MAKING PUBLIC THE GENEVA CONVENTION RELATIVE TO THE TREATMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR OF AUGUST 12, 1949

WHEREAS, the Geneva Convention Relative to the
Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949, which was opened for
signature until February 12, 1950, was signed by the authorized representatives
of the Philippines and of other countries;

WHEREAS, the Convention provides, among others,
that prisoners of war shall at all times be humanely treated and may be
interned only in premises affording every guarantee of hygiene and
healthfulness; that complete latitude in the exercise Of their religious
duties, including attendance at the services of their faith, shall be
guaranteed to prisoners of war; that. their utilization for labor purposes although
authorized shall be limited to those who are physically fit, taking into
account their age, sex, rank, and physical aptitude, and with due consideration
to their physical and mental health; and, that each of the parties to the
Convention shall be required to institute an official Information Bureau for
prisoners of war who are in its power in order that a belligerent may be
apprised of the whereabouts of its missing soldiers;

WHEREAS, the present Convention replaces the
Convention of July 27, 1929, and in the relations between the Powers which, are
bound by the Hague Convention relative to the Laws and Customs of War on Land,
whether that of July 29, 1899, or that of October 16, 1907, and which are
parties to the present Convention, this last Convention shall be complementary
to Chapter II of the Regulations annexed to the above-mentioned Conventions of
the Hague;

WHEREAS, the Senate of the Congress of the
Philippines, by its Resolution No. 89 adopted on May 19, 1952, concurred in the
ratification of the aforesaid Convention in accordance with the Constitution of
the Philippines;

WHEREAS, the instrument of ratification of the
Republic of the Philippines was signed by the President on August 20, 1952, and
deposited; on October 6, 1952 with the Swiss Government; and,

WHEREAS, the said Convention entered into force
for the Philippines six months after the said deposit of its instrument of
ratification, in accordance with Article 138 thereof;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it known that I, Ramon
Magsaysay, President of the Philippines, do hereby proclaim and make public the
said Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August
12, 1949, a copy of which is hereto attached, to the end that the same and
every article and clause thereof may be observed and fulfilled with good faith
by the Republic of the Philippines and the citizens thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand
and caused to be affixed the seal of the Republic of the Philippines.

Done in the City of Manila, Philippines, this
16th day of February, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and fifty-six,
and of the Independence of the Philippines, the tenth.

RAMON MAGSAYSAY
President of the Philippines

By the President:

FORTUNATO DE LEON
Acting Executive Secretary