AFP History and Organization
AFP History and Organization
AFP History and Organization
Filipinos have never been known as militaristic people unlike the Japanese,
Germans, Mexicans or Pakistanis, although many historians noted the fact that the early
Filipinos were described as warlike. But being warlike is different from being militaristic.
In any event, Filipinos, by nature, are non-conformist individuals who are likely to resist
regimentation. If forced to do so, they resort to ridiculing the authorities that try to
enforce such compliance. This is both a boon and bane to the Filipino character. By
being individualistic, Filipinos place a higher value on the individual human life and his
rights. On the other hand, such an attitude erodes discipline, which is a vital pre-
requisite for the evolution of nationhood.
When the Spaniards first came to the Philippines on March 16, 1521, they tried
to establish dominion over our ancestors. Some of the tribes and chieftains submitted
after they were given an impressive demonstration of Spanish firepower. When the
Mactan Chieftain Lapu-Lapu refused to pay homage, the Portuguese leader of the
Spanish expedition Captain-General Ferdinand Magellan on April 26, Lapu-Lapu and his
strong warriors numbering 1,500 defeated the over confident Magellan with his 60
Spanish soldiers supported by mortar fire, shipborne cannon fire and the presence of
1,500 warriors from Rajah Humabon, although it should be pointed out that Rajah
Humabon’s warrior did not participate in the battle in accordance with Magellan’s order.
The latter was killed along with 8 of his men and 4 Christian native auxiliaries while
Lapu-Lapu lost at least 15 men. This was the first recorded-armed encounter involving
Filipinos.
The Spaniards were forced to leave the island when their abuses forced even
their friends to abandon them but they came in February 1570 in an expedition under
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, Andres de Urdaneta and Martin de Goiti, who were joined
later by Legazpi’s grandson, Juan de Salcedo. They led the Spanish forces in subduing
one tribe kingdom after another. In 1570 and 1571, De Goiti attacked and destroyed
the huge settlements of Maynilad (Manila) under Rajah Sulaiman and Rajah Lakandula,
eventually making Manila the capital of the New Spanish Colony of the Philippine Island.
In conquering the islands, the Spaniards employed the proven policy of conquer- divide-
rule and recruiting warriors from the tribes. They used this to subdue other tribes,
repeating the process in other parts of the Archipelago. Ironically, the enlistment of
native Filipinos for Spanish service was the first formal military service rendered by
Filipinos. An informal military aspect also emerged simultaneously with numerous
uprising against Spain.
The various uprising against Spain necessitated the formation of military units
although there was limited information about them. But it is most likely that these units
were formed on geographical or clan basis. Thus villages involved in these uprising
formed units of their own commanded by the village leaders or other appointed or
elected leaders. These units have sub-units formed according to clans or blood
relations. For the most part, they have little training, poorly armed and lack tactical
leadership, organization and logistical support. The only thing they have was abundant
of courage. Because of this shortcoming, the superior arms of the Spaniards and the
inability of the different tribes to unite, these uprising failed. One of the few exceptions
is the Dagohoy rebellion in Bohol, which lasted for 85 years from 1744 to 1829.
Dagohoy rose up against Spaniards when Spanish Jesuit priest refused church
burial to his brother who died in the service of the Church. Rallying 3,000 Boholanos, he
defeated every expedition that the Spanish authorities in Manila sent against him. Bohol
at that time existed as a virtually independent state. Even long after he died, the
Boholanos continued the successful resistance against Spain. Looking at these events in
hindsight, we can deduce that Dagohoy is more than a charismatic and effective leader.
He is also an able organizer. He motivated others to work in organizing his forces. In
that way, these were institutionalized such that they continued to fight effectively long
after he died. In this event, we can surmise that we have one of the first institution-
oriented military organizations in our history.
Very early in their rule, the Spaniards realized that they need the help of the
native Filipinos if they are to keep themselves in power. As stated earlier, they sought
to do this by the policy of conquer-divide-rule. Subsequently, the Spaniards recruited
large number of Filipinos for military service either as auxiliaries, infantry of support
forces. These recruits proved to be a great value to them as they conquered the entire
archipelago, and later beat off the attacks of foreign powers that tried to seize this
island.
Later, the Filipinos also accounted for the larger components of Spanish
expeditions to the Moluccas, Celebes (Now Suluwasi, Indonesia) and Papua (Now Papua
New Guinea and Irian Java, Indonesia) in the 19 th century and Cambodia and Formosa
in the 19th century. Some of the Filipino elements of the Spanish expeditions that came
to the aid of the Cambodian King remained in the latter’s service in all these. The
Filipinos distinguished themselves by their courage, loyalty and leadership talents such
that some native Filipinos like Pedro Cabinet who led one of the columns against
Dagohoy forces, rose to senior ranks despite the unofficial Spanish policy of allowing
the Filipinos to rise the rank of senior sergeants only. Of particular interest was the
formation of 73 native regiments. At the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution, Spain
had 1,500 Spanish troops in the Philippines augmented by 6,000 native soldiers.
After 323 years of Spanish rule, the pent-up feelings against the oppressive
foreigners exploded in the Phil revolution of 1896. The Filipino army of this revolution
was drawn from the ranks of the secret society founded by Andres Bonifacio. The
KATAAS-TAASAN KAGALANG-GALANGAN KATIPUNAN NG ANAK NG MGA ANAK NG
BAYAN (KKK). This army is not much different from the earlier uprising against Spain in
terms of organization, weapons, training and battlefield tactical leadership. However,
the main difference is that this army is truly national in character and not of the native
class, tribe, geography or blood relation but on love of the native land. Its members
were drawn from the entire spectrum of the Filipino people composed of native Indo-
Malays, Chinese immigrants and Spanish creoles and other half-breeds. This sense of
national unity gave this army the strength but of proportion to its members for actual
combat power.
As the revolution progressed, the need for a more formal military organization
came to the force and the first units were formed according to provinces with the
educated members of those areas as the leaders. The revolution is acknowledged to
have 2 phases.
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1. The peasant-initiated revolution spearheaded by the Katipunan up to the time
of the Biak-na-Bato Pack.
Admittedly, the military organization of the second phase is much more formal
and much better than those of the first phase.
In between these phases, there was a power struggle between the Magdiwang
faction of Bonifacio and the Magdalo faction of Aguinaldo. This was resolved with the
execution of Bonifacio on charges filed by some misguided supporters of Aguinaldo,
Hence forth, there was to be only one chain of command in the revolutionary army.
The infant Philippine Army had its baptism of fire as the army of an independent
republic during the war against America on February 4, 1899. The army about 30,000
men whom 16,000 were fully armed except 26,000 poorly armed militia. The
Americans at first had about 26,000 men in two divisions. Better armed, trained
organized and supplied. The Americans pushed back the Filipinos switched to guerilla
warfare when the regular army disintegrated. The Americans, in spite of several
battlefield victories and greatly strengthened force (70,000), could not win the war and
resorted to extreme brutality and savagery that exceeded the cruelties displayed by
their Spanish predecessors specially in areas where Filipino guerilla units were most
effective. Eventually, the Americans grouped down the revolutionary forces, which was
hastened by the capture of President Aguinaldo in 1901. The Americans considered the
surrender of General Miguel Malvar of Batangas as the end of Philippine campaign.
Other leaders emerged, usually from the local origins, which marked the 1901 to
1910 as COLORUM movements.
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THE COMMONWEALTH ARMY (1935-1945)
With the passing of the Tyding-McDuffle Law in 1934, the Commonwealth of the
Philippine was inaugurated in 1935. This form of government is to be a transitory one
that will last for 10 years which will give way to full independence in 1945. The first
law passed by this government was the Commonwealth (National Defense) Act Nr 1
CIRCA 1935. This act provides for the establishment of the National Defense Forces.
To act as the adviser of the reconstituted Philippine Army is the retired American
General Douglas McArthur who made a Field Marshall of the Commonwealth on June 19
1936. Gen. McArthur originally envisioned an aggressive defense to carry out on the
landing beaches with air and naval forces interdicting the invading enemy forces then
hitting him with strong land forces when he landed on the beach.
President Quezon hoped that McArthur’s stature and influence on the American
government will result to favorable actions by the U.S government with regard to the
availability of defense equipment and special procurement prices for other items but
this did not materialize. With the lack of funds from the Commonwealth and support
form the U.S Congress, the Philippine Defense program stagnated so that instead of
25,000 men, 200 Aircraft, 50 Naval craft, 2 Submarines and Artillery, Anti-Aircraft and
Armor Units, the Commonwealth Armed Forces only have 2 under-equipped regular
divisions totaling 100,000 troops, 18 assorted aging aircraft of the Army Air Corps, 3
Patrol Boats of the Army off-shore patrol, limited Artillery and Anti-Aircraft capability
and Armor. The 10 Reserve Divisions were drawn from 10 Military Districts in which the
Philippines divided.
On July 26, 1941, U.S President Franklin Delano Roosebelt called into the
services of the U.S Army the 2 Regular and 10 Reserve Divisions of the Phil Army to
become part of the US Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). The following day, the
different Regiments of these Reserve Divisions were called to active status and training
began at earliest time.
WORLD WAR II
The Japanese Commander LtGen Masahuro Homma failed to appreciate the Filipino-
American withdrawal to Bataan and was forced to fight the Battle of Bataan from
January 9 to April 19, 1942. Initially suffering a series of defeats on the Peninsula from
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January to early February, the Japanese launched their final assault on the Fil-Am
forces and forced the American commander MGen Edward P King to surrender on April
9, A follow-up aerial and artillery bombardment of Corregidor Island culminating in an
amphibious landing forced the American commander LtGen Jonathan Wainwright to
surrender the Corregidor Garrison on May 6 1942, About 70,000 Filipino and 15,000
American troops were taken prisoner in Bataan and made to undergo the now-infamous
death march while another 16,000 Americans and 2,000 Filipinos were captured in
Corregidor. In surrendering the Corregidor Garrison, Wainwright also directed the
surrender of the Fil-Am Forces in the Visayas and Mindanao.
After the war, the Philippine Army was in a semi-chaotic state with a variety of
units and agencies headed by officers with limited qualifications and armed with
weapons and equipment either captured from the Japanese or given by the Americans.
To restore some order, these disparate units were merged into five divisions and the
general and special staffs as well as the air corps and offshore patrol were organized.
The first President of the third Republic Manuel Rosa recognized the Armed
Forces by issuing Executive Order Nr 92 dated October 4, 1947. The Army was renamed
the Armed Forces of the Philippines and its Headquarters called the National Defense
Forces. On May 6,1948, 4 military areas were activated replacing the 10th Military
Districts of the Pre-War years. On the same date, the military training command, the
off-shore patrol and the air corps were elevated to major commands designated
respectively as the Philippine Ground Force, The Philippine Naval Patrol and the
Philippine Air Force.
On July 1, 1957, HPA was organized with BGen Leoncio Tan as Commanding
General. In the late 1960’s the Army was also utilized as a National Defense Force and
as nation-builder. Subsequently, the Army Corps of Engineers with the 51 st Engineer
Brigade as nucleus was organized by the early 1970’s, the Army have one Regular
Division (1st “TABAK” Division), and three (3) independent brigades (2 nd, 4th and 5th) as
well as supporting Anti-Tank, Artillery and independent Armor company size units.
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Perhaps the ugliest episode involving the military during this period was the
infamous Jabidah Massacre of 1968. The Army Special Forces recruited scores of
Muslims for special training in Corregidor. Unknown to these recruits, they were being
projected for clandestine operations in Sabah, Malaysia in order to undermine Malaysian
control and to Buttress the country’s claim to that area. When the recruits learned
about this, they refused to be involved in any project involving any fighting with fellow
Muslims. No one can specifically pinpoint who gave the order but the fact is their
Special Forces cadres mercilessly massacred these recruits. Only one escaped and he
lived to tell the tale to congress and to the world.
On September 21, 1972, President Marcos proclaimed a state of Martial Law all
over the country. He dissolved Congress, imprisoned his political opponents and
concentrated all power in his hands using the police and military to do so. He justified
his actions by claiming that the country is facing moral degeneration, its political
institutions riddled with corruption and a serious communist challenge as evidenced by
their attempted arms landing in Palanan, Isabela using the now infamous seagoing
vessel M/V Karagatan. Faced with this serious resurgent of communist insurgency led
by the New People’s Army (NPA) and a Muslim-dominated secessionist movement under
the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), Marcos expanded the Army from 29,000 in
1972 to 65,000 in 1986 and strengthened the 3 independent brigades to full divisions.
During this time, several units were activated to enable the Armed Forces and
particularly the Army to accomplish its given missions. The Philippine Army Light Armor
Regiment (PALAR, later renamed as a Brigade hence PALAB) was organized and the
First Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR) was reactivated.
The early Martial Law years saw the Army fighting on two fronts. The Army then
decided to hold the secessionist in the South with mobilized reservists while their best
troops were pitted against the communist guerillas in north particularly in Isabela. With
the capture and neutralization of their prominent leaders like NPA Chief Bernabe
Buscayno a.k.a. Dante and Jose Maria Sison, Communists Party of the Philippines (CPP)
Chairman, the communist insurgency declined for few years. With the threat to the
North reduced, the AFP redirected its main effort to the South, and despite suffering
6,000 fatalities, inflected several defeats on the MNLF forcing it to negotiate with the
Tripoli Agreements of 1976 as the result.
The period of stability and progress was short lived, however. The
mismanagement of the economy by the Marcos government and the excesses
committed by the members of his family and officials led to growing unrest and the
government found it expedient to use more repressive measures. Unfortunately for the
military and especially for the constabulary, these institutions became the primary
instruments for such actions. Moreover, the military lost much of its professionalism
when it fell to the control of political General whose primary qualification was loyalty to
the administration.
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lost strength and grew by leaps and bounds reaching its zenith in 1986 with 25,000
guerillas from only 3,000 in 1979. It was at this time that professional, technical and
ethical standards of the Army fell drastically with casualties excising 1,000 a year for
several years while killing only half as many communist guerillas. This is primarily
because several commanders were promoted and designated to their positions on the
basis of their loyalty and not their qualifications. Resentment within the military grew
and such environment, the reform the AFP movement (RAM) had its beginning, headed
by Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile’s security Chief Colonel Gregorio “Gringo”
Honasan, it actively sought the discontinuation of corrupt practices in the AFP although
most part, these reform adherent are themselves accountable for some questionable of
their own.
Oppositionist Agapito Aquino, brother of the slain Senator and Manila Archbishop
Jaime Cardinal Sin joined the fray when they publicly urged the people to surround the
Camps in order to protect the Enrile and Ramos forces from Marcos troops using their
bodies. Thus what later came to be known as the EDSA PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION.
The commander of what later came to be called as Marcos loyalist forces was BGen
Artemio Tadiar of the Philippine Marines. As his marines advanced, they were blocked
by masses of civilian and Gen. Tadiar found it impossible either to advance or fire over
the heads of the people. Other forces moving into positions were similarly blocked.
Meanwhile, small groups of officers and soldiers were making their way to Camp Crame
in order to defect to the Enrile-Ramos forces (by this time, the Enrile-Ramos troops
consolidated at the PC/INP Headquarters). A planeload of PC/INP personnel flew to the
Manila Domestic Airport to join Gen. Ramos was surrounded and disarmed. The tide
turned on February 24, 1986 when a fight of several Sikorsky Gunships who are
ordered to strafed Camp Crame landed on the said camp and defected instead. Military
support for Marcos eroded swiftly and accepted the U. S. offer to fly him out of
Malacanang Palace. He was eventually forced into exile in Hawaii where he died in
1989. It was the most bloodless “REVOLUTION” his history.
The period following the departure of Marcos and Gen. Ver were the most
confusing in the AFP History. The people Power Revolution of 1986 restored great
degree of the faith of FILIPINO PEOPLE in the AFP, but most of the members of the
AFP, although they refused to obey Marcos order to attack and shed the People’s blood,
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nevertheless found it extremely difficult to accept Mrs. Aquino as President and
Commander-In-Chief matters were made worse by agitators elements, many of them
identified with Marcos loyalist, who stoked fires of discontent. The military is in state of
painful transition and wracked by internal wrangling. The war against NPA is being lost
and casualties continued to mount. Top it all, elements of the AFP were involved in
Anti-Government actions and between February 25, 1986 to the end of Mrs. Aquino
term on June 30, 1992, no less than five (5) attempted coups and three (3) rebellions
had to be suppressed.
ATTEMPTED COUPS
Manila Hotel incident (July 7, 1986) – Active and former military personnel led by
BGen Jose Maria Carlos Zumel and Marcos running-mate Arturo Tolentino, supported by
Pro-Marcos civilians occupied Manila Hotel and tried to stage a people power revolution
of their own but failed only after a few days. A controversial outcome of this incident is
the way that AFP Chief of Staff General Ramos “Punished” the Military participants in
this action by merely making personnel who were involved in this serious offense set
bad precedent and only encouraged others to get themselves involved in similar
undertakings.
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN incident (November 1986) – Defense Minister Enrile is
grossly dissatisfied with the way President Aquino is managing the country particularly
her reported “Coddling” of communist sympathizers. His security Chief Colonel Honasan
hatched a plan to take over the Government and reduce President Aquino to mere
figure with Minister Enrile as the real power. AFP Chief of Staff Fidel V Ramos prevented
this and the attempt was never made.
Channel 4 incident (January 1987) – Colonel Canlas of the PAF tried to mount a
coup and occupied the Government Channel 4 Station. Thousand of pro-Ramos civilians
including some movie stars like Miss Elizabeth Oropesa rallied Col. Canlas in the hope
that AFP will defect to them but after 2 days of stalemate, the actions fizzled out and
the participants surrendered to the government forces.
August 28, 1987 Coup – This daylong rebellion was planned and carried out by
Colonel Honasan and supported by RAM troops and elements of the Army Scout
Rangers and other AFP Units. The rebel’s soldiers occupied the GHQ Building and parts
of Camp Aguinaldo. Government Forces attacked and recaptured the Camp but GHQ
building was destroyed by F-5 jets and Trojan (Tora-Tora) attack aircraft. About 90
people were killed and twice as many wounded in this attempted coup. By the late
afternoon, it was all over. Perhaps the most surprising development of this incident is
the realization that discontent in the AFP is widespread judging by the number of the
AFP units that began unauthorized movements towards Manila, ostensibly to reinforce
the government forces suspected by the intelligence community as actually secret
sympathizers to the rebels.
December 1- 9, 1989 COUP – This is the bloodiest and most serious challenge
ever faced by the government from discontented military elements. Participation by AFP
personnel and units was widespread and action broke-out simultaneously in different
locations all over the country with more serious ones in Metro Manila and Mactan Air
Base in Cebu. Involved were several Scout Ranger, Infantry and Armor Units, Marines,
Airforce Pilots and Planes and Navy Units. Several active Generals and Flag Officers
were also involved. Malacanang Palace itself was bombed 11:00 a.m. RAM-SFP (Reform
the Armed Forces Movement later renamed Rebulosyonaryong Alyansang Makabayan-
Soldiers of the Filipino People) air assets controlled the air over Metro Manila and Y. O.
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U. (Young Officers Union) Officer leading the coup sent an ultimatum to President
Aquino to surrender but the President refused. At 2:00 p.m., U. S. Air Force F4
Phantom Jets made several "Persuasion Flights" thereby discouraging RAM-SFP planes
from flying missions over the capital. The PAF F-5 pilots loyal to the government who
were unable to take action against their former comrades now tool the air and
destroyed the RAM-SFP planes on the ground at Sangley Point while these were being
refueled and re-armed. Control of the air reverted back to the government forces.
1. Black Forest Incidents (April 1987) - Former military personnel hijacked a fire
truck and rammed the Army detention center near gate 1 of Ft Bonifacio and set some
of their comrades free. Later they occupied HPA and took several officers and EP as
hostages. Refusing to surrender, The Commanding General, Phil Army MGen Rodolfo
Canieso ordered the 4th Scout Ranger Coy to storm HPA and recapture it, which they did
with minimal casualties on both sides. Only one Black Forest soldier was killed and a
few men wounded.
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made it into a doctrine called Special Operation Team (SOT) concept. In this concept,
Cogmon proposed to reverse the military approach to the insurgency problem by
destroying the political structure first to be followed by destroying the military capability
of the insurgents instead of the other way around. First implemented in 4ID by an
initially skeptical BGen Mariano Adalem, it was a resounding success. When Adalem
became CG, PA he institutionalized the SOT Concept and implemented the doctrine
through out the Army. It was the beginning of the end for the NPA as its combat
strength sharply declined from 25,000 in 1987 to 6,000 in 1995 and the number of
barangays influenced by them fell drastically.
CONCLUSION:
Ten years after the EDSA revolution, the AFP has regained prestige and
credibility in the eyes of the people and government. The rebellions and the Human
Rights issues were slowly being resolved. The communist challenge has been beaten
back and the greater discipline and professionalism repeatedly displayed by the
members of the military establishment has earned admiration from critical observers
both here and abroad. Of course the AFP is still faced with serious problems such as
organization, equipment, pay and allowances, facilities, training and more effective
leadership especially at the tactical level. But with greater awareness and a higher
sense of duty among the military, we are confident that we are on the right path
towards the achievement of modern, effective, professional and truly popular Armed
Forces of the people.
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