Development, Organization, Training and Establishment of a Volunteer Service Corps for National Service

 

April 16, 1979

LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 846

WHEREAS, the Constitution of the Philippines emphasizes the development of good and responsible citizenship;

WHEREAS, the principle of the defense of the state makes it a prime duty of government and the people, in the fulfillment of which, all citizens may be required by law to render personal military or civil service;

WHEREAS, the present development programs under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of National Defense pertaining to Citizen Military Training (CMT), otherwise known as the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and Women's Auxiliary Training Corps (WATC) programs need to be refined to include their service in the civil dimension of our national defense concept;

WHEREAS, it is necessary to develop our civilian government employees also to the civil dimension of national defense and national service;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, do hereby order and instruct the Ministers of Human Settlements; National Defense; Education and Culture, and the President of the University of the Philippines System, to develop, organize, train and establish a Volunteer Corps for National Service, emphasizing the civil and military aspects of national security and nation building. cd i

1. This Volunteer Corps for National Service will be known as the MAHARLIKA Service Corps.

2. The following Ministries and National Agency will be mutually tasked with the development, organization, training and establishment of the MAHARLIKA Service Corps: casia

a. The Ministry of Human Settlements as the Ministry of primary responsibility cdt

b. The Ministry of National Defense with respect to the Citizen Military Training aspects

c. The Ministry of Education and Culture with respect to the general education and training along civil aspects

d. The University of the Philippines System for special or specialized education and training as are necessary in the motivation of the Service Corps to the concept of National Service.

3. Appropriate policies and regulations of the Ministry of National Defense with respect to Citizen Military Training (CMT) will be applicable to the MAHARLIKA Service Corps, both for basic courses or equivalent to produce enlisted reservists in the AFP Reserve Force, and advanced courses to qualify graduates for commission in the AFP Reserve or Regular Force. casia

4. Appropriate policies, orders and instructions/regulations of the Ministry of Education and Culture in the civil dimension (i.e., Youth Civic Action Program and others) will likewise be made applicable to the MAHARLIKA Service Corps. cdt

5. The Ministry of Human Settlements will design and implement programs and projects for the Service Corps with reference to the achievement of the civil relations and human settlements objectives.

6. The University of the Philippines System will design educational and training programs or projects on special or specialized aspects geared to motivational indoctrination similar to the TANGLAW Program of the Ministry of National Defense.

7. The Ministries of Human Settlements, National Defense, and Education and Culture, and the University of the Philippines System will work out such Memoranda of Agreement (s) and coordinations as necessary for the carrying out of this task.

8. The volunteers for the MAHARLIKA Service Corps will be drawn from students (male and female) from colleges and universities on a selective basis, and from civil government employees or workers, initially in the Metropolitan Manila Area and later application in the Regions as soon as feasible.

9. The Ministries concerned and the University of the Philippines System are hereby authorized to utilize or draw on their reserve funds during the Calendar Year 1979 to support this activity. cd i

hese Instructions shall apply immediately, and an initial pilot project should be implemented during the summer months of 1979 followed by other development activities thereafter.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 16th day of April, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Nine.