{{Infobox legislation , long_title = An Act to provide National Defense of the Philippines, penalizing certain violations thereof, appropriating funds therefor, and for other purposes , citation
Commonwealth Act No. 1
, territorial_extent =

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, legislature = , enacted_by =

National Assembly of the Philippines The National Assembly of the Philippines ( tl, Kapulungáng Pambansâ ng Pilipinas, es, Asamblea Nacional de Filipinas) refers to the legislature of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1941, and of the Second Philippine Republic ...

, date_enacted = December 21, 1935 , enacted_by2 = , date_enacted2 = , date_signed = December 21, 1935 , signed_by =

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his de ...

, date_commenced = , bill_date = , introduced_by = , 1st_reading = , 2nd_reading = , 3rd_reading = , conf_committee_passed = , bill2 = , bill_citation2 = , bill_date2 = , introduced_by2 = , 1st_reading2 = , 2nd_reading2 = , 3rd_reading2 = , conf_committee_passed2 = , date_conf_committee = , committee_report = , amendments = , repeals = , related_legislation = , summary = , keywords =

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...

, status = In force The National Defense Act of 1935 (Commonwealth Act No. 1) was passed by the Philippine National Assembly on December 21, 1935. The purpose of this act was to create an independent Philippine military, a move interrupted by the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Provisions

This act provided for the creation, by 1946, via an annual appropriation of 16,000,000

pesos The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dolla ...

, of the following forces: *A

regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standi ...

force of 10,000 troops (formed largely from the

Philippine Scouts The Philippine Scouts ( Filipino: ''Maghahanap ng Pilipinas'' or ''Hukbong Maghahanap ng Pilipinas'') was a military organization of the United States Army from 1901 until after the end of World War II. These troops were generally Filipinos ...

and the

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; tl, Hukbóng Pamayapà ng Pilipinas, ''HPP''; es, Policía de Filipinas, ''PF'') was a gendarmerie-type police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Poli ...

) *A reserve army of 400,000 *The

Offshore Patrol The Offshore Patrol (OSP) also known as the Mosquito Fleet was a small naval branch of the United States Army, intended for inshore defense of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. It was active from February 9, 1939 to June 30, 1946. The OSP bec ...

, which was to possess 36

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

s *A

Philippine Army Air Corps The Philippine Army Air Corps ( fil, Pulutong Himpapawid ng Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas; es, Cuerpo Aéreo del Ejercito Filipino) was created in 1935 as the air component of the Philippine Army. It was the predecessor of the Philippine Air F ...

of 100

tactical bomber Tactical bombing is aerial bombing aimed at targets of immediate military value, such as combatants, military installations, or military equipment. This is in contrast to strategic bombing, or attacking enemy cities and factories to cripple futu ...

Office of the Military Advisor

The National Assembly was guided by the Office of the Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government under the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...

Military Districts

The act divided the

Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a Government in exile of the Commonwealth of the Phil ...

into ten

military district Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

s, similar to the prewar

corps area A Corps area was a geographically-based organizational structure (military district) of the United States Army used to accomplish administrative, training and tactical tasks from 1920 to 1942. Each corps area included divisions of the Regular Army ...

s within the US. Each district had a roughly equal population and each was to initially provide 1 reserve

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

, and ultimately three. *

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, a ...

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...

, and

Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; tl, Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate C ...

contained 5 military districts *

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

and the Sulu Archipelago constituted 1 district *The

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, i ...

contained 4 districts

Reserve Training

The Act provided for the drafting of Filipino men, between the ages of 21 and 50, into the 30 reserve divisions. This force was to be raised through 2 training camps, of 20,000 men each, lasting 22 weeks. The camps would be staffed by members of the regular army. The first group of 20,000 troops was drafted on January 1, 1937, and there were 4,800 officers and 104,000 enlisted men in the reserves by 1939.

Officer Training

For the training of junior officers, the Act provided that a military academy be established with a

Cadet Corps A corps of cadets, also called cadet corps, was originally a kind of military school for boys. Initially such schools admitted only sons of the nobility or gentry, but in time many of the schools were opened also to members of other social classes. ...

strength not to exceed 350 at any one time. As graduates could not be expected until they had completed 4 years of training, selected reservists were selected for training as

noncommissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

s. The best of these were then given basic office training and commissioned as 3rd Lieutenants. Officers were also created through senior-level

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

courses in

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

s and

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

Training Locations

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine ...

training—various locations *

Field Artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...

training—Fort Dau and specialized training conducted at

Fort William McKinley Fort Andres Bonifacio (formerly named Fort William McKinley) is the site of the national headquarters of the Philippine Army (Headquarters Philippine Army or HPA) located in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is located near the national headquarter ...

* Coastal Artillery training --

Fort Mills Fort Mills (Corregidor, the Philippines) was the location of US Major General George F. Moore's headquarters for the Philippine Department's Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays in early World War II, and was the largest seacoast f ...

Fort Stotsenburg Fort Stotsenburg, during the World War II era, was the location of the Philippine Department's 26th Cavalry Regiment, 86th Field Artillery Battalion, and 88th Field Artillery Regiment; along with the Philippine Division's 23rd and 24th Fi ...

(antiaircraft), and

Fort Wint Fort Wint was part of the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bays built by the Philippine Department of the United States Army between 1907 and 1920 in response to recommendations of the Taft Board prior to the non-fortification clause of the W ...

*Signal and medical training --

*Quartermaster motor transport school — Port area of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

*Government organizational training—various locations

External links

The National Defense Act of 1935
Military history of the Philippines

1935 in military history 1935 in the Philippines Conscription law Commonwealth of the Philippines