'Oflier of ti TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) First Regular Session ) 25 AUG -6 P1:41 SENATE RECENTO B: S. No. 1033 Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE AIR FORCE ACADEMY (PAFA) AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR EXPLANATORY NOTE This measure seeks the creation in the Philippine Air Force, an educational institution to be known as the Philippine Air Force Academy (PAFA), for instruction and preparation for military service of the Philippine Air Force Cadets. In the PAF Flying Schools (PAFFS), which currently is the main source of regular officers in the Philippine Air Force, a college degree is an academic requirement for entrance into the PAFFS. Unfortunately, thousands of poor high school graduates with great potentials are denied from joining the PAF because they have no financial support for a college education. In accordance with the constitutional mandate to ensure equitable access to opportunities for public service, the Academy will address this problem as it would encourage the recruitment of regular AFP officers from citizens of diverse culture and institutions. Furthermore, the Philippine Air Force Academy (PAFA) is designed to produce sufficient and committed corps of professional Air Force officers, who will man the modernized Philippine Air Force, with the best education, training and orientation in the aviation industry.
In this light, the immediate passage of this bill is highly recommended. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA
TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session ) P1:41 AUG -6 SENATE S. No. 1033 Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE AIR FORCE ACADEMY (PAFA) AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
Section 1. Philippine Air Force Academy. - There shall be established in the
2 Philippine Air Force an educational institution to be known as the Philippine Air Force 3 Academy (PAFA), hereinafter referred to as the Academy, for the instruction and preparation for military service of Air Force Cadets.
Sec. 2. Administration. - The academy as herein established shall be organized
6 and administered by the Commanding General Philippine Air Force (PAF) under the 7 general supervision and control of the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the 8 Philippines.
Sec. 3. Academic Board. - The Academic Board of the Academy shall be
10 composed of the Superintendent, the Dean of the Corps of Professors, the Commandant of Cadets and the Heads of the departments to be constituted as follows: a) The Superintendent and the Commandant of Cadets of the Academy shall be detailed to those positions by the President from the Officers of the Air Force. b) The Dean of the Corps of Professors shall be appointed from the permanent professors who have served as heads of departments of instructions at the Academy.
c) The Academic Board shall have the power to confer the degree of Bachelor of Science under the rules and regulations as the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines may prescribe upon all cadets who may hereafter satisfactorily complete the approved course of studies.
Sec. 4. Department Title and Faculty. - The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces
6 of the Philippines may prescribe the title of each of the departments of instruction and 7 professors of the Academy. However, each change of the title of the department or professor shall not affect the status, rank or eligibility for promotion or retirement of, or otherwise prejudice, a professor of the Academy.
Sec. 5. Cadet Corps of the Philippine Air Force. - The student body of the
Academy shall be known as the Cadet Corps of the Philippine Air Force (CCPAF). The President is authorized to appoint annually, subject to such physical and mental examinations as may be prescribed, the number of cadets necessary to maintain the Cadet Corps at a strength as may be determined by the Academic Board. The Academy shall provide for educational and physical facilities for the recruitment and training of women as member of Cadet Corps. All cadets shall be appointed by the President. An appointment is conditional until the cadet is admitted.
Sec. 6. Eligibility for Admission. - To be eligible for admission, a candidate must
20 be: 1) Single; 2) A natural born citizen of the Philippines; 3) At least seventeen (17) years of age but not more than twenty two (22) years of age on the first day of April of the year of admission; 4) At least high school graduate; 5) A successful examinee of the prescribed physical and mental examination; and 6) A successful examinee of the National Secondary Assessment Test.
Sec. 7. Pay and Allowances. - The pay and allowances of the Cadets of the
Academy shall be fixed by the President.
Sec. 8. Undertaking. - Each cadet shall sign an agreement that unless sooner
separated by duly authorized, authority, he shall:
1) Complete the course of instruction at the Academy; 2) Accept an appointment and serve as a commissioned officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines for at least eight years immediately after graduation from the Academy.
Sec. 9. Cadet requirement. - Any Cadet who shall after entrance to the Academy
6 and before completion of the prescribed courses of training, be found physically and 7 mentally unfit for military assignment by reason of injury or disease incident to the service, shall be retired with the rank of second lieutenant of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Sec. 10. Prohibition Against Hazing. - Subject to the approval of the Secretary
11 of the National Defense, the Superintendent of the Academy shall issue rules and 12 regulations preventing hazing and prescribe dismissal suspension and other adequate punishment for violation thereof. For the purpose of this Act, "hazing" means any unauthorized assumption of authority by a cadet whereby another cadet suffers or is exposed to any form of injury, 16 indignity, humiliation, hardship or oppression or the deprivation or abridgement of any 17 right. If a cadet is charged with violating any rule or regulation issued pursuant to 19 this section, the penalty of which is dismissal from the Academy, a request in writing for a trial by a general court martial may be submitted. A cadet dismissed from the Academy for hazing shall not be reappointed as an Air Force Cadet and shall be ineligible for appointment as a commissioned officer in the Armed Forces of the Philippines unit after two (2) years from the graduation of the class.
Sec. 11. Commission. - Upon satisfactory completion of the course of
instruction at the Academy, the Cadets shall be commissioned second lieutenants in the regular force of the Philippine Air Force with the relative rank in the order of final general standing as determined by the Academic Board of the Academy and approved by the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Sec. 12. Transfer of Assets and Liabilities. - The Philippine Air Force Flying
School, including the members of its faculty and personnel, its records, equipment,
1 assets and liabilities are hereby transferred to and integrated with the Philippine Air Force Academy.
Sec. 13. Appropriations. - The initial appropriations necessary for the
establishment of the Academy shall be charged to the appropriation of the Department 5 of National Defense. Thereafter, the amount necessary for the improvement, 6 operation and maintenance of the Academy shall be included in the Annual General 7 Appropriations Act.
Sec. 14. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its
complete publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation. Approved,