Amending Section 4-c of R.A. No. 291 (Armed Forces Officer Personnel Act of 1948)

March 22, 1984

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1908

AMENDING SECTION 4-C OF REPUBLIC ACT NUMBER 291 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "THE ARMED FORCES OFFICER PERSONNEL ACT OF 1948"

WHEREAS, in consonance with the present campaign of the AFP against insurgency and its thrusts towards civil-military operations, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is in dire need of the services of additional lawyers, doctors and chaplains;

WHEREAS, the highly competitive motivations provided by the private sectors, have drastically limited the number of applicants for commission in the Judge Advocate General's Service, Medical Corps and Chaplain Service due to the stringent requirement for commission in those services and the comparatively low pay and rank (First Lieutenant) for initial appointment in the Armed Forces of the Philippines;

WHEREAS, to expedite the procurement of such officers and to attract the best qualified professionals mentioned to enter the military service it is imperative that the law constituting the procurement of technical service officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines be amended by raising their initial entry grade by one rank and by doing away with the two-year practice prerequisite; casia

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order and decree that:

SECTION 1. Section 4C of Republic Act Number 291 as amended be further amended to read:

"Sec. 4. Procurement of additional officers. —

(c) Except as hereinafter authorized or unless otherwise expressly provided by law, all initial appointments of Regular Officers shall be in grade of Second Lieutenant. Priority in the filling vacancies in the grade of Second Lieutenant will be given first, to graduate of Philippine Military Academy or the United States Military or Naval Academy, or Philippine Air Force or United States Air Force Flying School; second, to honor graduates of senior military training units in schools and colleges; third, to enlisted men, who, at the time of appointment shall have served for at least one full term of enlistment in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and have such other qualifications as may be prescribed by the MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENSE; and fourth, others who shall such qualifications as the MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENSE shall prescribe. PROVIDED, THAT ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS IN THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL'S SERVICE, MEDICAL CORPS AND THE CHAPLAIN SERVICE SHALL BE IN THE GRADE OF CAPTAIN FROM AMONG APPLICANTS WHO AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT, SHALL NOT BE LESS THAN TWENTY-FIVE NOR MORE THAN FORTY YEARS OF AGE AND SHALL HAVE BEEN ADMITTED TO THE PRACTICE OF LAW IN THE PHILIPPINES, IF APPOINTMENT IS TO BE MADE IN THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL'S SERVICE: SHALL HAVE BEEN ADMITTED TO THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE IF APPOINTMENT IS TO BE MADE IN THE MEDICAL CORPS, AND SHALL HAVE BEEN ORDAINED AND DULY INDORSED FOR CHAPLAINCY ACCORDING TO THE LAWS AND USAGES OF HIS CHURCH IF APPOINTMENT IS TO BE MADE IN THE CHAPLAIN SERVICE. PROVIDED FURTHER, THAT SUCH OFFICERS IN THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL'S SERVICE, MEDICAL CORPS OR CHAPLAIN SERVICE WHO ARE HOLDING THE GRADE OF FIRST LIEUTENANT SHALL BE READJUSTED TO THE GRADE OF CAPTAIN UPON APPROVAL OF THIS DECREE. PROVIDED, FINALLY, that the President may appoint professors without military rank for the Military Academy, with such compensation as he may determine, such professors, associate professors and assistant professors, to be carried as separate roster and in addition to the number of commissioned officers prescribed.

SECTION 2. Any law, decree, letter of instructions, executive orders, rules and regulations which are inconsistent with this decree, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 3. This Decree shall take effect upon approval.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 22nd day of March, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Four.

            Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 80 No. 21 Page 3031 on May 21, 1984.