Section 38
SEC. 38. Commonwealth Act Numbered Four hundred and eight is hereby amended by inserting after article one hundred and thirteen a new article to be known as article hundred and thirteen-A, which shall read as follows: "ART. 113-A. Effects of deceased persons: disposition of.—In case of the death of any person subject to military law the commanding officer of the place or command will permit the legal representative or widow of the deceased, if present, to take possession of all his effects then in camp or quarters; and if no legal representative or widow be present, the commanding officer shall direct a summary court officer to secure all such effects, and said officer shall have authority to collect and receive any debts due decedent's estate by local debtors and to pay the undisputed local creditors of decedent in so far as any money belonging to the deceased which may come into said summary court officer's possession under this Article will permit, taking receipts therefor for file with said officer's final report of his transactions to the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the Chief of Constabulary: Provided, That wills or other papers involving property-rights shall be promptly transmitted to the Judge Advocate General, Armed Forces of the Philippines, who shall commence appropriate proceedings with regards thereto in] the Court of First Instance of the province where the deceased died. As soon as practicable after the collection of such effects and the deceased left no will, said summary court officer shall transmit such effects and any money collected, through the Quartermaster Service, at government expense, to the widow or legal representative of the deceased, if such be found by said officer, or to the son, daughter, father, provided the father has not abandoned the support of his family, mother, brother, sister, or the next of kin in the order named, if such be found by said officer. Said officer shall thereupon make to the Chief of Staff or the Chief of Constabulary a full report of his transactions; but if there be none of the persons hereinabove named, or such persons or their addresses are not known to or readily ascertainable, said officer shall transmit within twenty days to the Chief of Quartermaster Service after the death of the deceased, all effects of deceased including sabers, insignia, decorations, medals, watches, trinkets, manuscripts, and other articles valuable chiefly as keepsakes, together with an inventory of the effects secured by said summary court officer and a full account of his transactions, to the Chief of Staff or the Chief of Constabulary for transmission to the Judge Advocate General for action as hereinbelow authorized in the settlement of accounts of deceased officers and enlisted men of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or Philippine Constabulary, subject to the provisions of the Rules of Court and the civil law, in so far as they do not conflict with these provisions. "The Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is hereby empowered to administer the disposition of the effects of persons who, at the time of their death are subject to military law. If the heirs or legal representatives of the deceased person could not be ascertained, the remaining effects shall be retained in the Quartermaster Service until two years shall have expired from the death of the person on whose behalf they were received for the purpose of delivering them to the widow or her legal representative, or the heirs of the deceased in the order of intestate succession established by the Civil Code unless the deceased left a will in which case the remaining effects shall be distributed in accordance therewith after its probate. After the expiration of two years from the death of said deceased, and upon notification by the Judge Advocate General, the Chief of Quartermaster Service shall sell at public sale or in any manner deemed most advantageous, all or any of such effects to which a right thereto shall not have been established on behalf of said deceased, his heirs, or legal representative provided, that decorations, medals and citations shall not be sold but shall be disposed of in such manner as in the interest of the public it deems most fitting, helpful, and appropriate, either by permanent retention thereof, distribution to museums or other government institutions, or their destruction, if in the opinion of the Chief of Staff or the Chief of Constabulary they no longer possess any value. "The net proceeds from the sale shall be deposited with the National Treasury for the account of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or of the Philippine Constabulary depending on which organization the deceased belong, and shall be withdrawn only by authority of the Judge Advocate General who is hereby authorized to disburse and pay from said fund all such claims which may be established to his satisfaction under existing law; provided that any claim not filed with the Judge Advocate General within five (5) years from the death of such deceased, shall forever be barred. All proceeds remaining after the payment of such claims as herein provided shall form part of the general fund of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or of the Philippine Constabulary and may be expended at the discretion of the Chief of Staff or the Chief of Constabulary for such purpose which is deemed best for the general benefit of the organization to which the deceased belong'."