Amendment to Civil Aviation Law Re: Grant of Licenses for Airmen to Nationals of Any Country

June 20, 1947

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 158

AN ACT TO AMEND SUBSECTION (d), SECTION SEVEN OF COMMONWEALTH ACT NUMBERED ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-EIGHT, KNOWN AS THE "CIVIL AVIATION LAW," AND TO GRANT LICENSES FOR AIRMEN TO NATIONALS OF ANY COUNTRY UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS

SECTION 1. Section seven, subsection (d) of Commonwealth Act Numbered One hundred and sixty-eight is hereby amended to read as follows:

"(d) Ownership of aircraft. — No person shall engage in air commerce and no aircraft shall be operated or navigated, without having been granted a license or permit therefor issued in accordance with the provisions of this Act. Except as may be necessary in the operation of an international air service, no permit shall be issued for the operation of any aircraft in air commerce that is registered under the laws of any foreign country, or any aircraft that is not absolutely owned and exclusively controlled by: acd

"(1) A citizen or citizens of the Philippines; or

"(2) A partnership or other joint enterprise of which each member is a citizen of the Philippines; or

"(3) A corporation organized under the laws of the Philippines, of which the directing head and at least two-thirds of the directors and managing officers are citizens of the Philippines; and of which at least sixty-six and two-thirds per cent of the voting interest of the corporation is owned absolutely and controlled exclusively by citizens of the Philippines; or

"(4) The Government of the Philippines or a political subdivision thereof:

"Provided, however, That with the approval of the President of the Philippines, the Secretary of National Defense, upon the recommendation of the Director of Aeronautics, may allow the registration and issue permits for the operation of aircrafts owned by any person, corporation, or association for personal use only to Filipino citizens and to aliens whose countries allow reciprocal privilege to Filipino nationals."

SECTION 2. Any provision of existing law to the contrary notwithstanding, with the approval of the President of the Philippines, the Secretary of National Defense may grant for a period of five years from the approval of this Act, licenses for airmen, to Filipino citizens and to aliens whose countries allow reciprocal privilege to Filipino nationals: Provided, however, That such licenses shall only be granted to said aliens who have resided in the Philippines for at least three months: Provided, further, That during the said period of five years, the number of licensed alien airmen shall be reduced every succeeding year to one-half of the number of licensed alien airmen in the preceding year.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 20, 1947

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 43, No. 7, p. 2604 in July 1947