Republic
of the Philippines
CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES
Metro Manila
Fourteenth
Congress
Third Regular Session
Begun
and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-seventh day of July, two
thousand nine.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10072
AN ACT RECOGNIZING THE PHILIPPINE
NATIONAL RED CROSS AS AN INDEPENDENT, AUTONOMOUS, NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
AUXILIARY TO THE AUTHORITIES OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES IN THE
HUMANITARIAN FIELD, TO BE KNOWN AS THE PHILIPPINE RED CROSS
Be it enacted by the
Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the
"Philippine Red Cross Act of 2009".
Section 2. Declaration of Principles and State Policies.
- Pursuant to Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution which provides for the
adoption of the generally accepted principles of international law as part of
the law of the land, the State shall at all times act in conformity with the
Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their additional protocols, and the Statutes of
the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and shall establish and
promote the development of a duly recognized independent and autonomous
nongovernmental Red Cross Society that shall provide humanitarian relief and
assistance in times of peace and armed conflict. The State shall at all times
respect the adherence by the Red Cross Society to the fundamental principles of
humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and
universality.
Section 3. Philippine Red Cross. - The
Philippine Red Cross shall be recognized as the voluntary, independent and
autonomous nongovernmental society auxiliary to the authorities of the Republic
of the Philippines in the humanitarian field, to assist said authorities in
discharging the obligations set forth in the Geneva Conventions and the
Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Pursuant to
the fundamental principle of unity, the Philippine Red Cross shall be the only
national society of the Red Cross in the Republic of the Philippines and be
directed by a central body, and shall perform the duties inherent upon such
status over the entire Philippine territory.
Section 4. Purposes. - The purposes of the Philippine Red Cross shall
be as follows:
(a)To cooperate
with public authorities in the prevention of disease, the promotion of health
and the mitigation of human suffering by their own programs in such fields as
education, health and social welfare, for the benefit of the community;
(b)To organize, in
liaison with public authorities, emergency relief operations and other services
to assist the sick and wounded of armed forces in time of armed conflict, in
accordance with the spirit of and under the conditions prescribed by the Geneva
Conventions to which the Republic of the Philippines proclaimed its adherence;
(c)For the purposes
mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, to perform all duties devolving upon the
Philippine Red Cross as a result of the adherence of the Republic of the
Philippines to the said Convention;
(d)To act in
matters of voluntary relief and of communication between the people of the
Republic of the Philippines and their Armed Forces, in time of peace and in
time of armed conflict, and to act in such matters between similar national societies
of other countries and the Governments and people and the Armed Forces of the
Republic of the Philippines;
(e)To establish and
maintain a system of national and international relief in time of peace and in
time of armed conflict and apply the same in meeting emergency needs caused by
typhoons, floods, fires, earthquakes, and other natural or man-made disasters,
and to devise and carry on measures for alleviating the suffering caused by
such disasters;
(f)To devise and
promote such other services in time of peace and in time of armed conflict as
may be found desirable in improving the health, safety and welfare of the
Filipino people, and of all peoples in general; and
(g)To devise such
means as to make every citizen and/or resident of the Philippines a member of
the Philippine Red Cross.
Section 5. Privileges. - To allow it to fully realize its mandate
under the Geneva Conventions, the Statutes of the International Red Cross and
Red Crescent Movement and this Act, the Philippine Red Cross shall:
(a)Enter into
agreements with public authorities, and accept provisions for the cost of any
service or activity which may be entrusted to it, within the scope of its
object and functions, pursuant to such agreements;
(b)Own and hold
real and personal properties and accept bequests, donations and contributions
of property of all classes;
(c)Be exempt from
payment of all direct and indirect taxes, all provisions of law to the contrary
notwithstanding, including value-added tax (VAT), fees and other charges of all
kinds on all income from its operations, including the use, lease or sale of
its real property, and provision of services. The Philippine Red Cross shall
also be exempt from direct and indirect taxes, including VAT, duties, fees and
other charges on importations and purchases for its exclusive use.
Likewise, all
donations, legacies and gifts made to the Philippine Red Cross to support its
purposes and objectives shall be exempt from the donor's tax and shall be
deductible from the gross income of the donor for income tax purposes or from
the computation of the donor-decedent's net estate as a transfer for public use
for estate tax purposes.
Finally, the
Philippine Red Cross shall be exempt from the payment of real property taxes on
all real properties owned by it; and
(d)Be allotted by
the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office at least one (1) lottery draw yearly
for the support of its disaster relief operations in addition to its existing
lottery draws for the Blood Program.
Section 6. Membership. - Membership in the Philippine Red Cross shall
be open to the entire population in the Philippines regardless of citizenship.
Any contribution to the Philippine Red Cross Annual Fund Campaign shall entitle
the contributor to membership for one (1) year and the said contribution shall
be deductible in full for taxation purposes.
Section 7. Central Body. - Pursuant to its obligations under the
Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their additional protocols, as well as the
Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the State
recognizes the following:
(a)The central body
of the Philippine Red Cross as the Board of Governors, composed of thirty (30)
members, six (6) of whom shall be appointed by the President of the
Philippines, eighteen (18) elected by chapter delegates in biennial
conventions, and the remaining six (6) elected by the twenty-four (24) members
of the Board already chosen.
(1)The term of
office of all members of the Board of Governors shall be four (4) years,
including those appointed by the President of the Philippines, renewable at the
pleasure of the appointing power or elective bodies.
(2)Vacancies in the
Board of Governors caused by death or resignation shall be filled by election
by the Board of Governors at its next meeting, except that vacancies among the
presidential appointees shall be filled by the President. (b) The President of
the Philippines shall be the Honorary President of the Philippine Red Cross,
and the officers shall consist of a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary,
Treasurer, Counselor, Assistant Secretary and an Assistant Treasurer, all of
whom shall be elected by the Board of Governors from among its membership for a
term of two (2) years and may be re-elected. The election of officers shall
take place within sixty (60) days after all the members of the Board of
Governors have been chosen and have qualified.
(b)The biennial
meeting of chapter delegates shall be held on such date and place as may be
specified by the Board of Governors to elect its members and advise them on the
activities of the Philippine Red Cross: Provided, however, That during periods
of great emergency, the Board of Governors in its discretion may determine that
the best interest of the Philippine Red Cross shall be served by postponing such
biennial meeting.
(c)The power to
ordain, adopt and amend bylaws, as well as its rules and regulations, including
those governing its chapters, shall be vested in the Board of Governors.
(d)The members of
the Board of Governors, as well as the officers, shall serve without
compensation. The compensation of the paid staff of the Philippine Red Cross
shall be determined by the Board of Governors upon the recommendation of the
Secretary General.
(e)As a national
voluntary society, the Philippine Red Cross shall be financed primarily by
contributions obtained through solicitation campaigns throughout the year which
shall be organized by the Board of Governors and conducted by the chapters in
their respective jurisdictions. These fundraising campaigns shall be conducted
independently of other fund drives and service needs.
(f)The Board of
Governors shall promulgate rules and regulations for the chapters of the
Philippine Red Cross. Said rules and regulations shall conform to the bylaws
and rules and regulations created under Section 7 of this Act, and fix the
relationship of the chapters to the Philippine Red Cross, define their
territorial jurisdictions, and determine the number of delegates for each based
on population, fund campaign potentials and service needs. This shall include
the organization of Councils in all public schools and universities to promote
civic consciousness among the youth. Participation in the Philippine Red Cross
as part of the National Service Training Program for tertiary level students
shall also be promoted.
(g)The Philippine
Red Cross shall, at the end of every calendar year, submit to the President of
the Philippines an annual report containing its activities and showing its
financial condition.
Section 8. Unlawful Solicitation. - It shall be unlawful for any
person to solicit, collect or receive money, materials or property of any kind
by falsely representing himself to be a member, agent
or representative of the Philippine Red Cross.
Section 9. Red Cross Name and Emblem. - The use of the name Red Cross
is reserved exclusively to the Philippine Red Cross and the use of the emblem
of the Red Greek Cross on a white ground is reserved exclusively to the
Philippine Red Cross, medical services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
and such other medical facilities or other institutions as may be authorized by
the Philippine Red Cross as provided under Article 44 of the Geneva
Conventions. It shall be unlawful for any other person or entity to use the
words red cross or Geneva Cross or to use the emblem of the Red Greek Cross on
a white ground or any designation, sign or insignia constituting an imitation
thereof for any purpose whatsoever.
Section 10. Penal Clause. - Any person, whether natural or juridical,
violating any section of this Act shall, upon conviction therefore, be liable
to a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00)
or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one (1) year, or both, at the
discretion of the court for each and every violation. In case the violation is
committed by a corporation or an association, the penalty shall devolve upon
the president, director or any other officer responsible for such violation.
Section 11. Repealing Clause. - Republic Act No. 95, as amended, is
hereby repealed. All other laws or parts thereof, decrees, orders, rules and
regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.
Section 12. Separability Clause. - If
any provision of this Act is declared invalid, the remainder of this Act or any
provision not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 13. Effectivity. - This Act
shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official
Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Approved,
(Sgd.)
PROSPERO C. NOGRALES |
(Sgd.)
JUAN PONCE ENRILE |
This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill
No. 3285 and House Bill No. 6509 was finally passed by the Senate and the House
of Representatives on November 17, 2009 and February 1, 2010, respectively.
(Sgd.)
EMMA LIRIO-REYES |
(Sgd.)
MARILYN B. BARUA-YAP |
Approved: APR 20 2010
(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President of the Philippines