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MOP, Bk 3, v.4, 321
[ EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 337, April 16, 1941 ]
PROMULGATING RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND TRADING OF VOLUNTEER GUARDS
Upon the recommendation of the National Emergency Commission, I, MANUEL L. QUEZON, President of the Philippines, acting under and by virtue of the powers in me vested by Commonwealth Act No. 600, do hereby promulgate the following rules and regulations for the organization and training of VOLUNTEER GUARDS:
1. The Mayor of each chartered city, municipality or municipal district shall organize a VOLUNTEER GUARD in his respective chartered city, municipality or municipal district. The VOLUNTEER GUARD is empowered to assist in the suppression of espionage and sabotage; in emergencies to assist in the Maintenance 6f peace and order; to safeguard public utilities, bridges and manufacturing plants engages in essential industries; to succor, aid and assist the populace in emergencies caused by fire, flood, earthquake, typhoon, epidemics, air raids or other forms of local or national disaster in order that injury to persons and property may be prevented. The use of the VOLUNTEER GUARD for any other purpose is prohibited.
2. The organization of the VOLUNTEER GUARD units shall be as prescribed herein.
3. The training of the units of the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall be conducted under the general supervision and direction of the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary and in strict accordance with the program of instruction to be prescribed herein.
4. The mayor of each chartered city, municipality or municipal district is responsible for the training of the members of the VOLUNTEER GUARD units organized within its respective chartered city, municipality or municipal district in accordance with the program of instruction prescribed by the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary and for the discipline and proper performances of duty by the members thereof.
5. The mayor of each chartered city, municipality or municipal district is charged with the duty of, and is responsible for, the recruiting of an adequate number of men to form at full strength the units of the VOLUNTEER GUARD prescribed for his respective chartered city, municipality or municipal district.
6. Enrolment in the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall be on a voluntary basis.
7. (a) Any able-bodied Filipino or American citizen, except as noted in (b) below, of not less than eighteen (18) years and not more than sixty (60) years of age, is eligible for enrollment in the VOLUNTEER GUARD.
(b) The following persons are not eligible for enrollment in the VOLUNTEER GUARD.
(1) Officers, warrant officers and enlisted men of the Philippine scouts.
(2) Officers, warrant officers and enlisted men of the regular force and of the reserve forces carried on the rolls or reserve units of the Philippine Army, including Officers and enlisted men of the Philippine Constabulary.
(3) Members of all regularly organized police forces in provinces, chartered cities, municipalities and municipal districts.
(4) Members of all regularly organized fire departments in chartered cities, municipalities and municipal districts.
(5) Field employees of the Bureau of Health, including District Health Officers, Presidents of Sanitary Divisions, Sanitary Inspectors and Assistant Sanitary Inspectors.
(6) Employees of the Bureau of Posts.
(7) Field employees of the Weather Bureau.
(8) Personnel of the Coast Guard, Revenue Cutter and Lighthouse Inspection Services.
(9) Physicians, nurses and attendants regularly employed in hospitals.
(10) Employees of public utilities, including employees of water supply, electric and telephone systems, and railroad, bus and steamship companies.
8. Members of the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall serve without compensation. They shall, however, be entitles to free transportation when such is required in the performance of their duties when called into active service and to free subsistence during such period or periods of active service. Such transportation and subsistence shall be paid for by the chartered city, municipality or municipal district to which the active service was rendered.
9. Enrollment in the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall be for a period of two (2) years from the date of such enrollment.
10. At the time of enrollment, each member of the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall subscribed to the “oath of Enrollment” and be given a physical examination. The forms for the oath of enrollment and the recordation of the results of the physical examination will be such as may be prescribed by the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary.
11. In chartered cities and provincial capitals, the organization of the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall be as follows:
(a) POLICE, TRAFFIC CONTROL AND GUARD DUTY UNIT.
This unit is charged with the duty, in the proper cases of assisting the local police force and Constabulary, under the supervision of the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary or his representative, in maintaining law and order and controlling traffic during an emergency, and in safe guarding from sabotage public utilities, bridges and manufacturing plants engaged in essential industries. The strength of this unit will be based on the ratio of twenty (20) men for every one thousand (1,000) inhabitants.
(b) FIRST AID UNIT
This unit will be organized into first aid squads consisting of four first aid attendants, one automobile and driver and two attendants, or a total of eight persons and two vehicles. Where regular ambulances are not available, they should be improvised from suitable motor or other vehicles available in the community. One first aid squad will be organized and equipped for each 3000 of population or major fraction thereof.
(c) RESCUE UNIT
The duty of this unit is to rescue persons trapped in fallen buildings and in the debris from such buildings. As this work requires a special knowledge of the method of shoring up damaged walls and debris in order to prevent squads, only men skilled in construction work or the building trades will be assigned to this unit. This unit will be trained and supervised by the District or City Engineers or their representatives and will be organized into squads each consisting of a leader and eight men. One such squad will be organized for each 5.000 of population, or major fraction thereof. Tools and equipment for the use of these squads will be provided by the local authorities.
(d) FIRE FIGHTING UNIT
This unit is charged with the duty of assisting existing fire fighting forces in controlling and extinguishing fires, particularly these caused by incendiary bombs. Where regular fire departments exist, these Units shall be trained and supervised by the Chief of such fire department, otherwise they shall be trained and led by retired firemen or by civilians who have received special instruction in fire fighting methods. This Unit should be organized into local squads, each squad being centered, as a general rule near military objectives such as railway stations, docks, factories and public buildings. Particular attention must be paid to the organization and training of such squads in all areas where buildings are constructed of highly inflammable materials. Emergency supply stations containing sand, water buckets and shovels should be established literally in each squad area. No definite guide can be established for the number of these squads to be organized and trained in each of the chartered cities and Provincial Capitals. This is a matter to be determined by the local authorities based on local conditions. As to the strength of each squad, it is suggested that they be composed of a leader and fourteen (14) men.
(e) DEMOLITION AND REPAIR UNIT
The duties of this unit are to clear to streets of wreckage and debris, fill bomb craters, assist in the repair of damaged water and gas mains, sewers and electrical transmission lines, and to cooperate with the fire-fighting unit if it becomes necessary to use explosives in the control of a fire. Only men skilled in construction work, the handling and use of explosives, street and highway repair or general utility repair and maintenance work will be assigned to this unit. These units shall be organized and trained by and operate under the direction of District and City Engineers or their representatives. The strength of these units, their division into squad and the number of squads to be organized within a unit will be determined by District and City Engineers based on a consideration of the installations to be maintained in each community.
(f) DECONTAMINATION UNIT
The duty of this unit is to decontaminate areas in which poisoned gas has been released. This unit will be organized into squads each consisting of a leader and six (6) men and trained and supervised by the local health officer. One such squad will be organized for each 5,000 of population or major portion thereof in each chartered city or Provincial Capital.
12. In municipalities, other than Provincial capitals, and in all municipal districts, only the Police, Traffic Control and Guard Duty, the First Aid, and Fire Fighting Units need be organized unless otherwise directed by the Provincial Emergency Committee of the province concerned.
13. The VOLUNTEER GUARD in each chartered city, municipality or municipal district shall have complete units, or squads thereof, organized in each district or barrio of such chartered city, municipality or municipal district. In chartered cities, the units in each district shall be commanded by a responsible city official to be designated by the mayor. In municipalities or municipal district, the units in each district or barrio shall be commanded by a responsible person to be designated by the municipal mayor. City officials and persons so designated shall have the rank of senior leader in the VOLUNTEER GUARD.
14. For the purpose of control and enforcement of discipline, the mayors of chartered cities, municipalities and municipal districts are authorized upon the recommendation of the senior leaders concerned to appoint leaders and assistant leaders from among the members of the VOLUNTEER GUARD on the basis of one leader for each seventeen (17) members and one assistant leader for each eight (8) members, except that in the case of Rescue Squad the Squad Chief shall have the rank of leader.
15. The mayor of each chartered city, municipality or municipal district shall cause to be kept in his office a complete list, showing the name, rank, age, address, occupation, assignment to unit and kind of duty actually performed by each member of the VOLUNTEER GUARD in his respective chartered city, municipality or municipal district. In case any member of the VOLUNTEER GUARD is injured or killed while performing active duty, a complete report covering the cause, nature and extent of the injury or cause of death and affidavits of witnesses thereto will be made and forwarded to the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary who will retain such record in a special file as an official government record of the injury or death.
16. Members of the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall receive a minimum of 1-1/2 hours of instruction each week. This instruction will be given at such hours as will not interfere with the member’s ordinary vocation and may be given in one period of 1-1/2 hours or in two periods of not less than forty-five (45) minutes each.
17. Members of the VOLUNTEER GUARD assigned to the Police, Traffic Control and Guard Duty Units will be armed and equipped as follows:
18. Members of the First Aid units will be provided with a white arm band on which is superimposed a red cross.
19. The VOLUNTEER GUARD units in municipalities and municipal districts may be called to active duty only by Provincial Governors and in chartered cities only by the mayor thereof. However, when an emergency caused by war, sabotage, fire, flood, earthquake, typhoon, or aid raid is imminent, mayors of municipalities or municipal districts are authorized to call to active duty the VOLUNTEER GUARD units in their respective municipalities or municipal districts the instant such emergency occurs. Whenever the mayor of a municipality or municipal district exercises such authority he shall, in each instance, render, without delay, a report of his action to the Provincial Governor stating his reason for exercising such authority.
Done at the City of Baguio, this 16th day of April, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and forty-one, and of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the sixth.
(Sgd.) JORGE B. VARGAS
Secretary to the President
1. The Mayor of each chartered city, municipality or municipal district shall organize a VOLUNTEER GUARD in his respective chartered city, municipality or municipal district. The VOLUNTEER GUARD is empowered to assist in the suppression of espionage and sabotage; in emergencies to assist in the Maintenance 6f peace and order; to safeguard public utilities, bridges and manufacturing plants engages in essential industries; to succor, aid and assist the populace in emergencies caused by fire, flood, earthquake, typhoon, epidemics, air raids or other forms of local or national disaster in order that injury to persons and property may be prevented. The use of the VOLUNTEER GUARD for any other purpose is prohibited.
2. The organization of the VOLUNTEER GUARD units shall be as prescribed herein.
3. The training of the units of the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall be conducted under the general supervision and direction of the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary and in strict accordance with the program of instruction to be prescribed herein.
4. The mayor of each chartered city, municipality or municipal district is responsible for the training of the members of the VOLUNTEER GUARD units organized within its respective chartered city, municipality or municipal district in accordance with the program of instruction prescribed by the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary and for the discipline and proper performances of duty by the members thereof.
5. The mayor of each chartered city, municipality or municipal district is charged with the duty of, and is responsible for, the recruiting of an adequate number of men to form at full strength the units of the VOLUNTEER GUARD prescribed for his respective chartered city, municipality or municipal district.
6. Enrolment in the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall be on a voluntary basis.
7. (a) Any able-bodied Filipino or American citizen, except as noted in (b) below, of not less than eighteen (18) years and not more than sixty (60) years of age, is eligible for enrollment in the VOLUNTEER GUARD.
(b) The following persons are not eligible for enrollment in the VOLUNTEER GUARD.
(1) Officers, warrant officers and enlisted men of the Philippine scouts.
(2) Officers, warrant officers and enlisted men of the regular force and of the reserve forces carried on the rolls or reserve units of the Philippine Army, including Officers and enlisted men of the Philippine Constabulary.
(3) Members of all regularly organized police forces in provinces, chartered cities, municipalities and municipal districts.
(4) Members of all regularly organized fire departments in chartered cities, municipalities and municipal districts.
(5) Field employees of the Bureau of Health, including District Health Officers, Presidents of Sanitary Divisions, Sanitary Inspectors and Assistant Sanitary Inspectors.
(6) Employees of the Bureau of Posts.
(7) Field employees of the Weather Bureau.
(8) Personnel of the Coast Guard, Revenue Cutter and Lighthouse Inspection Services.
(9) Physicians, nurses and attendants regularly employed in hospitals.
(10) Employees of public utilities, including employees of water supply, electric and telephone systems, and railroad, bus and steamship companies.
8. Members of the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall serve without compensation. They shall, however, be entitles to free transportation when such is required in the performance of their duties when called into active service and to free subsistence during such period or periods of active service. Such transportation and subsistence shall be paid for by the chartered city, municipality or municipal district to which the active service was rendered.
9. Enrollment in the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall be for a period of two (2) years from the date of such enrollment.
10. At the time of enrollment, each member of the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall subscribed to the “oath of Enrollment” and be given a physical examination. The forms for the oath of enrollment and the recordation of the results of the physical examination will be such as may be prescribed by the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary.
11. In chartered cities and provincial capitals, the organization of the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall be as follows:
(a) POLICE, TRAFFIC CONTROL AND GUARD DUTY UNIT.
This unit is charged with the duty, in the proper cases of assisting the local police force and Constabulary, under the supervision of the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary or his representative, in maintaining law and order and controlling traffic during an emergency, and in safe guarding from sabotage public utilities, bridges and manufacturing plants engaged in essential industries. The strength of this unit will be based on the ratio of twenty (20) men for every one thousand (1,000) inhabitants.
(b) FIRST AID UNIT
This unit will be organized into first aid squads consisting of four first aid attendants, one automobile and driver and two attendants, or a total of eight persons and two vehicles. Where regular ambulances are not available, they should be improvised from suitable motor or other vehicles available in the community. One first aid squad will be organized and equipped for each 3000 of population or major fraction thereof.
(c) RESCUE UNIT
The duty of this unit is to rescue persons trapped in fallen buildings and in the debris from such buildings. As this work requires a special knowledge of the method of shoring up damaged walls and debris in order to prevent squads, only men skilled in construction work or the building trades will be assigned to this unit. This unit will be trained and supervised by the District or City Engineers or their representatives and will be organized into squads each consisting of a leader and eight men. One such squad will be organized for each 5.000 of population, or major fraction thereof. Tools and equipment for the use of these squads will be provided by the local authorities.
(d) FIRE FIGHTING UNIT
This unit is charged with the duty of assisting existing fire fighting forces in controlling and extinguishing fires, particularly these caused by incendiary bombs. Where regular fire departments exist, these Units shall be trained and supervised by the Chief of such fire department, otherwise they shall be trained and led by retired firemen or by civilians who have received special instruction in fire fighting methods. This Unit should be organized into local squads, each squad being centered, as a general rule near military objectives such as railway stations, docks, factories and public buildings. Particular attention must be paid to the organization and training of such squads in all areas where buildings are constructed of highly inflammable materials. Emergency supply stations containing sand, water buckets and shovels should be established literally in each squad area. No definite guide can be established for the number of these squads to be organized and trained in each of the chartered cities and Provincial Capitals. This is a matter to be determined by the local authorities based on local conditions. As to the strength of each squad, it is suggested that they be composed of a leader and fourteen (14) men.
(e) DEMOLITION AND REPAIR UNIT
The duties of this unit are to clear to streets of wreckage and debris, fill bomb craters, assist in the repair of damaged water and gas mains, sewers and electrical transmission lines, and to cooperate with the fire-fighting unit if it becomes necessary to use explosives in the control of a fire. Only men skilled in construction work, the handling and use of explosives, street and highway repair or general utility repair and maintenance work will be assigned to this unit. These units shall be organized and trained by and operate under the direction of District and City Engineers or their representatives. The strength of these units, their division into squad and the number of squads to be organized within a unit will be determined by District and City Engineers based on a consideration of the installations to be maintained in each community.
(f) DECONTAMINATION UNIT
The duty of this unit is to decontaminate areas in which poisoned gas has been released. This unit will be organized into squads each consisting of a leader and six (6) men and trained and supervised by the local health officer. One such squad will be organized for each 5,000 of population or major portion thereof in each chartered city or Provincial Capital.
12. In municipalities, other than Provincial capitals, and in all municipal districts, only the Police, Traffic Control and Guard Duty, the First Aid, and Fire Fighting Units need be organized unless otherwise directed by the Provincial Emergency Committee of the province concerned.
13. The VOLUNTEER GUARD in each chartered city, municipality or municipal district shall have complete units, or squads thereof, organized in each district or barrio of such chartered city, municipality or municipal district. In chartered cities, the units in each district shall be commanded by a responsible city official to be designated by the mayor. In municipalities or municipal district, the units in each district or barrio shall be commanded by a responsible person to be designated by the municipal mayor. City officials and persons so designated shall have the rank of senior leader in the VOLUNTEER GUARD.
14. For the purpose of control and enforcement of discipline, the mayors of chartered cities, municipalities and municipal districts are authorized upon the recommendation of the senior leaders concerned to appoint leaders and assistant leaders from among the members of the VOLUNTEER GUARD on the basis of one leader for each seventeen (17) members and one assistant leader for each eight (8) members, except that in the case of Rescue Squad the Squad Chief shall have the rank of leader.
15. The mayor of each chartered city, municipality or municipal district shall cause to be kept in his office a complete list, showing the name, rank, age, address, occupation, assignment to unit and kind of duty actually performed by each member of the VOLUNTEER GUARD in his respective chartered city, municipality or municipal district. In case any member of the VOLUNTEER GUARD is injured or killed while performing active duty, a complete report covering the cause, nature and extent of the injury or cause of death and affidavits of witnesses thereto will be made and forwarded to the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary who will retain such record in a special file as an official government record of the injury or death.
16. Members of the VOLUNTEER GUARD shall receive a minimum of 1-1/2 hours of instruction each week. This instruction will be given at such hours as will not interfere with the member’s ordinary vocation and may be given in one period of 1-1/2 hours or in two periods of not less than forty-five (45) minutes each.
17. Members of the VOLUNTEER GUARD assigned to the Police, Traffic Control and Guard Duty Units will be armed and equipped as follows:
(a) Those assigned to Police and Traffic Control Duty with night sticks and police whistles.All members of the Police, Traffic Control and Guard Duty Units shall be furnished a distinctive arm band and badge of a design approved by the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary.
(b) Those assigned to Guard duty protecting public utilities, bridges, and manufacturing plants engaged in essential industries shall be furnished police whistles and be armed with revolvers or shotguns in accordance with the availability of such weapons as decided by the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary.
18. Members of the First Aid units will be provided with a white arm band on which is superimposed a red cross.
19. The VOLUNTEER GUARD units in municipalities and municipal districts may be called to active duty only by Provincial Governors and in chartered cities only by the mayor thereof. However, when an emergency caused by war, sabotage, fire, flood, earthquake, typhoon, or aid raid is imminent, mayors of municipalities or municipal districts are authorized to call to active duty the VOLUNTEER GUARD units in their respective municipalities or municipal districts the instant such emergency occurs. Whenever the mayor of a municipality or municipal district exercises such authority he shall, in each instance, render, without delay, a report of his action to the Provincial Governor stating his reason for exercising such authority.
Done at the City of Baguio, this 16th day of April, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and forty-one, and of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the sixth.
(Sgd.) MANUEL L. QUEZON
By the President:
By the President:
(Sgd.) JORGE B. VARGAS
Secretary to the President