AN ACT AMENDING SECTION FOUR OF THE CHARTER OF THE PHILIPPINE VETERANS BANK.

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 a part of the law of the land;

SEC. 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, and 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 Philippine may be involved in the
future, and the retirees of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who served in
the pass World War II military service for at least 10 years: Provided,
That, the said veterans or retirees have been honorably discharge or separated
from the service or continue in the active military service or are carried in
the military poster 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 and veterans in the direct
ascending line and direct descending line, excluding their grandchildren and
greatgrandchildren.

(b) The term “organized or acknowledge veterans organizations” duly
recognized or acknowledge as such by the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, and
Armed Forces of the Philippines which shall keep officials rosters of such
veterans organization;

(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 admissible
under the rules of evidence, such as records of the Philippine Veterans Affairs
Office 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 veterans 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
		Deputy Presidential Executive Assistant