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he Philippine Marine Corps' history unfolded during theincumbency of President Elpidio Quirino. Pursuant to AFP GeneralOrder Nr. 319 dated November 2, 1950, the organization of "A"Company, 1st Marine Battalion as a unit of the Philippine NavalPatrol was authorized and thus, the Philippine Marines was formed.However, it was under the mandate of the then Secretary of NationalDefense Ramon Magsaysay that "A" Company was activated on November 7,1950 at the Naval Operating Base in Cavite.Considering the projected dangers of its employment, only volunteerswere accepted to this special unit. Six officers and 206 enlistedpersonnel, mostly World War II veterans, formed the core of thisorganization, which eventually became the cutting edge of the ArmedForces of the Philippines. Then LTSG Manuel Gomez, a graduate ofPhilippine Military Academy Class 41 and a graduate of Armor Tactics inFort Knox Kentucky was designated as the first commanding officer. Uponhim rested the direct responsibility of training, equipping andorganizing the newly established unit.Lieutenant Gomez, in his first meeting with the staff uttered hisvision:
"The task of training this young men into Marines vested upon us: today, as we start training them,we will be striking the first hammer blow in forging the "cutting edge" of the Armed Forces." The Ex-O that time was LTJG Gregorio Lim who served as training and planning officer. The first officersincluded LTJG Fernando Nuevo, LTJG Otillo Jaro, ENS Wilfredo Agaloos, ENS Bergonio Luna, 2LtFrancisco T San Miguel and 2Lt Agapito Natividad. With everything in order, the training began andthe lives of these 1st Marine Company members were never the same again.
After barely five months of training, the unit was ordered to conductits first amphibious assault at Umiray, Quezon on April 19, 1951. Tothe disappointment of the members, however, they seized their firstbeachhead unopposed. Instead, this group of daring warriors had theirbaptism of fire on June 4 of the same year in Nueva Ecija.From the sounding of the reveille to taps, they trained and workedhard in their bid to attain the best in soldiery. When a team of U.S.Marine Drill Instructors arrived during the initial phase of thetraining, Lieutenant Gomez was asked whether the Philippine Marineswould be able to keep up with the outstanding traditions of the U.S.Marines. To this, the young Lieutenant replied:
"The Filipino Marinesdo not intend to bask on the glories earned by the Marines of other countries. When we shall finally assault some bloody beaches, we willstart our own traditions."
Since that daring act in Nueva Ecija, the Marines have never left thecombat zone. They saw action practically in all parts of the country.While engaged in fight against the Huks in Luzon, they also formeddetachments of platoon and squad size units deployed against pirates
and smugglers plying the sully sea frontiers in Mindanao and againstother lawless elements. Likewise, they were deployed in variousprovinces in Luzon and the Visayas.In due course, the need to augment the Company was realized albeitgradually. As such, on November 7, 1955, it was expanded to a battalionof two rifle companies with Headquarters and Service Company under thenLieutenant Commander Gregorio L. Lim PN as Battalion Commander. Yearslater, on November 7, 1961, the 3rd Marine Company was activated.Eventually, a Weapons Company was also activated on April 10, 1966 toprovide the necessary fire and anti-tank support for the PhilippineMarine Battalion as well as to provide ceremonial guard and security toVIP's. Two years later, the Philippine Marine Battalion was expanded toa force of nine rifle companies.In an effort to uphold the country's sovereignty over the KalayaanIsland Group (KIG), Marines were deployed in and occupied eight islandsof the KIG in 1971. The covert and highly top secret operationsignified the first use of Marines in a strategic nature. The Marinessurvived the loneliness, psychological stress, and grueling monotony ofguarding the isolated islets of which the largest is Pag-Asa Islandwith a land area of 32 hectares.The real test for the Corps came when national unrest again swept thecountry in the early 70's. The secessionist group in Mindanao deployedits troops for open hostilities against the government while thedormant communist movement in Luzon was showing indications ofresurgence. During these critical times, the people clamored for thedeployment of the Marines in their provinces to keep peace. As suchmore Marine units had to be activated and fielded to join other unitsin these areas of conflict.On February 21, 1972, the unit was re-designated as the PhilippineMarine Brigade. With the activation of the 2nd Marine Battalion LandingTeam on October 10, 1972, 12 rifle companies fielded the units.Moreover, the Headquarters Service Group and a Combat Support Groupwere activated. Commodore Rudiardo A Brown AFP was the first star rankto be addressed Commandant followed by Brigadier General Rodolfo MPunsalang AFP. Finally, on July 1, 1972, the Philippine Marine Brigadebecame a major unit of the Navy. The following year, the 3rd MarineBattalion was activated and the Marine Training Group became an adjunctto the organization.The beginning of the Muslim strife in Lanao in the middle part of1972 signified the outburst of a long Secessionist War in the Mindanao-Sulu areas. The secessionist rebellion erupted with the simultaneousattacks at Camp Amai-Pakpak in Marawi City and a PC Detachment nearPantar Bridge on October 1, 1972. A Marine contingent rushed from itsHeadquarters in Maria Cristina, Baloi, Lanao del Norte to quell theuprising. The Marines succeeded in retaking Pantar Bridge under stiffenemy resistance, then move towards Camp Amai-Pakpak to reinforce thebeleaguered PC elements. The next day, 18 Marines and eight constable,backed by two armored cars, drove on to Mindanao State University andsubsequently regained control of the campus, liberating about 200civilian hostages including a Japanese Ambassador. It was after this
incident that the 1st Provisional Tactical Battalion (PTB) in Lanao wasrecognized as an outstanding tactical unit.Notably, on June 1, 1976, the Philippine Marine Brigade and theMarine Training Group were designated as the Philippine Marines and thePhilippine Marine Training Center respectively.From 70's to the 80's, over 300 amphibious and sustained groundoperations were conducted by the Marines exacting enemy casualties inMindanao, Sulu and Palawan. Among these combat exploits were theLiberation of Marawi, Siege of Camp Seit, Battle of Punai, Battle ofSibalo Hill, Labangon Encounter, Operation "Pamukpok", Operation"Maso", Operation "Batikus", Operation "Kahil", Battle of Tarawakan andthe Battle of Karundong.The 80's saw the resurgence of communism in the country. This newdevelopment once again triggered the need to deploy more Marine unitsin communist-infested areas. This allowed the Philippine Marines toprove once more their effectiveness in winning the hearts and minds ofthe people. On June 20, 1983, during the second month of a three-monthcombat operation covering 7 provinces and 700-kilometer distance fromDavao del Norte northward to Surigao Del Sur, the 5th Marine Battaliondecimated a 70-man band of New People's Army regulars belonging to theMain Regular Guerilla Unit (MRGU) in Valencia, Bukidnoon. Thirty tworebels were killed and 21 assorted high-powered firearms recoveredwhich tremendously caused a major setback on the Local CommunistMovement. On July 3, 1984, in another major encounter, the 2nd MarineBattalion Landing Team under the 3rd Marine Brigade almost wiped-out aregular platoon in tugbok District, Davao City. Based on captured enemydocuments, the Communist in Mindanao assessed in 1983-1987 that theynever felt the pinch of the AFP operations except in those twoincidents.The 90's witnessed the emergence of a new terrorist group in Mindanao- the Abu Sayaff Group (ASG). On February 1993, the ASG hugged nationalattention when it launched a series of kidnappings in Basilan Province.Among the kidnapped victims were Father Blanco, a Claretian priest inBasilan and Luis Anthony Biel III, the 5-year old son of a transportmagnate. The 2nd Marine Brigade, then under BGEN GUILLERMO R RUIZ AFPwho was the concurrent Commander of the Basilan Island Command,launched 14 major operations that led to the escape of Father Blanco,the safe release of Biel and the capture of the ASG stronghold - CampAl-Madinah.On November 7, 1995, the Philippine Marine was renamed as thePhilippine Marine Corps, Philippine Navy. Over the years, the Corps hasevolved from a company of volunteers to three Marine Brigades and oneMarine Reserve Brigade, ten Battalion Landing Teams, a Combat SupportBrigade, one Reconnaissance Battalion, a Training Center, HeadquartersBattalion and Marine Security Escort Group.Recently, hostilities in Mindanao erupted once more and perpetratedby the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) led by Hashim Salamat. The1st Marine Brigade under BGEN EMMANUEL R TEODOSIO AFP was redeployed inCagayan de Oro City from Palawan. The brigade barely unloaded its
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