Section 22
SEC. 22. The appointment, promotion, and discharge of officers in the Army shall be as follows: All commissioned officers in the Army shall be citizens of the Philippines; Provided, That the President may in his discretion retain in the Army any officer now holding a commission in the Philippine Constabulary. Commissioned grades authorized in the Army of the Philippines shall include third lieutenant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, and general officer: Provided, That the general officer grade may be further subdivided into grades as prescribed by the President: And provided, also, That individuals permanently commissioned in a grade above that of colonel shall be the known as General Officers of the Line; those not so commissioned but holding an office in the Army to which the grade of general officer is attached shall be known as General officers of the Staff. Officers shall be commissioned in the Army of the Philippines subject to such examinations for the determination of fitness and proficiency as the President may prescribe. All appointments and promotions shall be made by the President, but the appointments and promotions in appointment and promotions in the Army from the rank of colonel shall be made with the consent of the Commission on Appointments of the National Assembly. Except as hereinafter authorized, all appointments of regular officers shall be in the grade of third lieutenant, from among applicants who at the time of appointment shall be not less than twenty-one nor more than twenty-six years of age. Priority in filling vacancies in the grade of third lieutenant will be given: first, to graduates of the Military Academy of the Philippines or of the Military or Naval Academies of the United States; second, to graduates of senior military training units in schools and colleges; third, to enlisted men who at the time of appointment shall have served more than one year in the Army of the Philippines; and fourth, to others: Provided, That original appointments in the Medical Corps shall be in the grade of first lieutenant from among applicants who at the time of appointment shall not be less than 25 nor more than 35 years of age: And provided, also, That during the five years following the approval of this Act, the President is authorized to fill vacancies in any commissioned grade in the Army of the Philippines by appointment of officers of the Philippine Constabulary who are citizens of the Philippines and of such officers of the Philippine Scouts and of the Officers' Reserve Corps, U. S. Army, and of graduates of the United States Naval Academy, citizens of the Philippines, as have, prior to their appointment in th8 Army of the Philippines, legally and honorably severed their connection with the active elements of the Army of the United States, and of such others as may qualify through professional and military examination prescribed for the purpose. Officers will be distributed among grades as determined by the President of the Philippines: Provided, That the number of officers commissioned above the grade of colonel shall at no time exceed 1.2 per cent of the authorized strength of the officer corps; above the grade of lieutenant colonel shall not exceed 2.6 per cent; above the grade of major shall not exceed 5.2 per cent; above the grade of captain shall not exceed 14.9 per cent; above the grade of first lieutenant shall not exceed 45.2 per cent. In determining relative standing, officers of the Regular Force shall take precedence over officers of like grades in the Reserve Force. Officers in each grade in the Regular Force and in the Reserve Force shall be separately listed in order of rank in a manner to be prescribed by the President, which list shall establish the seniority of each officer in the Regular and Reserve Forces, respectively, and which seniority shall not be thereafter changed except through operation of this or other laws: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall be construed as giving officers with purely military functions authority over officers with purely civil functions and vice versa, except as specifically prescribed in this or in other acts. Promotion of regular and reserve officers shall be accomplished under such policies and procedure as the President may direct, provided that in time of peace no reserve officer may be promoted to any grade until he has served at least two years in the next lower grade, officer. Any reserve officer may, in the discretion of the President, be discharged at any time. Until superseded by laws formulated by the National Assembly for specific application to the Army of the Philippines, all regulations, courts-martial procedure, and provisions of law now pertaining to the punishment, discharge, dismissal, resignation, administration, and retirement of officers and enlisted men of the Philippine Constabulary shall, as modified by provisions of this and other laws, apply to all officers and enlisted men on active duty in the Army. In time of war any officer of the Regular Force may be appointed to higher temporary rank without vacating his permanent commission, such appointments in grades below that of colonel being made by the President alone, but all other appointments in time of war shall be in the Reserve Force. Upon his own application and with the approval of the Chief of Staff, any officer may be transferred at any time to a branch or service other than his own without loss of rank: Provided, That no transfers to or from the chaplains or medical service shall be permitted. Transfers in time of war shall be made as prescribed by the Chief of Staff. With the approval of the American Government not to exceed one-half of one per cent of the commissioned officers Regular Force below the grade of lieutenant colonel may be detailed to duty at foreign military schools. While on such duty, officers so detailed shall receive the pay and allowances of commissioned officers of their own grade in the army of the country in which the military school is located: Provided, That such pay is equal to or higher than that received by the officer so detailed. Not to exceed one-half of one per cent of the commissioned officers of the Regular Army in any fiscal year may be detailed as students at such technical, professional and other educational institutions, or as students, observers, or investigators at such industrial plants, hospitals, and other places, as shall be best suited to enable such officers to acquire a knowledge of or experience in the specialties in which it is deemed necessary that such officers shall perfect themselves: Provided, That no expense shall be incurred by the Philippine Government in addition to the pay and allowance of the officers so detailed, except for the cost of tuition at such technical, professional, and other educational institutions. The President is authorized to detail or assign to duty with units of the Reserve Force such officers of the Regular Force as he deems necessary. Commanders of divisions and larger units of the Reserve Force shall be selected from officers of the Regular Force. Transfers of reserve officers within their category shall be made under such rules as the President may prescribe. To the extent provided for from time to time by appropriations for this specific purpose, the President may order reserve officers to active duty at any time and for any period, but, except in time of a national emergency expressly declared by the National Assembly, no reserve officer shall be employed on active duty for more than six months in each five years without his own consent.