REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7278 - AN ACT
AMENDING COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 111, AS AMENDED BY PRESIDENTIAL DECREE
NO. 460, ENTITLED "AN ACT TO CREATE A PUBLIC CORPORATION TO BE KNOWN AS
THE BOY SCOUTS OF THE PHILIPPINES, AND TO DEFINE ITS POWERS AND
PURPOSES," BY STRENGTHENING THE VOLUNTEER AND DEMOCRATIC CHARACTER OF
THE BOY SCOUTS OF THE PHILIPPINES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Section 1. Section s 2 and 3 of Commonwealth Act. No. 111, as
amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 2. The said corporation shall have the powers
of perpetual succession, to sue and sued; to enter into contracts; to
acquire, own, lease, convey and dispose of such real and personal
estate, land grants, rights and chooses in action as shall be necessary
for corporate purposes, and to accept and received funds, real and
personal property by gift, devise, bequest or other means, to conduct
fund-raising activities; to adopt and use a seal, and the same to alter
and destroy; to have offices and conduct its business and affairs in
Metropolitan Manila and in the regions, provinces, cities,
municipalities, and barangays of the Philippines, to make and adopt
by-laws, rules and regulations not inconsistent with this Act and the
laws of the Philippines, and generally to do all such acts and things,
including the establishment of regulations for the election of
associates and successors, as may be necessary to carry into effect the
provisions of this Act and promote the purpose of said corporation:
provided, that said corporation shall have no power to issue
certificates of stock or to declare or pay dividends, its objectives
and purposes being solely of benevolent character and not for pecuniary
profit of its members.
"Sec. 3. The purpose of this corporation shall be to
promote through organization and cooperation with other agencies, the
ability of boys to do useful things for themselves and others, to train
them in scout craft, and to inculcate in them patriotism, civic
consciousness and responsibility, courage, self-reliance, discipline
and kindred virtues, and moral values, using the method which are in
common use by boy scouts."
Sec. 2. Sec. 4 of Commonwealth Act No. 111, as
amended, is hereby repealed and in lieu thereof, Sec. 4 shall read
as follows:
"Sec. 4. The President of the Philippines shall be
the Chief Scout of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines."
Sec. 3. Sec. 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Commonwealth Act
No. 111, as amended, are hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 5. The governing body of the said corporation
shall consist of a National Executive Board, the members of which shall
be Filipino citizens of good moral character. The Board shall be
composed of the following:
"(a) One (1) charter member of the Boy Scouts of the
Philippines who shall be elected by the members of the National Council
at its meeting called for this purpose;
"(b) The regional chairmen of the scouts regions who
shall be elected by the representatives of all the local scouts
councils of the region during its meeting called for this purpose:
provided, that a candidate for regional chairman need not be the
chairman of a local scout council;
"(c) The Secretary of Education, Culture and
Sports;
"(d) The National President of the Girl Scouts of the
Philippines;
"(e) One (1) senior scout, each from Luzon, Visayas
and Mindanao areas, to be elected by the senior scout delegates of the
local scout councils to the scout youth forums in their respective
areas, in its meeting called for this purpose, to represent the boy
scout membership;
"(f) Twelve (12) regular members to be elected by the
members of the National Council in its meeting called for this purpose;
"(g) At least ten (10) but not more than fifteen (15)
additional members from the private sector who shall be elected by the
members of the National Executive Board referred to in the immediately
preceding paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) at the
organizational meeting of the newly reconstituted National Executive
Board which shall be held immediately after the meeting of the National
Council wherein the twelve (12) regular members and the one (1) charter
member were elected.
"Thereafter, the National Executive Board as herein fully constituted
shall elect from among themselves the following officers of the
corporation:
"(a) President;
"(b) Senior Vice-President;
"(c) One (1) Vice-President each from Luzon, Visayas
and Mindanao areas; and
"(d) Such other officers as the Board may deem
necessary.
"The numerical composition of the National Executive Board shall be
provided for in the by-laws of the Boy Scout of the Philippines:
provided, that said numerical composition shall be at least thirty (30)
and not more than forty-five (45) for all elected, life and ex officio
members.
"The term of office of the members of the National Executive Board
shall be one (1) year, except for the regular members to be elected by
the National Council whose term of office shall be three (3) years:
provided, that for the first twelve (12) regular members to be elected
by the National Council, the term of office shall be as follows: the
members garnering the first four (4) highest number of votes shall
serve for a term of three (3) years; the member garnering the second
four (4) highest number of votes shall serve for a term of two (2)
years; and the members garnering the last four (4) number of votes
shall serve for a term of one (1) year.
"Vacancies in the National Executive Board shall be filled by a
majority vote of the remaining members and a member thus elected shall
serve only for the unexpired term.
"The by-laws may prescribe the number of members of the National
Executive Board necessary to constitute a quorum of the Board, which
number shall not be less than the majority of the entire membership of
the Board.
"The National Executive Board shall exercise the following powers and
functions:
"(a) To make and to amend the by-laws subject to the
ratification by a majority vote of the members present at a meeting of
the National Council or at a special meeting called for this purpose;
"(b) To authorize and caused to be executed mortgages
and liens upon the property of the corporation by a two-thirds (2/3)
vote of the whole Board at a meeting called for this purpose;
"(c) To designate five (5) or more their number to
constitute an executive or governing committee, of which a majority
shall constitute a quorum, through a resolution passed by majority of
the whole Board. Such Committee, to the extent provided in said
resolution or in the by-laws of the corporation, shall have and
exercise the powers of the National Executive Board in the management
of the business affairs of the corporation, and may have the power to
authorize the seal of the corporation to be affixed to all papers which
may require it;
"(d) To create standing committees and appoint the
chairman and members thereof from among themselves by the affirmative
vote of a majority of the whole Board. Such standing committees shall
exercise such powers as may be authorized by the by-laws;
"(e) To dispose in any manner a part of the whole
property of the corporation with the consent in writing and pursuant to
an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the National
Council; and
"(f) To hold regular meetings at least once every two
(2) months at a time and place to be designated in the by-laws. Special
meetings of the Board may be called upon such notice as may be
prescribed in the by-laws.
"Sec. 6. The National Council shall be composed of
the following members:
"(a) The members of the National Executive Board;
"(b) The charter members;
"(c) The regional commissioners;
"(d) The chairmen and commissioners of all local
scout councils; and
"(e) Other duly accredited delegates of local scout
councils as may be provided in the by-laws.
"The qualifications, terms of office, and the manner of electing the
abovementioned members of the National Council shall be prescribed in
the by-laws of the corporation.
"The numerical composition of the National Council shall be provided
for in the by-laws of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines: provided, that
all regions and all local councils shall be duly represented therein by
at least two (2) duly accredited delegates, in addition to those who
are members of the National Executive Board as provided for under
Sec. 5 of this Act.
"The annual meeting of the National Council shall be held at such time
and place as shall be prescribed in the by-laws, at which meeting the
annual reports of the officers of the National Executive Board shall be
presented and the election of members to the National Executive Board.
"Special meetings of the National Council may be called upon such
notice as may be prescribed in the by-laws. One-third (1/3) of the
members of the National Council shall constitute a quorum to do
business at any annual or special meeting.
"The National Council and the National Executive Board shall have the
power to hold their meetings and keep the seal, books, documents, and
papers of the corporation within or without the Metropolitan Manila.
"The National President of the corporation shall preside over the
meetings of the National Council.
"Each local scout council represented in the annual or special meeting
of the National Council shall be entitled to four (4) votes plus one
(1) vote for every ten thousand (10,000) of their scout membership. The
members of the National Executive Board and the life members shall each
be entitled to one (1) vote.
"Sec. 7. The corporation created by this Act shall
adopt and shall have the sole and exclusive right to use distinctive
titles, emblems, descriptive or designing marks, words and phrases,
badges, uniforms and insignia for the Boy Scouts of the Philippines in
carrying out its program in accordance with the purposes of this Act,
and which shall be published in the Official Gazette or in any
newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines.
"Sec. 8. Any donation or contribution which from time
to time may be made to the Boy Scouts of the Philippines by the
Government or any of its subdivisions, branches, offices, agencies or
instrumentalities or by a foreign government or by private entities and
individuals shall be expended by the National Executive Board in
pursuance of this Act.
"The corporation shall be entitled to the following tax and duty
privileges:
"(a) Exemption from income tax pursuant to Sec. 26(e), (g) and (h) of the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended;
"(b) Exemption from donor's tax pursuant to Sec. 94(a) (3) of the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended;
"(c) Full deductibility of donations from the donor's
gross income for purposes of computing taxable income; and
"(d) Tax and/or duty exemption of donations from
foreign countries as provided under the relevant laws such as, but not
limited to, Section 105 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the
Philippines, as amended, Section 103 of the National Internal Revenue
Code, as amended.
"Any other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, there
shall be no discrimination in tax treatment of the Boy and Girl Scouts
of the Philippines."
Sec. 4. Section s 10 and 11 of Commonwealth Act No.
111, as amended, are hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 10. From and after the passage of this Act, it
shall be unlawful for any person within the jurisdiction of the
Philippines to falsely and fraudulently call himself as, or represent
himself to be, a member of, or an agent for, the Boy Scouts of the
Philippines; and any person who violates any of the provisions of this
Act shall be punished by prision correccional in its minimum period or
a fine not exceeding Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) or both, at the
discretion of the court.
"It shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture, sell or distribute
or cause to be manufactured, sold or distributed fraudulently or
without the official knowledge and written consent or permission of the
National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines badges,
uniforms, insignia, or any other boy scout paraphernalia; or to use,
apply, feature or portray said badges, uniforms, insignia or scouting
paraphernalia or the photos or visuals of a boy scout or boy scouts in
uniform, or the logo, seal, or corporate name of the Boy Scouts of the
Philippines, in any print ad, radio or television commercial,
billboard, collateral material or any form of advertisement; or to use
the name of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines for any illegal purpose
or personal gain. Any violation of any of the provisions of Sec. 7
and of this section shall be punished by prision correccional in its
medium period to prision mayor in its minimum period or a fine of not
less than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) nor more than One hundred
thousand pesos (P100,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court:
provided, that, in case of corporations, partnerships, associations,
societies or companies, the manager, administrator or the person in
charge of the management or administration of the business shall be
criminally responsible for any such violation. These penalties shall be
without prejudice to the proper civil action for recovery of civil
damages, which may be instituted together with or independently of the
criminal prosecution.
"Sec. 11. Until such time as the reorganization and
restructuring of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines in accordance with
this Act is effected, the incumbent officers and members of the
National Executive Board and the present and past national presidents
of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines shall continue to conduct the
affairs of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and to take the necessary
steps to effect such reorganization until a new National Executive
Board and a new set of national officers shall have been elected within
six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act."
Sec. 5. If any section or provision of this Act is
held invalid, all the other provisions not affected thereby shall
remain valid.
Sec. 6. This Act shall take effect upon the
completion of its publication in at least two (2) national newspapers
of general circulation.
Approved: March 24, 1992
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