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;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
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 constitutedr, 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; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
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;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
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;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
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:cralaw:red
Section 1. Section four of Republic Act No. 3518 is
amended to read as follows: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
"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 constitutedr,
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;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(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;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(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;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(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."
Section 2. This decree shall take effect
immediately. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Done in the City of Manila,
this 26th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred
and eighty-two.
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