Organization; Administration.
Section 4
SEC. 4. Organization; Administration.—The Philippine Coast Guard shall be headed by a Commandant who shall be a Flag Officer. Subject to the approval of the Secretary of National Defense, the Flag Officer-in-Command, Philippine Navy, shall organize the Philippine Coast Guard into operational units or subordinate commands and equip the same as may be necessary for effective exercise of the functions and duties vested upon it by law, and shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary for its administration. The Philippine Coast Guard shall be administered and maintained as a separate unit of the Philippine Navy, and it shall be specially trained and equipped for the effective discharge of police duties at sea. The Marine Safety Division, including the Naval Architecture and Engineering Section, the Maritime Safety Inspection Section, the Registration and Licensing Section, and the functions of the Hulls and Boilers Division, the Marine Board of Inquiry as existing in the Bureau of Customs, and all other agencies or instrumentalities of the Government presently performing any of the functions provided for in subparagraphs (c) to (n), inclusive, of Section three of this Act, are hereby transferred with their personnel, records, files, supplies, equipment, furniture, funds and other properties to the Philippine Coast Guard: Provided, That no person shall be deprived of his office, employment or rank, or suffer any diminution of his salary by operation of this Act. The Lighthouse Service of the Philippine Navy is, likewise, transferred to the Philippine Coast Guard. Personnel transferred to the Philippine Coast Guard shall continue to be governed by the Civil Service Law and other existing laws relating to their individual status, rights, emoluments and benefits.