WHEREAS, during the meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on 22 August 1864, the nations of the world unanimously agreed to diminish within their power the evils inherent in war;

WHEREAS, more than one hundred forty nations of the world have ratified or adhered to the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949 for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick of Armed Forces in the Field and at Sea, The Prisoners of War, and The Civilian Population in Time of War referred to in this Charter as the Geneva Conventions;

WHEREAS, the Republic of the Philippines became an independent nation on July 4, 1946, and proclaimed on February 14, 1947 its adherence to the Geneva Conventions of 1929, and by the action, indicated its desire to participate with the nations of the world in mitigating the suffering caused by war and to establish in the Philippines a voluntary organization for that purpose as contemplated by the Geneva Conventions;

WHEREAS, there existed in the Philippines since 1917 a chapter of the American National Red Cross which was terminated in view of the independence of the Philippines; and

WHEREAS, the volunteer organizations established in other countries which have ratified or adhered to the Geneva Conventions assist in promoting the health and welfare of their people in peace and in war, and through their mutual assistance and cooperation directly and through their international organizations promote better understanding and sympathy among the people of the world;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081 dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1 dated September 22, 1972 do hereby decree and order that Republic Act No. 95, Charter of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) as amended by Republic Acts No. 855 and 6373, be further amended as follows:

SECTION 1. There is hereby created in the Republic of the Philippines a body corporate and politic to be the voluntary organization officially designated to assist the Republic of the Philippines in discharging the obligations set forth in the Geneva Conventions and to perform such other duties as are inherent upon a national Red Cross Society. The National headquarters of this Corporation shall be located in Metropolitan Manila.

SECTION 2. The name of this corporation shall be "The Philippine National Red Cross" and by that name shall have perpetual succession with the power to sue and be sued; to own and hold such real and personal estate as shall be deemed advisable and to accept bequests, donations and contributions of property of all classes for the purpose of this Corporation hereinafter set forth; to adopt a seal and to alter and destroy the sane at pleasure; and to have the right to adopt and to use, in carrying out its purposes hereinafter designated, as an emblem and badge, a red Greek cross on a white ground, the same as has been described in the Geneva Conventions, and adopted by the several nations ratifying or adhering thereto; to ordain and establish by-laws and regulations not inconsistent with the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, and generally to do all such acts and things as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Act and promote the purposes of said organization; and the corporation hereby created is designated as the organization which is authorized to act in matters of relief under said Convention. In accordance with the Geneva Conventions, the issuance of the distinctive Red Cross emblem to medical units and establishments, personnel and materials neutralized in time of war shall be left to the military authorities. The Red Greek cross on a white ground, as has been described by the Geneva Conventions is not, and shall not be construed as a religious symbol, and shall have equal efficacy and applicability to persons of all faiths, creeds and beliefs. The operational jurisdiction of the Philippine National Red Cross shall be over the entire territory of the Philippines.

SECTION 3. That the purposes of this Corporation shall be as follows:

1. To provide volunteer aid to the sick and wounded of armed forces in time of war, in accordance with the spirit of and under the conditions prescribed by Geneva Conventions to which the Republic of the Philippines proclaimed, its adherence;
2. For the purposes mentioned in the preceding subsection, to perform all duties devolving upon the Corporation as a result of the adherence of the Republic of the Philippines to the said Convention;
3. To act in matters of voluntary relief and in accordance with the authorities of the armed forces as a medium of communication between the people of the Republic of the Philippines and their Armed Forces, in time of peace and in time of war, and to act in such matters between similar national societies of other governments and the Governments and people and the Armed Forces of the Republic of the Philippines;
4. To establish and maintain a system of national and international relief in time of peace and in time of war and apply the same in meeting and emergency needs caused by typhoons, flood, fires, earthquakes, and other natural disasters and to devise and carry on measures for minimizing the suffering caused by such disasters;
5. To devise and promote such other services in time of peace and in time of war as may be found desirable in improving the health, safety and welfare of the people;
6. To devise such means as to make every citizen and/or resident of the Philippines a member of the Red Cross.

SECTION 4. In furtherance of the purposes mentioned in the preceding sub-paragraphs, the Philippine National Red Cross shall:

1. Be authorized to secure loans from any financial institution which shall not exceed its budget of the previous year.
2. Be exempt from payment of all duties, taxes, fees, and other charges of all kinds on all importations and purchases for its exclusive use, on donations for its disaster relief work and other Red Cross services, and in its benefits and fund raising drives all provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding.
3. Be alloted by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office one lottery draw yearly for the support of its disaster relief operations in addition to its existing lottery draws for the Blood Program.

SECTION 5. Membership in the Philippine National Red Cross shall be open to the entire population in the Philippines regardless of citizenship. Any contribution to the Philippine National Red Cross Annual Fund Campaign shall entitle the contributor to member ship for one year and said contribution shall be deductible in full for taxation purposes.

SECTION 6. The governing powers and authority shall be vested in a Board of Governors composed of thirty members, six of whom shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines, eighteen shall be elected by chapter delegates in biennial conventions and the remaining six shall be selected by the twenty-four members of the Board already chosen. At least one but not more than three of the Presidential appointees shall be chosen from the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

1. The term of office of all members of the board of Governors shall be four years. Any member of the Board of Governor who has served two consecutive full term a of four years each shall be ineligible for membership on the Board for at least two years; any term served to cover unexpired terms of office of any governor will not be considered in this prohibition in serving two consecutive full terms, and provided, however, that terms served for more than two years shall be considered a full term.
2. Vacancies in the Board of Governors caused by death or resignation shall be filled by election by the Board of Governors at its next meeting, except that vacancies among the Presidential appointees shall be filled by the President.

SECTION 7. The President of the Philippines shall be the Honorary President of the Philippine National Red Cross. The officers shall consist of a Chairman, a Vice Chairman, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Counselor, an Assistant Secretary and an Assistant Treasurer, all of whom shall be elected by the Board of Governors iron among its membership for a term of two years and may be re-elected. The election of officers shall take place within sixty days after all the members of the Board of Governors have been chosen and have qualified.

SECTION 8. The Biennial meeting of chapter delegates shall be held on such date and such place as may be specified by the Board of Governors to elect members of the Board of Governors and advise the Board of Governors on the activities of the Philippine National Red Cross; Provided, however, that during periods of great emergency, the Board of Governors in its discretion may determine that the best interest of the corporation shall be served by postponing such biennial meeting.

SECTION 9. The power to ordain, adopt and amend by-laws and regulations shall be vested in the Beard of Governors.

SECTION 10. The mergers of the Board of Governors as well as the officers of the corporation, shall serve without compensation, The compensation of the paid staff of the corporation shall be determined by the Board of Governors upon the recommendation of the Secretary General.

SECTION 11. As a national voluntary organization the Philippine National Red Cross shall be financed primarily by contributions obtained through solicitation campaigns throughout the year which shall be organized by the Board of Governors and conducted by the Chapters in their respective jurisdictions. These fund raising campaigns shall be conducted independently of other fund drives by other organizations.

SECTION 12. The Board of Governors shall promulgate rules and regulations for the organization of local units of the Philippine National Rod Cross to be known as Chapters! Said rules and regulations shall fix the relationship of the Chapters to the Corporation, define their territorial jurisdictions, and determine the number of delegates for each chapter based on population, fund campaign potentials and service needs.

SECTION 13. The Corporation shall, at the end of every calendar year submit to the President of the Philippines an annual report containing the activities of the Corporation showing its financial condition, the receipts and disbursements.

SECTION 14. It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit collect or receive money, materials, or property of any kind by falsely representing or pretending himself to be a member agent or representative of the Philippine National Red Cross.

SECTION 15. The use of the name Red Cross is reserved exclusively to the Philippine National Red Cross and the use of the emblem of the rod Greek cross on a white ground is reserved exclusively to the Philippine National Red Cross, medical services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and such other medical facilities or other institutions as may be authorized by the Philippine National Red Cross as provided under Article 44 of the Geneva Conventions. It shall be unlawful for any other person or entity to use the words Red Cross or Geneva Cross or to use the emblem of the red Greek cross on a white ground or any designation, sign, or insignia constituting an imitation thereof for any purpose whatsoever.

SECTION 16. As used in this Decree, the term person shall include any legal person, group, or legal entity whatsoever nature, and any person violating any section of this Article shall, upon conviction therefore be liable to a find of not less than one thousand pesos or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both, at the discretion of the court, for each and every offense. In case the violation is committed by a corporation or association, the penalty shall devolve upon the president, director or any other officer responsible for such violation.

SECTION 17. All acts or parts of acts which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed.

This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 15th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-seven.

			(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS President of the Philippines
	By the President:
	(Sgd.) JACOBO C. CLAVE
		Presidential Executive Assistant