shall be appointed by the
Provincial Commander.

SECTION 84. The Provincial Commander is charged with the supervision of preparatory military
training. It shall be divided by age and school classes, as follows:

(a) Junior cadets; above ten years of age, attending primary and intermediate schools.

(b) High-school cadets; attending high or vocational schools.

(c) Junior Reserves. — Eighteen to twenty years of age, both inclusive; young men not attending
school or college.

SECTION 85. Instructors for cadets shall be assigned by the Provincial Commander from the
qualified male teachers in the provincial schools who are members of the Reserve Force.

Instructors for the junior reserve shall be assigned by the Provincial Commander from the officers
and men of the Regular Force stationed in the province.

SECTION 86. Courses of instruction shall be prescribed by the Chief of Staff.

SECTION 87. The following persons are exempted from training in the Junior Reserve: Those who
are found physically unfit by a medical board; those who are living abroad; those living more than
thirty kilometers distance from the nearest community where instruction is given; and those
undergoing any other form of authorized military instruction.

SECTION 88. Parents and employers shall be required to compel attendance at preparatory military
training. Upon conviction of deliberate failure to discharge this obligation, the responsible parent or
employer or both shall be subject to a fine of not to exceed one hundred pesos.

Enrollment in each category of preparatory military training shall be accomplished at such times
and under such regulations as the President may prescribe.

Approved: December 21, 1935

Source: CDAsia