fate of this request was uncertain for several months. President Marcos, elected in the fall of the year, had been explicit on the subject of Vietnam aid some months earlier. Only after he had studied the situation did he modify his position by saying, "No, I will not send, I will not permit the sending of any combat forces. But I will get behind the idea of sending a civic action force." Once again the task force concept was modified to make the final product a mixture of an engineer construction battalion and medical and civic action teams with their own security support.
During the first half of 1966 President Marcos pressed for passage of a bill based on the civic action task force concept that permitted the force to be sent to South Vietnam. The legislation also provided for an allocation of funds for this purpose up to thirty-five million pesos ($8,950,000). The bill easily passed the House of Representatives but encountered opposition in the Philippine Senate. After much debate, delay, and extra sessions, the Senate passed the bill on 4 June by a vote of fifteen to eight. The bill was then referred to a joint House and Senate conference committee where it stayed until 9 June; President Marcos signed it on 18 June. The bill permitted the dispatch of a 2,000-man civic action group consisting of an engineer construction battalion, medical and rural community development teams, a security battalion, a field artillery battery, a logistics support company, and a headquarters element. The force was to undertake socio-economic projects mutually agreed upon by the Philippines and South Vietnam.
The preamble of the bill clearly stated the reasons for the decision of the Philippine Congress to expand the Philippine people's commitment in South Vietnam. Similar sentiments were contained in a statement by President Marcos who said: "I repeat that if we send engineers to Vietnam this will be because we choose to act on the long-held convictions of the Philippine people, that the option for liberty must be kept for every nation, that our own security requires that democracy be given the chance to develop freely and successfully in our own part of the world."
Not discounting these patriotic motives, it must be pointed out that in return for Philippine support the U.S. Military Assistance Program granted aid to the Philippines in those areas suggested by President Marcos. Included were four river patrol craft for antismuggling operations, M14 rifles and machine guns for one constabulary battalion combat team, and equipment for three engineer battalions. This aid was in addition to the previous commitments for one destroyer escort and several other patrol craft. Also being considered was the provision of one F-5
