Executive Order No. 237

MALACAÑANG
RESIDENCE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

[ EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 237, February 13, 1957 ]

PRESCRIBING RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE SENIORITY, APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION, ELIMINATION, AND UTILIZATION IN TIME OF EMERGENCY, OF OFFICERS OF THE CORPS OF PROFESSORS, PHILIPPINE MILITARY ACADEMY.

By virtue of the powers vested in me by Section 22(c) of the National Defense Act, as amended, and Section 4(c) of Republic Act No. 291, I, RAMON MAGSAYSAY, President of the Philippines, do hereby prescribe the following rules and regulations governing the seniority, appointment, promotion, elimination, and utilization in time of emergency, of officers of the Corps of Professors, Philippine Military Academy:

Section 1. There shall be a Corps of Professors in the Philippine Military Academy, the members of which shall be appointed as regular officers in a separate promotion list to be known as the Corps of Professors promotion list. The members of the Corps of Professors shall be in addition to the authorized numbers of commissioned officers by grade authorized for the Regular Force as prescribed in Section 3 of Republic Act No. 291.

Section 2. As used in this Order, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) Grade – Any of the various gradations of commissioned officers. Unless otherwise qualified, the word “grade” shall refer to permanent grade.

(2) Seniority – The relative positions of officers as indicated in the Corps of Professors promotion list.

Section 3. The following symbols for the various commissioned grades are hereby established:

0-6 – Colonel or Navy Captain

0-5 – Lieutenant Colonel or Commander

0-4 – Major or Lieutenant Commander

0-3 – Captain or Lieutenant, Senior Grade

0-2 – First Lieutenant or Lieutenant, Junior Grade

0-1 – Second Lieutenant or Ensign

Section 4. The Corps of Professors promotion list shall be established in accordance with the following:

(a) The names of all officers of the Corps of Professors shall be carried in this list which shall establish permanently the relative seniority of such officers, subject to the exceptions provided for in Section 9(e) hereof: Provided, That the Corps of Professors promotion list as of January 10, 1956, as amended, shall be the basis of all subsequent lists that may be made in compliance with this Order.

(b) The names of all officers of this list shall be arranged by grade in the following order: First, 0-6; second, 0-5; third, 0-4; and fourth, 0-3, Among officers of the same grade, the officer whose name appears first on such list shall be the senior, the officer whose name appears second on the list shall be the senior next below the first, the officer whose name appears third on the list shall be the senior next below the second, and so on throughout the list.

(c) Officers hereafter appointed in the Corps of Professors promotion list shall be inserted therein as provided for in Section 8 of this Order.

(d) The Chief of Staff shall cause all changes occasioned by separations, appointments, promotions, loss of rank by action of court-martial, and all other changes due to operation of law or regulations to be entered on the approved Corps of Professors promotion list, and as corrected, this list shall be published to the Armed Forces at least once each year.

Section 5. There shall be designated from among the members of the Corps of Professors the Dean of the Corps of Professors who shall be senior in academic rank and military grade to all other members of the Corps of professors. The academic ranks of the other members of the Corps of Professors shall be, in descending order, professor, associate professor, and assistant professor.

Section 6. For each academic department of the Philippine Military Academy, a member of the Corps of Professors shall be designated the Head thereof who shall be senior to all other members of the Corps of Professors in that academic department. For each course of instruction prescribed in the approved academic curriculum of the Philippine Military Academy, there may be only one member of the Corps of Professors appointed, which officer shall be designated as the Course Director thereof.

Section 7. The initial appointment of members of the Corps of Professors shall be made in accordance with the following:

(a) Members of the Corps of Professors shall be initially appointed in an academic rank and in a corresponding military grade by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines: Provided, That no applicant shall be initially appointed in the academic rank of professor or associate professor who does not possess a doctor’s degree or a master’s degree, respectively, from an accredited shall in the field of study for which he is to be appointed.

(b) Commissioned officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines may be appointed to the Corps of Professors upon their own application, in which case, except as hereinafter provided in paragraph (c) of this Section, they shall be appointed in the same commissioned grades they held on the date of such appointment: Provided, That nothing in this Order shall prevent the Chief of Staff from detailing for specified periods such officers of the Armed Forces who are qualified to occupy the position of instructor in the academic faculty of the Philippine Military Academy. Officers thus assigned by the Chief of Staff to the academic faculty of the Philippine Military Academy shall not, by virtue of such assignment, be separated from their assigned arms and services and shall not be subject to the rules and regulations prescribed herein for members of the Corps of Professors.

(c) Officers initially appointed in the following academic ranks shall be concurrently appointed in the corresponding grade indicated, if they hold a lower grade at the time of their appointment:

(1) Professor ..........0-5
(2) Associate professor ..........0-4

(3) Assistant professor ..........0-3

Section 8. Officers hereafter appointed in the Corps of Professors promotion list shall be inserted therein as follows:

(a) An officer appointed in a grade higher than the commissioned grade he hold at the time of his appointment shall be placed at the bottom of officers of the grade in which appointed.

(b) An officer appointed in the same commissioned grade he held at the time of his appointment shall be placed immediately below the most junior officer of that grade who has the same or longer accumulated service in such grade: Provided, That the accumulated Service in grade referred to herein shall be construed to mean the sum total of the active service rendered in such permanent grade in the Regular Force and/or Reserve Force: Provided, further, That for purposes of determining the initial placement of officers covered by this Section and for purposes of effecting the promotions in military grade prescribed in Sections 9(a), 9(b), and 9(c) hereof, officers who render service in the Corps of Professors as an acting professor, acting associate professor, or acting assistant professor, and who are subsequently appointed therein, respectively, in the academic rank of professor and in the grade of 0-5, in the academic rank of associate professor and in the grade of 0-4, and in the academic rank of assistant professor and in the grade of 0-3, shall have such service credited as active service rendered in the grade of 0-5, 0-4, and 0-3, respectively.

Section 9. Members of the Corps of Professors shall be promoted in military grade and in academic rank in accordance with the following rules and regulations:

(a) Officers initially appointed in the academic rank of professor and in the grade of 0-5 shall be promoted to the grade of 0-6 upon completion of eight years of accumulated active commissioned service in the grade of 0-5: Provided, That they shall have rendered at least six years of satisfactory service in the Corps of Professors. The grade of 0-6 shall be the highest permanent or temporary grade in the academic rank of professor, and promotions to this grade shall be subject to the confirmation of the Commission on Appointments.

(b) Officers initially appointed in the academic rank of associate professor and in the grade of 0-4 shall be promoted to the grade of 0-5 upon completion of seven years of accumulated active commissioned service in the grade of 0-4: Provided, That they shall have rendered at least five years of satisfactory service in the Corps of Professors. The grade of 0-5 shall be the highest permanent or temporary grade in the academic rank of associate professor. An associate professor who is promoted in academic rank to professor shall also be promoted to the next higher military grade on the effective date of promotion in academic rank regardless of the length of service in grade if he is in the grade of 0-4, or upon completion of seven years accumulated service in the grade of 0-5 with at least six years of satisfactory service in the Corps of Professors.

(c) Officers initially appointed in the academic rank of assistant professor and in the grade of 0-3 shall be promoted to the grade of 0-4 upon completion of five years of accumulated active commissioned service in the grade of 0-3: Provided, That they shall have rendered at least four years of satisfactory service in the Corps of Professors. The grade of 0-4 shall he the highest permanent or temporary grade in the academic rank of assistant professor. An assistant professor who is promoted in academic rank to associate professor shall also be promoted to the next higher military grade on the effective date of promotion in academic rank regardless of the length of service in grade if he is in the grade of 0-3, or upon completion of six years accumulated service in the grade of 0-4 with at least five years service in the Corps of Professors.

(d) When an officer in any grade is promoted to the next higher grade under the provisions of Sections 9(a), 9(b), or 9(c) of this Order, all officers of the same grade and the same academic rank who are senior to such officer, notwithstanding the promotional requirements prescribed in said Sections, shall also be promoted to the next higher grade together with such officer, if found qualified therefor by the Corps of Professors promotion board.

(e) The Dean of the Corps of Professors and the heads of academic departments shall be designated by the Chief of Staff upon recommendation of the Superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy. Any member of the Corps of Professors who shall be designated as Dean of the Corps of Professors whenever vacancy in that position exists shall be promoted in grade or advanced in seniority, whichever shall be necessary to give him seniority over all other members of the Corps of Professors, irrespective of his length of service in grade. Likewise, any member of the Corps of Professors who shall be designated as the Head of an academic department whenever vacancy in that position exists shall be promoted in military grade or advanced in seniority, whichever shall give him seniority over all other members of the Corps of Professors basically assigned to that academic department, irrespective of his length of service in grade: Provided, That the promotions of officers in grade contemplated under this paragraph shall not result in exceeding the highest commissioned grade authorized for their respective academic ranks: Provided, further, That those designated as Dean, Corps of Professors, and Heads of academic departments shall have served, on the date of designation, at least five years and three years, respectively, as members of the Corps of Professors.

(f) A board of officers to be appointed by the Chief of Staff for a term of two years shall meet at least once annually to consider the eligibility of any members of the Corps of Professors for promotion in academic rank and shall submit appropriate recommendations thereon to the Chief of Staff. Said board shall consist of the Dean of the Corps of Professors and at least four other members, not members of the Corps of Professors, who shall be senior in permanent grade and temporary grade to any officer being considered by their board. Recommendations for promotion in academic rank shall be based on a careful consideration and evaluation of the candidate’s academic and military qualifications, experience, performance of duty, present assignment, potentiality to the service, specific recommendations of the academic department heads concerned whenever applicable, and such other factors as may be deemed pertinent by the board. Promotions in academic rank shall be made only upon recommendation of this board as approved by the Chief of Staff.

(g) Promotions in grade shall be subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines. Promotions to grades as indicated in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) of this Section shall be recommended by a promotion board composed of at least five officers who are not members of the Corps of Professors and who shall be appointed by the Secretary of National Defense for a term of one year. The operation of and recommendations made by this board shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 5(a)(3), 5(a)(4), 5(a)(5), 5(a)(6), 5(a)(7), 5(a)(8) and 5(c) of Republic Act No. 291. Said board shall also be empowered to defer for promotion any officer whom the board deems is not fully qualified for promotion, notwithstanding his completion of the service-in-grade requirements prescribed in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this Section. Whenever any officer is thus deferred, the provisions of Sections 7(e) and 7(f) of Republic Act No. 291 shall apply.

(h) For purposes of promotion in academic rank and in commissioned grade, satisfactory service rendered in the grade of at least 0-3 as a member of the academic faculty of the Philippine Military Academy shall be credited as service rendered in the Corps of Professors: Provided, That the amount of service that may thus be credited shall not exceed four years.

Section 10. Any member of the Corps of Professors who shall demonstrate an outstanding performance in any field of activity of the academic faculty of the Philippine Military Academy may be temporarily promoted, upon recommendation of the Dean of the Corps of Professors, through the Superintendent, irrespective of his length of service in grade, to the next higher military grade without vacating his permanent grade: Provided, That this temporary promotion shall not result in exceeding the maximum military grade for his academic rank.

Section 11. Except as hereinbefore provided, members of the Corps of Professors shall be given the same pay, allowances, rights to retirement privileges, and the like to which regular officers are entitled. Associate professors and assistant professors who are not advanced in academic rank after completing nine and seven years, respectively, in such academic ranks shall be separated from the service without prejudice to separation or retirement benefits provided for in Republic Act No. 340.

Section 12. In time of war or at any time the President of the Philippines may declare a national emergency, any member of the Corps of Professors whose services shall be needed to carry out the mission of the Armed Forces may be detailed with such arms or services where be is best qualified at the discretion of the President. In case the situation would not warrant the continuous operation of the Philippine Military Academy, all members of the Corps of Professors shall be detailed to such arms and services where they are best qualified: Provided, That no transfers of members of the Corps of Professors to any other arm, branch, service or promotion list shall be permitted.

Executive Orders Nos. 361 and 643 dated August 6, 1941, and November 21, 1953, respectively, are hereby revoked.

Done in the City of Manila, this 13th day of February, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and fifty-seven, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the eleventh.1âшphi1

(Sgd.) RAMON MAGSAYSAY
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) FORTUNATO DE LEON
Executive Secretary

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