Presidential Decree No. 1855, s. 1982 | Senate of the Philippines Legislative Reference Bureau

WHEREAS, the Philippine Veterans Bank was created pursuant to its Charter (Republic Act No. 3518), as amended, for the benefit solely of the veterans of World War II;

WHEREAS, the term “veteran or veterans” under paragraph (a), Section 4 of the PVB Charter include any person or persons who served in the regularly constituted air, land or naval services or arms, or in such non-regularly organized military units in the Philippines during World War II, and whose services with such units are duly recognized by the Republic of the Philippines or by the Government of the United States;

WHEREAS, Section 3 of Republic Act No. 2640, otherwise known as the Charter of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines, the umbrella of all accredited veterans organizations, provides that the members of the said Federation are not only veterans of World War II, but also those who served in the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (PEPTOK) or in any armed conflict in which the Philippines may be involved in the future, and the retirees of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who served in the military service after World War II for ten years or more;

WHEREAS, if only World War II veterans and their widows, orphans and compulsory heirs shall remain the stockholders of the PVB, there will come a time in the near future that the number of stockholders will be greatly reduced because of their inevitable death, taking into account that for purposes of the PVB Charter, only the heirs of the veterans in the direct ascending line and direct descending line (excluding their grandchildren) are qualified to succeed to the shares of stock upon the death of the stockholders;

WHEREAS, in order to insure the perpetuity of the Philippine Veterans Bank, there is an urgent necessity of including in the definition of the term “veteran or veterans” those who served in the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea or in any armed conflict in which the Philippines may be involved in the future, and the retirees of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution, do hereby decree and make the following as part of the law of the land:

SECTION 1. Section four of Republic Act No. 3518 is amended to read as follows:

“Sec. 4. Determination of veterans entitled to benefit from this Act. — (a) The term “veteran or veterans” shall include any person or persons who served in the regularly constituted air, land or naval services or arms, or in such non-regularly organized military units in the Philippines during World War II and whose services with such units are duly recognized by the Republic of the Philippines or by the Government of the United States, those who serve in the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea during the Korean Campaign, or in any armed conflict in which the Philippines may be involved in the future, and the retirees of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who served in the post World War II military service for at least ten years: Provided, That, the said veterans or retirees have been honorably discharged or separated from the service or continue in the active military service or are carried in the military roster on inactive reserve: Provided, further, That for purposes of this Act, the term “veteran or veterans” shall also include the widows, orphans and compulsory heirs of deceased veterans in the direct ascending line and direct descending line, excluding their grandchildren and great-grandchildren;

(b) The term “organized or acknowledged veterans organizations” as used in this Act shall mean a veteran organization duly recognized or acknowledged as such by the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, and Armed Forces of the Philippines which shall keep official rosters of such veterans organizations;

(c) On the basis of the acknowledged or duly established official records and data from the Treasury of the Philippines and any other record or evidence admissible under the rules of evidence, such as the records of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office and of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the said government entities shall determine immediately after the approval of this Act who and how many are the veterans of the Philippines as enumerated in Paragraph (a) of this section, who are entitled to the benefits of this Act. The decision of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office and the Armed Forces of the Philippines on the matter shall be final, unless appeal for review within fifteen days from notice thereof, is made to the President of the Philippines or to the Supreme Court whose decision shall be final. The appeal shall be perfected in the same manner as in other proceedings and it may be prosecuted by the interested party or by the head of any acknowledged veteran organization;

(d) The reckoning date for determining the status and number of such veterans, their widows, orphans or compulsory heirs shall be the date of approval of this Act.

(e) The share of each beneficiary, war veteran or widow, orphan or compulsory heir of a deceased veteran, in the distribution of the benefits accruing to the Republic of the Philippines, shall be equal regardless of rank and services rendered; Provided, That in case of orphan or orphans of a deceased veteran, they shall be counted as one unit only and the share of all of them regardless of their number shall be the same or equal to that of a surviving war veteran or surviving widow;

(f) Notice of the decision of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office and the Armed Forces of the Philippines on the question of who are entitled to participate in the benefits accruing to the Veterans Trust Fund shall immediately be served on the interested parties, either directly or thru the organization to which they belong in writing and by registered mail. In addition, the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office and the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall publish for three consecutive weeks a notice in two newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines to the effect that the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office and the Armed Forces of the Philippines have already completed their work of determining the number and the identity of those entitled to participate in the trust fund and advising any party interested who has not received yet the notice of the decision served upon him that he may verify his inclusion or exclusion from the official register in the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. These offices shall keep complete lists and official register of those included and excluded from the enjoyment of the benefit, which lists shall be available for inspection during office hours. The official registry books shall constitute as irrevocable public record, certified true copies of which may be released by the custodian of records for official purpose only.”

SEC. 2. This decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 26th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-two.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) JOAQUIN T. VENUS, JR.
Presidential Executive Assistant

Source: CDAsia