REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

3910

House Bill No.,

Introduced byMAGDALO Party List Representatives
Gary C. Alejano and Francisco Ashley L. Acedillo

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Article II Section 3 of the Constitution states that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is the
protector of the people and the State; and whose goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and
the integrity of the national territory.

‘The acquisition of military status by a recruit involves a commitment to the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP), the country, and the Filipino people one has sworn to protect. Thus, it is but
proper that stringent guidelines be put in place to ensure that military personnel possess the
necessary competence, integrity and character required by their lofty calling,

In cognizance of the aforementioned declaration of policy, this measure sets standards and
procedures to guarantee the competence of those who are recruited into the AFP through the
establishment of a new procurement process for enlisted military personnel while providing for
the orderly administrative promotion and separation of soldiers.

Specifically, this bill seeks to accomplish the following objectives:

1. Selectively recruit and retain the best qualified soldiers in the force through evaluation of
the soldier’s performance and potential for continued service;

2. Rationalize the pension system for all enlisted personnel through compulsory
membership to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS); and

3. Ease the transition of soldiers denied retention in the force from military to civilian life
through the provision of education, training and scholarships and a commensurate
separation pay, as a way of thanking them for their military service. Although a
substantial number of the enlisted personnel may not be selected to stay in the regular
force, five (5) years of training, experience and practice of military discipline and values
can prove relevant in the outside world, and the government must see to it that those
years will not go to waste.

It is hoped that the passage of this bill will redound to the following benefits: reduce the high
costs in terms of pay and retirement benefits and provide for a long term solution to the looming
military pension crisis; and, boost the morale of members of the Armed Forces thereby inspiring
dedicated soldiers to consistently meet the AFP’s high standards of duty, performance, honor and
discipline.

In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this measure is earnestly sought.

“ARY @. ALEJANO CISCO ASHLEY L. ACEDILLO


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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

10

House Bill No.

Introduced byMAGDALO Party List Representatives
Gary C. Alejano and Francisco Ashley L. Acedillo

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR AN INCREASE IN THE STANDING FORCE OF THE ARMED
FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES THROUGH THE RECRUITMENT AND SPECIAL
ENLISMENT OF PROVISIONAL ENLISTED PERSONNEL

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This act shall be known as the “Provisional Enlisted
Personnel Act of 2014”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of State Policy. - The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the
protector of the people and the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the
integrity of the national territory.It shall keep a regular force necessary for the security of the

State.

‘The State duly recognizes the vital role of the military in traditional security matters, such
as providing internal and external defense; and, their ever expanding role in non-traditional

security matters, such as humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

It shall, therefore, be the prime concern of the State to ensure that the Armed Forces of
the Philippines is equipped with a standing force necessary to adequately and effectively address
present and future security threats to the State.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — For the purposes of this Act, the following definition of
terms shall apply:
a. Regular Enlisted Personnel — those currently belonging to the following grades:
Private (E-I), Private First Class (E-2), Corporal (E-3), Sergeant (E-4), Staff
Sergeant (E-5), Technical Sergeant (E-6), Master Sergeant (E-7), and its
equivalent in the Air Force, Navy and Marines, Provided, That the same are not
covered by this Act.


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b. Provisional Enlisted Personnel ~ An enlisted personnel who, upon entry, has
undergone similar training required of regular EP, and is serving in active tour of

duty for a term of five (5) years.

SEC.4. Provisional Enlisted Personnel. - An increase in the standing force of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) shall be undertaken through the recruitment and special
enlistment of twenty thousand (20,000) provisional Enlisted Personnel (EP).

SEC. 5. Tour of Duty. - The tour of duty of provisional EP shall be limited to a
continuous term of five (5) years, without further reenlistment, Provided, however, that the
Secretary of National Defense (SND), upon the recommendation of the Chief of Staff of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (CSAFP), may authorize the retention of a maximum of thirty
percent (30%) of theprovisional EP for reenlistment as regular EP, in accordance with and
subject to Section 13 hereof.

SEC. 6. Qualifications and Disqualifications.- The provisional EP must possess the
required qualifications and none of the disqualifications for recruitment and enlistment as regular
EP to the AFP.

The provisional EP who are eligible, selected, and authorized to be reenlisted as regular
EP must possess the required qualifications and none of the disqualifications required for the
reenlistment of regular EP to the AFP.

SEC. 7. Training.- The provisional EP shall undergo the same training required of
regular EP, Provided, that upon graduation from training, the provisional EP shall attain the rank
of Private, Airman, Apprentice Seaman/Fireman or Marine, Provided further, that all provisional
EP who attain the rank of Private, Airman, Apprentice Seaman/Fireman or Marine shall acquire
the rights, benefits, obligations, and duties accorded to similarly ranked regular EP, subject 10
Sections10 and 11 hereof,

SEC.8. Promotion.- The rules and regulations applicable to regular EP for promotion
shall apply to provisional EP. Provided, the highest rank attainable by the provisional EP shall be
that of Private 1% Class, Airman 2" Class, Seaman/Fireman 2! Class, or Marine 2" Class.
Provided further, that provisional EP who attain the rank of Private Ist Class, Airman 2nd Class,
Seaman/Fireman 2nd Class, or Marine 2nd Class shall acquire the rights, benefits, obligations,
and duties accorded to similarly ranked regular EP, subject to Sections10 and 1 thereof.


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SEC. 9, Salary. - The amount of salary paid to provisional EP, regardless of rank, shall
be based on the current pay grades of similarly ranked regular EP; and, shall be scaled

accordingly to accommodate any increase thereto,

SEC.10. Termination and Separation. - Allprovisional EP shall be immediately
terminated from their service at the end of their tour of duty, except for those who are reenlisted
as regular EP under Section 13 hereof. Provided, the provisional EP, prior to the end of their tour
of duty, may be separated from their service on the same grounds as regular EP. Provided
further, the provisional EP, whether terminated or separated from their service, shall not be
entitled to receive the retirement and separation pay or benefits provided for in Presidential
Decree 1638, as amended by Presidential Decree 1650.Provided, furthermore, that provisional
EPs who fail to meet the qualifications for retention as regular EPs, shall receive a separation
gratuity pay equivalent to one month of his base and longevity pay on the date of separation for

every year of service.

SEC. 11. Training and Educational Benefits. - provisional EP who fail to meet the
qualifications for retention as a regular EPshall be entitled to receive training and educational
benefits in accordance with the rules and regulations to be promulgated by the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Commission on Higher Education
(CHED).

SEC. 12. Preference and Priority in Hiring. — In recognition of their contribution to the
safety and security of the State, enlisted personnel released from active duty in accordance with
Section 10 shall be given preference and priority in hiring in the Civil Service, particularly in the
law enforcement services and related agencies (ic., Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire
Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency,
National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine Coast Guard, the intelligence and law enforcement
services of the Bureau of Customs, Commission on Immigration, etc.) and the field operations
offices of National Government Agencies (NGA) and Government Owned and Controlled
Corporations (GOCC) , as well as in the private sector, particularly in the security and services
sectors, where the training, skills and discipline they acquired as former members of the AFP are
relevant and/or appropriate.

SEC. 13. Reenlistment as Regular Enlisted Personnel. -The requirements for the
eligibility and the process of selection of provisional EP for reenlistment as regular EP shalll be in
accordance with the rules and regulations to be promulgated by the Department of National
Defense (DND) and AFP under Section 16 hereof. The actual number of provisional EP to be
reenlisted as regular EP shall be determined by the CSAFP based on the vacancies and

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requirements of the AFP for recruitment and enlistment of regular EP during the year the tour of
duty of the provisional EP ends.

Provisional EP who are eligible, selected, and authorized to be reenlisted as regular EP
shall retain the highest rank they previously held at the end of their tour of duty as provisional
EP; and, they shall acquire the rights, benefits, obligations, and duties accorded to similarly
ranked regular EP, except the retirement and separation pay or benefits provided for in

Presidential Decree 1638, as amended by Presidential Decree 1650.

SEC. 14, Compulsory Membership in the GSIS. —Membership in the Government
Service Insurance System (GSIS) shall be compulsory for all provisional EP, and all reenlisted
regular EP of the AFP under Section 13 hereof. Provided, That it shall be mandatory for the
member and the AFP to pay the monthly contributions similar to the schedule of members of the
national government ageneies.Provided, further, Thatit shall be mandatory and compulsory for
the AFP to include the payment of contributions in its annual appropriations.

SEC. 15. Special Trust Fund; Appropriations. — There is hereby created a Special Trust
Fund, which shall be managed by the GSIS, out of which the gratuity separation pay due to
separated military personnel under this Act shall be paid. Subject to actuarial studies, the DNID
shall include in its annual budget such amounts as may be necessary to build up said Special
Trust Fund to ensure that there would be adequate funds to pay the separation gratuity pay of
military personnel separated under this Act as the same would fall due. Said amounts shall be
included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 16. Implementing Rules and Regulations. Within sixty (60) days from the
enactment of this Act, the DND and the AFP shall issue the specific Implementing Rules and
Regulations as may be necessary to ensure the efficient implementation of the provisions of this,
Act.

Likewise within a period of sixty (60) days from the enactment of this Act, the Civil
Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), in
coordination and consultation with the DND and the AFP and the Governance Commission for
Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG), shall issue the appropriate
memorandum order(s) and/or circular(s) as may be necessary and appropriate to ensure the
proper enforcement and effective implementation of the priority and preference in the hiring of

separated military personnel as mandated in Section 10 hereof.


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SEC. 17. Separability Clause.- If any provision of this Act is declared invalid by a
competent court, the other provisions not affected by such declaration of invalidity shall continue

to be in force and effect.
SEC.18. Repealing Clause.~ All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, or parts
thereof, specifically inconsistent with any provision of this Act shall be deemed repealed,

amended or modified accordingly.

SEC.19. Effectivity. - This act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after the date of its
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,