HEADQUARTERS

ARMY RESERVE COMMAND

Camp Riego de Dios, Tanza, Cavite

AFP HISTORY

Ms ARRIANE GAY P LUNA (CE)

Writer/Researcher
“History cannot give us a program
for the future, but it can give us a
fuller understanding of ourselves,
and of our common humanity, so
that we can better face the future.”
--Robert Penn Warren
 SCOPE
• Battle of Mactan
• The home ground informal military consciousness
during the uprising against Spain
• Filipinos in Spanish military arm service
•  The first formal truly Filipino military
organization
• The Commonwealth Army (1935-1945)
• World War II
• The Army of the Third Republic (1946-1972)
• The martial law years and the fourth
republic (1972-1986)
• The Fifth Republic
• Attempted coups
• AFP towards the 21st Century – Ramos
Administration
 OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, the students are
expected to:
•Refresh their minds on the specific details on
the history of the Philippines
•Understand the events that led to the
establishment of the Army and the AFP
•Appreciate the lessons presented by the
events that transpired in the past
Battle of Mactan

The Life of Ferdinand Magellan

Lapu-lapu’s Resistance to Spanish rule
The battle between the native Filipinos and Magellan and his men
 The home ground informal military
consciousness during the uprising against Spain

• Units were formed on geographical or

clan basis
• The units have little training, poorly
armed, and lacking in tactical
leadership, organization and logistical
support
• Significant of all uprising is the
Dagohoy rebellion which lasted for Francisco Sendrijas

almost 85 years
 Filipinos in Spanish Military Arm Service

• Spaniards applied the strategy of conquer-divide-rule

The first formal truly Filipino Military

Organization
• The Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan
ng mga anak ng bayan (KKK) was established
• The revolutionary government was organized in the
Tejeros Convention in 1897
• The designation of GENERAL ARTEMIO
RICARTE as the FIRST CAPTAIN (Commanding
General) of the revolution and
• General Antonio Luna as Minister of War and
Director of Operations on March 22, 1897 were
among the agreed appointments
• Provisions were made for the formalization of
Artillery, Cavalry, Ordnance, Commissary,
Quartermaster, Signal, Medical and Dental Services
• The infant Philippine Army had its baptism of fire as
an Army of the independent republic during the war
against America on February 4, 1899.
• The Americans considered the surrender of General
Miguel Malvar of Batangas as the end of the
Philippine campaign, however, Filipino resistance
continued even up to 1910.
• Gen Ricarte died in 1945 still a defiant patriot
• Others who continued to resist were Macario Sakay
and Gen Simeon Ola
• After 1910, serious armed resistance declined and PA
had ceased to exist as coherent fighting force.
 The Commonwealth Army (1935-1945)

• The Commonwealth of the Philippines

was inaugurated in 1935 with the
passing of the Tydings-McDuffie Law
in 1934.
Sen. Millard Tydings

• The PA of the Commonwealth was

reactivated on Jan 11, 1936 with Phil
Constabulary elements as its nucleus.

Sen. John McDuffie

• Retired American Gen Douglas MacArthur acted as
adviser of the reconstituted Philippine Army who was
made as a Field Marshal of the Commonwealth on June
19, 1936
• President Quezon hoped that MacArthur’s stature and
influence on the US gov’t will result favorable actions
as to the availability of defense equipment and special
procurement prices for other items but it did not
materialize
• US Pres Franklin Roosevelt called into the services of
2 regular and 10 reserve divisions of PA to be part of
USAFFEE on July 26, 1941
 World War II
• WW II broke out in the Phils when the Japanese
bombed various targets in the country on Dec 8, 1941
• The country was left open for invasion after the
destruction of the American Naval Fleet in Hawaii and
the US Army Air Corps in the Phils
• The Japanese 14th Army under Gen Homma landed in
Lingayen, Pangasinan on Dec 10, 1941
• MacArthur implemented an old Naval Defense Plan
Orange-3
• The failure of all defense plans led to the infamous
Death March
 The Army of the Third Republic (1946-1972)
• PA was in a semi-chaotic state after the war
• President Manuel Roxas recognized the Armed Forces by
issuing E.O Nr 92 dated October 4, 1947
• Army was renamed the Armed Forces of the Philippines
with its Headquarters called the National Defense Forces
• Four military areas were activated replacing the 10
military districts of the Pre-War years on May 6, 1948
• The military trng cmd, the offshore patrol, and the air
corps were elevated to major commands
• In 1950, 7 Army Commands and 26
battalion Combat Teams (BCTs) were Korean War

organized
• Five of these BCTs took turns in
serving with the Phil Expeditionary
Forces to Korea (PEFTOK)
• President Quirino issued E.O Nr 359
which provides for the creation of the 4
major services of the AFP
• The Scout Rangers were organized by
then Cpt Rafael Ileto to face the HUK
communist
• The first Scout Ranger Regiment was
deactivated in 1959 because the need for
the Scout Rangers no longer existed
• The HPA was organized with BGen
Lencio Tan as CG, PA on July 1, 1957
• In the late 1960s, PA was utilized as a
National Defense Force and as a nation-
builder
• The Army Corps of Engrs with the 51st
Engr Bde as the nucleus was organized
in the early 1970s
• The ugliest episode involving the
military was the infamous Jabidah
massacre in 1968
• For the period, PA has one regular
division which is the 1st Infantry
(TABAK) Division, three
independent brigades which are the
2nd, 4th, and 5th Brigades, a
supporting Anti-Tank, Artillery
and independent Armor Company Coat of Arms of the 1
st

Inf (TABAK) Div

size units
The Martial Law Years and the Fourth Republic
(1972-1986)
• President Marcos proclaimed Martial Law all over the
country on Sept 21, 1972
• Due to the threats of insurgency of NPA and MNLF,
Marcos expanded the Army from 29, 000 in 1972 to
65, 000 in 1986 and strengthened the 3 independent
brigades to full divisions
• Units like the Phil Army Light Armor Regiment later
renamed Bde was organized and the First Scout
Ranger Regiment was reactivated to enable the AFP
particularly the Army to accomplish its mission
• The early Martial Law years saw the Army fighting on
two fronts:
the secessionists in the South– mobilized reservists
the communist guerillas in the North particularly in
Isabela– best troops
• The AFP redirected its main effort to the South with the
decline of the NPA and CPP with the threat to the North
reduced
• Despite suffering 6,000 fatalities, it inflicted several
defeats to MNLF and forced it to negotiate with the
Tripoli Agreements in 1976 as the result
• The mismanagement of the economy by the Marcos
government and the excesses committed by the
members of his family and officials made the period of
stability and progress short-lived
• Unfortunately, the military especially the PC became
the primary institutions for such actions
• Military lost much of its professionalism when it fell
to the control of political General whose primary
qualification was loyalty to the administration
• The image of the AFP started to be haunted by human
rights issues especially when the chief oppositionist
to Marcos, Sen Benigno Aquino, was assassinated on
August 21, 1983 at the Manila International Airport
• During this time, the NPA regained its lost strength
reaching its zenith in 1986 with 25, 000 guerillas
from only 3, 000 in 1979
• It was this time that the professional, technical and
ethical standards of the Army fell with casualties
excising 1,000 a year for several years killing only
half as many communist guerillas
• Resentment within the military grew and the Reform
the AFP Movement (RAM) had its beginning headed
by Colonel Gringo Honasan
• SNAP election was called by President Marcos on
February 7, 1986 after 7 years as legitimate President,
9 years dictator and over 4 years authoritarian
President
• The election was chaotic and bloody and up to now
the result is an open question
• Then Defense Minister Enrile and LtGen Ramos
withdrew support to Marcos and proclaimed Corazon
Aquino as the rightful President
• Oppositionist Agapito Aquino and Manila
Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin 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 became known as EDSA PEOPLE
POWER REVOLUTION
 The Fifth Republic
• The People Power Revolution of 1986 restored the
degree of faith of Filipino people in the AFP but most
of the members of the AFP found it difficult to accept
Mrs Aquino as the President and Commander-in-
Chief
• The war against NPA is being lost and casualties
continued to mount
• To top it all, elements of the AFP were involved in
anti-government actions and there are 5 attempted
coups and 3 rebellions that were suppressed
 Attempted Coups
•Manila Hotel incident (July 7, 1986)
•GOD SAVE THE QUEEN incident (November 1986)
•Channel 4 incident (January 1987)
•August 28, 1987 Coup
•December 1-9, 1989 Coup
Pocket Rebellion by military elements
•Black Forest incidents (April 1987)
•Aguinaldo Caper (March 4, 1990)
•Noble Uprising (October 1990)
•The establishment of the PNP
 AFP Towards the 21st Century-Ramos Administration
• Under the amnesty program in the supervision of the
National Amnesty Commission, amnesty was offered
to civilian rebels to return to the folds of law and for
reinstatement for those in the military
• During this time, the AFP is modernizing its
administrative system with the introduction and use
of computers in a massive scale and the updating of
its training and education programs
• Needed weapons and equipment were given priority
to be procured
• As a senior major service branch of the AFP, PA
remains a conventional military force with infantry,
artillery and armor as its major arms, supported by
the engineers and service support
• Its organizations are divisions, brigades and
battalions
• Its weapons range from scorpion light tanks to
armored personnel carrier and various artillery pieces
to M14 and M16
• Its tactics evolved along the unconventional warfare
based on lessons from the Vietnam War while others
from local experiences
 The history of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines is the depiction of the fighting
traditions of the Filipinos. It is a record of
their bravery, sacrifices and their undaunted
and persistent struggle to defend our
country’s freedom.