38 U.S.C. § 107 — Certain service deemed not to be active service

(a) Service before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the Philippine Commonwealth — while those forces served under the U.S. Armed Forces under the President's July 26, 1941 military order, including recognized guerrilla units — does not count as active military, naval, or air service. That means it does not trigger the rights, privileges, or benefits that other U.S. laws give based on a person's own service or a relative's service in the Armed Forces. There are exceptions: this service does still count for (1) National Service Life Insurance contracts entered into before February 18, 1946; (2) chapter 10 of title 37; and (3) chapters 11, 13 (except section 1312(a)), 23, and 24 (as far as section 2402(a)(8) covers) of this title. Except where subsection (c) or (d) says otherwise, payments under those chapters are made at 50 cents for every dollar normally authorized, and any income limit that affects eligibility is applied at 50 cents on the dollar too. Any payments already made before February 18, 1946, under laws that assumed this service counted, stay valid — they aren't undone just because the service technically wasn't Armed Forces service. (b) Service in the Philippine Scouts under section 14 of the Armed Forces Voluntary Recruitment Act of 1945 also does not count as active military, naval, or air service for benefits the Secretary administers, except for (1) National Service Life Insurance contracts entered into before May 27, 1946, or made under section 620 or 621 of the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940, or under section 1922 of this title; and (2) chapters 11, 13 (except section 1312(a)), 23, and 24 (as far as section 2402(a)(8) covers) of this title. Again, except where subsection (c) or (d) applies, those payments are made at 50 cents on the dollar, with income limits applied the same way. (c) For certain benefits under chapter 11 (subchapters II and IV) and chapter 13 (subchapter II, except section 1312(a)) paid because of the service described in (a) or (b), the 50-cents-on-the-dollar rule does not apply if the person lives in the United States and is either a U.S. citizen or a lawfully admitted permanent resident. (d) For chapter 23 benefits, the 50-cents-on-the-dollar rule also does not apply to a person described in paragraph (2). That covers someone whose (a)-type service ended in death after November 1, 2000, or whose (b)-type service ended in death after the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 became law — if, on the date of death, that person (A) was a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted permanent resident, (B) lived in the United States, and (C) either (i) was receiving compensation under chapter 11, or (ii) would have received a pension under section 1521 without being cut off under section 1522, if their service had counted as active service.