Section 1
SECTION 1. Section 1 of the said Decree is hereby amended to read as follows: "a. To carry out the purposes of this Decree, a Philippine Veterans Assistance Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission, is hereby created. The Commission shall be a body corporate and politic and shall be composed of the Secretary of National Defense as Chairman, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as Vice-Chairman, the Administrator of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, the President of the Philippine Veterans Bank and three appointive members who shall represent the veterans group, to be appointed by the President. The term of the appointive members shall be for three years: Provided, That the terms of the first three appointive members shall be one, two and three years respectively. All vacancies, except through the expiration of the term, shall be filled for the unexpired term only. The appointive members of the Commission shall receive seventy five pesos per diem for each meeting actually attended by them: Provided, That no compensation shall be paid for more than one meeting a week. "b. The Commission shall have under its general supervision an Administrator who shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer immediately responsible for carrying out the program and the policies of the Commission. The Administrator shall be a veteran who has had previous experience in technical and administrative fields related to the purposes of this Decree. He shall be appointed by the President and shall receive a salary to be fixed by the Commission with the approval of the President. "c. The Commission, upon the recommendation of the Administrator, shall appoint all such other officers and personnel as may be deemed necessary, fix their compensation, prescribe their duties and establish such methods and procedures as may insure the efficient, honest and economical administration of the provisions and purposes of this Act; Provided, however, That the officers and personnel of the Commission shall, as far as possible, be qualified veterans and/or their dependents. "d. Appointments to the Administrative and Research Staff or any position of responsibility in the Commission may be on a part-time basis, and shall be exempt from the requirements and restrictions of the Civil Service Law, rules and regulations on position-classification and salary standardization and section two hundred fifty nine of the Revised Administrative Code: Provided, That any government retiree employed in the Commission shall not be required to reimburse or refund any gratuity received from the government nor shall any pension or annuity to which he is entitled be suspended on account of his employment in the Commission. "e. The Commission is authorized to call upon any all government offices, agencies, institutions and government-owned or controlled corporations for such assistance as it may need to carry out the purposes of this Decree."