EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
)
^ n a l e
(Mitt pI Hk
SENATE
s. No. 927
•If 
WIS20 WO 31
HKBVLPg^:
Introduced by S enator Richard 1. Gordon
AN ACT
REQUIRING BASIC CITIZEN SERVICE TRAINING ESTABLISHING THE 
CITIZEN SERVICE CORPS, CREATING THE CITIZEN SERVICE 
COMMISSION FOR THIS PURPOSE, APPROPRIATING FUNDS 
THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
According to Section 4 of Article II of the 1987 Constitution, "[t]he prime duty 
of the Government is to serve and protect the people. The Government may call upon 
the people to defend the State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be 
required, under conditions provided by law, to render personal, military, or civil 
service." Section 13 of the same article provides that "[t]he State recognizes the vital 
role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, 
spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being. It shall inculcate in the youth patriotism 
and nationalism, and encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs." To 
provide implementing legislation to these basic tenets in the Constitution, this bill 
proposes to require basic citizen service training, establish the citizen service corps, 
and create the Citizen Service Commission.
Full time basic citizen service training ("Basic Training") for at least six (6) 
weeks will be encouraged of all and shall be mandatory for all Filipino students enrolled 
in baccalaureate degree courses or technical vocational courses. The citizen service 
corps ("Corps") shall be composed of all Filipino citizens at least eighteen (18) years 
of age and may be called upon and mobilized to assist in matters of external and 
territorial defense, internal security and peace and order, and disaster risk reduction 
and management.
All those who have completed Basic Training shall form part of the trained 
Corps. This will create a pool of trained members of the Corps who can render personal 
military or civil service in times of war, lawlessness, and c ^ la ^ ie s  and disasters. For 
national security, public order, and public safety, the p^^g^u oT tiys bill is earnestly 
sought.
rGORDON
Senator


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHIUPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
s. No. 927
^ e n a i^
(Wfi't# of tijf Ikrcrrtary
'15 AUG 20 «0;31
Riaivcoaa-
Introduced by Senator Richard J. Gordon
AN ACT
REQUIRING BASIC CITIZEN SERVICE TRAINING ESTABLISHING THE 
CITIZEN SERVICE CORPS, CREATING THE CITIZEN SERVICE 
COMMISSION FOR THIS PURPOSE, APPROPRIATING FUNDS 
THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House o f Representatives o f the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
1 
SECTION 1. Short Title. -  This Act shall be known as the "Citizen Service Act
2 
of 2019."
3 
SEC. 2. Policy. -  It is the policy of the State to require basic citizen service
4 
training and establish the citizen service corps through which the citizenry, particularly
5 
the youth, are enabled to render personal military or civil service.
6 
It is also the policy of the State to inculcate patriotism and nationalism in the
7 
citizenry, particularly the youth, and encourage their involvement in public and civic
8 
affairs.
9 
SEC. 3. Basic Training. 
-  Full time basic citizen service training ("Basic
10 
Training") for at least six (6) weeks per year for a period of two (2) years shall be
11 
encouraged of all Filipino citizens, but shall be mandatory for all Filipino students, male
12 
and female, enrolled in baccalaureate degree courses or technical vocational courses
13 
and are at least eighteen (18) years of age. Basic Training shall include the following
14 
fundamental components: (1) External and Territorial Defense Training; (2) Internal
15 
Security and Peace and Order Training; and (3) Disaster Risk Reduction and
16 
Management Training. It shall also include training on marches and ground troop
17 
movement; leadership, discipline, and nationalism; and tactics. They shall, upon such
18 
rules and regulations as the Commission may provide, be allowed to carry real rifles.
19 
Filipino citizens subject to the Basic Training, but with medical condition that
20 
prevents them from participating therein without risk to health, may in lieu thereof
21 
participate in (1) First Aid and Life Support; (2) Disaster Risk Reduction and
22 
Management and such other (3) Humanitarian trainings as the Philippine Red Cross
23 
may provide subject to the rules and regulations of the Commission.
24 
SEC. 4. Mandatory Coverage. -  Basic Training shall form part of the curricula
25 
of all baccalaureate degree courses and all technical vocational courses in the
26 
Philippines.


1 
SEC. 5. The Corps. -  The citizen service corps ("Corps") shall be composed of
2 
all Filipino citizens at least eighteen (18) years of age. All those who have completed
3 
Basic Training shall form part of the trained Corps. The Corps may be called upon and
4 
mobilized to assist in matters of external and territorial defense, internal security and
5 
peace and order, and disaster risk reduction and management.
6 
SEC. 6. The Commission. -  A citizen service commission ("Commission") is
7 
hereby created under the Office of the President to be in charge of Basic Training, the
8 
Corps, and the implementation of this Act.
9 
SEC. 7. Composition o f the Commission. -  The Commission shall be composed
10 
of a Chairperson, four (4) Commissioners to be appointed by the President, and the
11 
following four (4) ex-officio Commissioners: the Secretary of the Department of
12 
National Defense (DND), the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local
13 
Government (DILG), the Chairperson of the Commission of Higher Education (CHED),
14 
and the Director General of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
15 
(TESDA). The ex-officio Commissioners may be represented in the Commission by
16 
their duly authorized representatives with the rank of at least Assistant Secretary for
17 
the DND and the DILG, Commissioner for the CHED, and Board Member for the
18 
TESDA.
19 
The Chairperson and the four (4) Commissioners to be appointed by the
20 
President shall be citizens and residents of the Philippines, at least thirty-five (35)
21 
years of age, of good moral character, of recognized probity and independence, and,
22 
through their training, experience, and education, must have distinguished themselves
23 
as best suited to discharge the duties of the Commission. The Chairperson shall have
24 
the rank equivalent to a cabinet secretary and the four (4) Commissioners to be
25 
appointed by the President shall have the rank equivalent to an undersecretary.
26 
SEC. 8. Quorum. -  Five (5) members of the Commission shall constitute a
27 
quorum and the affirmative vote of at least a majority of those present, there being a
28 
quorum, shall be required for the adoption of a resolution or an official act by the
29 
Commission.
30 
SEC. 9. Term o f Office. -  The term of office of the Chairperson and the four
31 
(4) Commissioners to be appointed by the President shall be four (2) years, except as
32 
provided in the succeeding paragraph. They may be reappointed; provided that, no
33 
such official shall serve for more than two (2) consecutive terms.
34 
Of those first appointed by the President, the Chairperson and the first two (2)
35 
Commissioners to be appointed shall hold office for four (4) years, while the last two
36 
(2) Commissioners to be appointed shall hold office for two (2) years. Appointment to
37 
any vacancy in such office shall be only for the unexpired term of the predecessor.
38 
SEC. 10. Powers o f the Commission. -  The Commission shall have the following
39 
powers:
40 
(1) Design, prescribe, and approve the programs of instruction for Basic
41 
Training and other advanced training, including specialized courses under specific
42 
circumstances taking into consideration relevant factors, such as age, health, abilities,
43 
and others;
44 
(2) Ensure the proper administration of Basic Training and other advanced
45 
training;
46 
(3) Exercise control, supervision, and audit over ail agencies, officers, and
47 
persons, directly implementing Basic Training and other advanced training;


1 
(4) Provide incentives, including scholarships, to encourage Filipino citizens to
2 
do Basic Training and other advanced training:
3 
(5) Deploy and mobilize the Corps;
4 
(6) Investigate or secure the services or assistance of the appropriate agencies
5 
to investigate cases of corruption, graft, hazing, sexual harassment, and other abuses
6 
in the conduct of Basic Training and other advanced training, mobilization of the Corps,
7 
and implementation of this Act;
8 
(7) Issue serial numbers to members of the Corps;
9 
(8) Maintain a registry of all members of the Corps;
10 
(9) Promulgate appropriate rules and regulations to fully implement this Act;
11 
(10) Appoint, fix the compensation, and determine the status, qualifications,
12 
and duties of the personnel of the Commission; and
13 
(11) Exercise such other powers as are necessary or essential to fully implement
14 
this Act.
15 
SEC. 11. Mobilization. The Commission shall mobilize motu proprio or upon
16 
request the Corps to assist the national government, its agencies and instrumentalities
17 
and the local government units in their functions related to external and territorial
18 
defense, internal security and peace and order, and disaster risk reduction and
19 
management. A request for mobilization by the heads of such national government
20 
agencies or local government units may be submitted to the Commission, which shall
21 
contain a justification for mobilization of the Corps and other information as may be
22 
required by the Commission, including the nature of the national or local contingencies
23 
to be addressed, the purpose of the requested mobilization, the number of personnel
24 
requested to be mobilized and the period of mobilization. The Commission shall
25 
evaluate the request for mobilization and reply immediately or within seventy-two (72)
26 
hours from receipt of the request.
27 
SEC. 12. Duty to Respond. -  It shall be the duty of any member of the Corps
28 
called upon to respond to the order of mobilization by the Commission within twenty-
29 
four (24) hours from receipt thereof. Failure of any member of the Corps to respond
30 
to the order of mobilization by the Commission for external and territorial defense
31 
shall be punishable in accordance with the Articles of War, and shall, upon conviction
32 
by a court martial, be punishable by imprisonment of not less than six (6) months but
33 
not more than two (2) years. Failure of any member of the Corps to respond to the
34 
order of mobilization by the Commission for internal security and peace and order, or
35 
disaster risk reduction and management shall, upon conviction by a civil court, be
36 
punished as follows: (1) First Offense: one hundred and twenty (120) hours of
37 
community service; (2) Second Offense; two hundred and forty (240) hours of
38 
community service; and (3) Third and Subsequent Offenses: six (6) months
39 
imprisonment and four hundred and eighty (480) hours of community service.
40 
SEC. 13. Duty o f Employer. -  An employer shall grant leave of absence to an
41 
employee being mobilized under this Act. No employer shall dismiss or discipline an
42 
employee by reason of mobilization under this Act. An employee who violates this
43 
Section shall be subject to a fine of up to one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00)
44 
or imprisonment of not more than two (2) years, or both.
45 
SEC. 14. Maximum Penalties. -  For acts already penalized under existing laws
46 
such as corruption, graft, hazing, sexual harassment, and other abuses committed by
47 
persons authorized to administer Basic Training and other advanced training, and


1 
mobilization of the Corps who, for such purposes, shall all be deemed public officers,
2 
the maximum penalties imposable under existing laws shall be imposed.
3 
SEC. 
15. Appropriation. 
-  An 
initial 
funding 
of fifty million 
pesos
4 
(P50,000,000.00) charged against the current year's appropriation from the
5 
Presidential Social Fund shall be allocated to carry out the provisions of this Act.
6 
Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary shall be included in the General
7 
Appropriations Act.
8 
SEC. 16. Repeating Ctause. -  All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations,
9 
or other issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
10 
hereby 20 repealed or modified accordingly.
11 
SEC. 17. Separabitity Clause. -  If any portion or provision of this Act is declared
12 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provision not affected thereby shall
13 
23 remain in force and effect.
14 
SEC. 18. Effectivity. -  This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following
15 
the completion of its publication either in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of
16 
general circulation in the Philippines.
Approved,