This document provides a summary of Philippine military history from the 16th century arrival of Spanish colonizers to the present day. It describes how the Philippines transitioned from informal, tribal resistance against Spain to the establishment of the first formal Filipino military organization under Andres Bonifacio in the late 19th century. It then outlines the various armed forces that existed under Spanish colonial rule, the short-lived First Philippine Republic, the American colonial period, the independent Third Republic, martial law under Marcos, and the modern Armed Forces of the Philippines after the 1986 People Power Revolution. Several coup attempts that occurred in the early years after Marcos' ouster are also briefly mentioned.

1. Philippine MilitaryHistory
I. Background
Filipinoshave neverbeenknownasmilitaristicalthoughmanyhistoriansnotedthe fact that the
earlyFilipinoswere describedaswarlike.Butbeingwarlikeisdifferentfrombeingmilitaristic.Inanyevent,
Filipinos, by nature, are non-conformist individuals who are likely to resist regimentation.
The first recorded-armed encounter involving Filipinos happened in the Battle of Mactan on
March 16, 1521 whenthe Spaniardsfirstcame tothe Philippinesandtriedtoestablishdominionoverour
ancestors. Mactan Chieftain Lapu-Lapu,with his warriors numbering 1,500, defeated the Spaniards that
was led by Magellan together with his 60 Spanish fusiliers supported by mortar fire, shipborne cannon
fire.
The Spaniardswere forcedtoleavethe islandbuttheycame backinFebruary1570 andemployed
the proven policy of divide and conquer rule by recruiting warriors from a tribe to subdue other tribes.
Ironically, the enlistment of native Filipinos for Spanish service was the first formal military service
rendered by Filipinos.
II. The Home-groundInformal MilitaryAspectsofthe UprisingagainstSpain
The various uprising against Spain necessitated the formationof military units. Villages involved
formed units of their own commanded by the village leaders or other appointed or elected leaders. For
the mostpart,theyhave little training,poorlyarmedandpoorlylackingintacticalleadershipandlogistical
support.The onlythingtheyhad was abundantcourage.Because of thisshortcoming,the superiorarms
of the Spaniards and the inabilityof the different tribes to unite, these uprisings 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 a 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. In this event, we can surmise that we have one of the first institution-oriented military
organizations in our history.
III. FilipinosinSpanishMilitaryArmService
Filipinosaccountedforthe largercomponentsof Spanishexpeditions.Atthe outbreakof the
Philippine Revolution,Spainhad1,500 Spanishtroopsinthe Philippinesaugmentedby6,000 native
soldiers.
IV. The First Formal Truly FilipinoMilitaryOrganization
After 323 years of Spanish rule, the KATAAS-TAASAN KAGALANGGALANGAN KATIPUNAN NG
ANAKNGMGA ANAKNGBAYAN (KKK)wasfoundedbyAndresBonifacio.Itsmemberswere Filipinopeople
composed of native Indo-Malays, Chinese immigrantsand Spanish creoles and other half breeds. This
sense of national unitygave this army the strength but of proportion to its members for actual combat
power.
As the revolutionprogressed,the needforamore formal militaryorganizationcame tothe force
and the first units were formed according to provinces with the educated members as the leaders. The
revolution is acknowledged to have 2 phases.

2. 1. The peasant-initiatedrevolutionspearheadedbythe Katipunanupto the time of the Biak-na-
Bato Pack.
2. The return of Aguinaldo to the proclamation of Philippine Independence of June 12, 1898.
Admittedly,the militaryorganizationof the secondphase ismuch 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
trumped up charges filed by some misguided supporters of Aguinaldo.
In the Tejeros convention of 1897, the revolutionary government was organized. Among the
agreedappointmentsisthe designationonMarch22, 1897 of General ArtemioRicarte asthe firstCaptain
(CommandingGeneral) of the revolution(Philippine) ArmywithGeneral AntonioLunaasMinisterof War
and Directorof Operations. Provisions were made forthe formalizationof variousarmsof the army such
as the Artillery, Cavalry, Ordnance, Commissary, Quartermaster, Signal, Medical and Dental Services as
well as the local Sandatahan (Militia).
The infantPhilippine Armyhaditsbaptismof fire as the army of an independentrepublicduring
the waragainstAmericaonFebruary4,1899. The armyhad about30,000 menof whom 16,000 were fully
armedexcept26,000 poorlyarmedmilitia.The Americansatfirsthadabout26,000 menintwodivisions.
Betterarmed, trained,organized andsupplied.The Americanspushed backandthe Filipinosswitchedto
guerilla warfare when the regular army disintegrated. Eventually, the Americans grouped down the
revolutionaryforces,whichwashastenedbythe capture of PresidentAguinaldoin1901. The Americans
considered the surrender of General Miguel Malvar of Batangas as the end of the Philippine campaign.
Other leaders emerged, usually from the local origins, which marked the 1901 to 1910 as COLORUM
movements.
There were nationalistmovementswhosoughtto continue the revolutioninareligiousfashion.
The term COLORUM is a corruption of the part of a prayer “DEO SECULA SECULORUM)” attracting
thousands of followers who never accepted the Americans as their new masters. After 1910, serious
armed resistance surely declined. The Philippine Army had ceased to exist as a coherent fighting force
even before that time.
V. The CommonwealthArmy (1935-1945)
Withthe passingof the Tydings-McDuffle Law in1934, the Commonwealthof the Philippine was
inauguratedin1935. The firstlawpassedbythisgovernmentwasthe Commonwealth(National Defense)
Act Nr 1 CIRCA 1935. This act provides for the establishment of the National Defense Forces.
Consequently, the Philippine Army of the Commonwealth was reactivated on Jan 11, 1936
pursuant to Executive Order Number 11 with Philippine Constabulary elements as its nucleus.Retired
American General Douglas McArthur acted as the adviser of the reconstituted Philippine Army. 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.
Withthe lackof fundsfromthe Commonwealthandsupportfromthe U.SCongress,the
Philippine Defense programstagnated.
WorldWar II
WWII broke-outinthe PhilippinesonDecember8,1941. The Japanese 14th Army underGeneral
Homma landed in Lingayen, Pangasinan on December 10. Filipino-American forces tried to halt their
advance but were unsuccessful. McArthur implemented an old Naval Defense Plan Orange –3, which

3. calledforthe concentrationof maindefenseforcestoBataan.Asa consequence,Manilawasdeclaredan
Open City and the Japanese occupied the city on January 2, 1942.
The Japanese launchedtheirfinalassaultonthe Fil-Amforcesand forcedthe American
commanderMaj. Gen.Edward PKingto surrenderonApril 9. Lt. Gen.JonathanWainwrightsurrendered
the CorregidorGarrisonon May 6 1942, About70,000 Filipinoand15,000 Americantroopswere taken
prisonerinBataan andmade to undergothe now-infamousdeathmarchwhile another16,000
Americansand2,000 FilipinoswerecapturedinCorregidor.Insurrenderingthe CorregidorGarrison,
Wainwrightalsodirectedthe surrenderof the Fil-AmForcesinthe VisayasandMindanao.
VI. The Army of the Third Republic (1946-1972)
Afterthe war,the Philippine Armywasinasemi-chaoticstate withavarietyof unitsandagencies
headed by officers with limited qualificationsand armed with weapons and equipment either captured
fromthe Japanese orgivenbythe Americans.Torestore some order,these disparate unitswere merged
into five divisions and the general and special staffs as well as the air corps and offshore patrol were
organized.
On October 4, 1947, the Army was renamed the Armed Forces of the Philippines and its
HeadquarterscalledtheNationalDefense Forces.OnMay6,1948, 4 militaryareaswere activated.Onthe
same date,the militarytrainingcommand,the off-shore patrol andthe air corps were elevatedtomajor
commands designated respectivelyas the Philippine Ground Force, The Philippine Naval Patrol and the
Philippine Air Force.
In 1950, the four major services in the AFP, namely: PHILIPPINE ARMY,
PHILIPPINECONSTABULARY,PHILIPPINENAVYandPHILIPPINE AIRFORCE
were created.
On July1, 1957, HPA was organizedwithBGenLeoncioTanas CommandingGeneral.Inthe late 1960’s
the Army wasalsoutilizedasa National Defense Force andasnation-builder.Subsequently,the Army
Corpsof Engineerswasorganizedbythe early1970’s, the Army hadone RegularDivision(1st
“TABAK”
Division),andthree (3) independentbrigades(2nd,4thand 5th) as well assupportingAnti-Tank,
ArtilleryandindependentArmorcompanysize units.
VII. The Martial Law Yearsand the Fourth Republic(1972-1986)
Marcos expanded the Army from 29,000 in 1972 to 65,000 in 1986 and strengthened the 3
independentbrigadestofulldivisions.Duringthistime,severalunitswereactivatedtoenable the Armed
Forces.The PhilippineArmyLightArmorRegiment(PALAR,laterrenamedasaBrigade hence PALAB) was
organized and the First Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR) was reactivated. The military lost much of its
professionalism when it fell to the control of a political General whose primary qualificationwas loyalty
to the administration.
Everything took a nose-dive when the Chief oppositionist to Marcos, former Senator Benigno
Aquino, was assassinated on the Tarmac of the Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983. The
tarnishedimage of the militaryduringthis periodtooktime toheal.Evennow,the AFPisstill hauntedby
HumanRightsissues.The NPAmore thanregaineditsloststrengthandgrew byleapsandboundsreaching
its zenith in 1986 with 25,000 guerillasfrom only 3,000 in 1979. It was at this time that professional,
technical and ethical standards of the Army fell drastically with casualties exceeding 1,000 a year for
several years while killing only half as many communist guerillas. This is primarily because several
commanderswere promotedanddesignatedtotheirpositionsonthe basisof theirloyaltyandnot their
qualifications.Resentment within the military grew and, in such an environment,the reform of the AFP
movement(RAM) began.HeadedbyDefense MinisterJuanPonce Enrile’ssecurityChief Colonel Gregorio

4. “Gringo”Honasan,itactivelysoughtthe discontinuationof corruptpracticesinthe AFPalthoughformost
part, these reforms are questionable on their own.
After 7 years as legitimate President, 9 years as dictator and over 4 years as authoritarian
President,Marcos bowed to international and public pressure and called for “SNAP '' electionon Feb 7,
1986 if onlyto consolidate thisrule.The oppositionralliedbehindSenatorAquino’swidow Mrs.Corazon
C. Aquino. The bloody election resulted in chaos and its result was questioned. In any case, the actual
results may have been overtaken by events when Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile tried to mount a
coup d’ etat against Marcos using the 49th IB under then Major Brillantes. The plan failed when
counterintelligence units then AFP Chief Of Staff General Favian C Ver uncovered the plot and these 2
officersanda fewotherswere arrestedonFeb22, 1986. Unformedbysympathizersthatan arrestorder
hadbeenissuedagainsthim,Enrile barricadedhimselfintheDefenseMinistryBuildinginCampAguinaldo
andsoughtthe supportof thenAFPVice Chiefof StaffandPC/INPChiefLt.Gen.FidelV Ramos.Dissatisfied
withstate affairsinthe AFP,Lt.Gen.RamosjoinedEnrile andbarricadedhimselfinsideCampCrameacross
EDSA from Camp Aguinaldo. The two leaders announced their withdrawal of support from Marcos and
proclaimed Corazon C. Aquino as the rightful President. These two only had less than 700 men behind
them.
OppositionistAgapitoAquino,brotherof the slainSenatorandManilaArchbishopJaimeCardinal
Sin joined the fray when they publicly urged the people to surround the Camps in order to protect the
Enrile andRamosforcesfromMarcostroopsusingtheirbodies.Thus,whatlatercame tobe knownasthe
EDSA PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION. The commander of what later came to be called Marcos loyalist
forces was BGen Artemio Tadiar of the Philippine Marines.As his marines advanced, they were blocked
by massesof civilians andGen.Tadiar foundit impossible eithertoadvance or fire overthe headsof the
people. Other forces moving into positions were similarly blocked. Meanwhile, small groups of officers
and soldierswere makingtheirwaytoCamp Crame inorder to defecttothe Enrile-Ramosforces(bythis
time,the Enrile-Ramostroopsconsolidatedatthe PC/INPHeadquarters).A planeloadof PC/INPpersonnel
flew to the Manila Domestic Airport to join Gen. Ramos was surrounded and disarmed. The tide turned
on February24, 1986 whena fightof several SikorskyGunshipswho were orderedtofire atCampCrame
landedon the said camp and defectedinstead.MilitarysupportforMarcos erodedswiftlyandaccepted
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” in history.
VIII. The FifthRepublic (1986 – Present)
The periodfollowingthe departure of Marcos and Gen.Ver were the most confusinginthe AFP
History. The people Power Revolution of 1986 restored great degree of the faith of FILIPINO PEOPLE in
the AFP,but mostof the membersof the AFP,althoughtheyrefusedtoobeyMarcosorder to attack and
shedthe People’sblood,neverthelessfounditextremelydifficulttoacceptMrs. AquinoasPresidentand
Commander-In-Chief matters were made worse by agitators elements, many of them identified with
Marcos loyalist,whostokedfiresof discontent.The militaryis inastate of painful transitionandwracked
by internal wrangling.The waragainst the NPA isbeinglost and casualties continue tomount.Top it all,
elements of the AFP were involved in Anti-Government actions and between February 25, 1986 to the
endof Mrs. Aquinotermon June 30, 1992, no lessthanfive (5) attemptedcoupsandthree (3) rebellions
had to be suppressed.
Attempted Coups

5. ManilaHotel incident(July7,1986) – Active andformermilitarypersonnelledbyBGenJoseMaria
Carlos Zumel and Marcos running-mate Arturo Tolentino, supported by Pro-Marcos civilians occupied
ManilaHotel and triedto stage a people powerrevolutionof theirown but failed only after a few days.
GOD SAVETHE QUEEN incident(November1986) – Defense MinisterEnrile isgrosslydissatisfied
with the way President Aquino is managing the country, particularly her reported “Coddling” of
communistsympathizers.HissecurityChief Colonel Honasanhatchedaplantotake overthe Government
andreduce PresidentAquinotomere figure withMinisterEnrileasthe real power.AFPChiefof Staff Fidel
V Ramos prevented this and the attempt was never made.
Channel4incident (January 1987) – Colonel Canlasof the PAFtriedtomountacoupandoccupied
the GovernmentChannel4Station.Thousandsof pro-RamosciviliansincludingsomemoviestarslikeMiss
ElizabethOropesaralliedCol.CanlasinthehopethatAFPwilldefecttothembutafter2daysof stalemate,
the actions fizzled out and the participants surrendered to the government forces.
August28, 1987 Coup – This daylongrebellionwasplannedandcarriedout by Colonel Honasan
and supportedbyRAMtroops and elementsof the ArmyScoutRangers andother AFPUnits.The rebel’s
soldiers occupied the GHQ Building and parts of Camp Aguinaldo. Government Forces attacked and
recaptured the Camp but the 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.
December1- 9, 1989 COUP – Thisis the bloodiestandmost seriouschallenge everfacedbythe
government from discontented military elements. Participation by AFP personnel and units was
widespreadand action broke out simultaneouslyin differentlocations all over the country with more
seriousonesinMetro Manilaand Mactan AirBase in Cebu.Involvedwere several ScoutRanger,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 at 11:00 a.m. RAM-SFP (Reform the
ArmedForcesMovementlaterrenamedRebulosyonaryongAlyansangMakabayan-Soldiersof the Filipino
People) airassetscontrolledthe airoverMetroManilaandY. O.U. (YoungOfficersUnion) Officerleading
the coup sentan ultimatumtoPresidentAquinotosurrenderbutthe Presidentrefused.At2:00 p.m.,U.
S. Air Force F4 Phantom Jets made several "persuasion flights' ' thereby discouraging RAM-SFP planes
fromflyingmissions overthe capital.The PAFF-5pilotsloyaltothe governmentwhowere unable totake
action against their former comrades now took to the air and destroyed the RAM-SFP planes on the
groundat SangleyPointwhile these were beingrefueledandrearmed.Control of the air revertedtothe
government forces.
Nevertheless,the fightingcontinuedasgovernmentandrebel forcesbattledacrossMetroManila.
Defeatedintheirattemptstotake CampAguinaldoandMalacanang,700 rebel soldiersunderLTC
Canlasfell backto the Makati financial districtafterover300 rebel Marinessurrenderedearlier.
NegotiationsinitiatedbythenPMA SuperintendentBGenArturoEnrile ledtothe ScoutRangers "March
Back" to barracks withtheirarmson December7, twodays later,the leaderof the coupinCebuBGen
Edgardo Abeninasurreptitiouslyleftthe rebel positionsinMactanand wentintohiding.The remaining
rebel forcessurrendered.Over600 personsdiedandmore thana thousandwoundedinthis
misadventure.
Pocket Rebellion by MilitaryElements

6. 1. Black ForestIncidents(April 1987) - Formermilitarypersonnel hijackedafire truck and rammed
the Army detention center near gate 1 of Fort Bonifacio and set some of their comrades free.
Later, they occupied HPA and took several officers and EPs as hostages. Refusing to surrender,
The Commanding General, Phil Army Maj. Gen. 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.
2. AguinaldoCaper(March4,1990) - FormerPCcolonel andincumbentandCagayanValleygovernor
at the time of the incident, Rodolfo Aguinaldo declared his non-recognition of Pres Aquino’s
government as legitimate government of the country. This is in reaction to the moves of the
governmenttomountlegal actionagainsthimforhisallegedinvolvementinthe Decembercoup.
Supportedbyactive andformermilitarypersonnel,native tribesmenandCAFGUmilitiamenloyal
to him,he surroundedthe hotel occupiedbythe AFPJ-7 BGenOscar Florendoandhispartywho
came to Tuguegarao to mediate with him. BGen Florendo was negotiating with Aquino's
representative at the ground floor of the hotel when a firefight broke out betweenthe rebel
elementsand the members of Florendo's party under Col.Emiliano Templo who was occupying
the second floor. Florendo was killed and the government launched a massive mopping up
operationinCagayanusingthe marinesbroughtoverfromManila.The rebel forcesdisintegrated
with minimal bloodshed and rebellion ended.
3. Noble Uprising(Oct1990) - The lastof the militarydestabilizingadventures,thenCol.Alexander
Noble escapedfromdetention,made hiswaytoMindanaoandwonoverseveral elementsof the
402nd Infantry Brigade including elements of the 23IB 2LABn, and others. The rebel forces
occupiedpart of Camp EvangelistainCagayan De Oro City.BGen Enrile again mediated,andthe
crisiswas resolvedwithNoble volunteeringtobe placedin the custody of the SND. Many of the
rebel soldiers,however,went AWOL and it was several months before they could be convinced
toreturntomilitarycontrol.AftertheNobleuprising,the AFPenteredaperiodof relativestability.
The strange thing is, while all these were happening, the Army found a way to finally stop and
turn back the communist insurgency. Major Alex B Cogmon collated the different successful
approaches by the different Army units against the CPP/NPA and made it into a doctrine called
Special OperationTeam(SOT) concept.Inthisconcept,Cogmonproposedtoreverse 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.
WhenAdalembecameCG,PA he institutionalizedthe SOTConceptandimplementedthe doctrine
throughoutthe Army.It was the beginningof the endforthe NPA as itscombat strengthsharply
declinedfrom25,000 in 1987 to 6,000 in 1995 and the numberof barangaysinfluencedbythem
fell drastically.
4. The Establishmentof the PNP - The 1987 constitutionmandatedfurtherchangesinthe structure
of the ArmedForces.The existingmilitia,the civilianHome Defenseforce,wasordereddisbanded
and wasreplacedbeginningin1988 witha new auxiliaryforce underthe directcontrol of military
regulars. More significantly, the 1987 constitution calls for the government "to establish and
maintainone police force,whichshall be national inscope andcivilianincharacter."Pursuantto
that mandate, Aquino signed a law directing that the Philippine Constabulary, one of the four
militaryservices,be combinedwiththe civilianIntegratedNational Police toformthe Philippine
National Police. The process of integrating the two organizations under a newly created
Department of Interior and Local Government began on January 1 1991.

7. At present, the Army is facing a potentially renewed threat of secession in the south. It is
brought about by greater belligerence being displayed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF),a breakawaygroup fromthe Moro National LiberationFront(MNLF),the fundamentalist
ABU SAYYAF group and the subsequent interactions by Christian vigilante groups out to protect
themselves from any outbreak of fighting. At the same time, the entire AFP is undertaking a
modernizationprogramthatwillupgrade thecountry'sexternaldefense capability.The signing of
the Peace agreementbetweenNurMisuari of the MNLFandthe Governmentof PresidentRamos
is a positive developmentalthoughitfacesconsiderable oppositionespeciallyfromthe Christian
Communities in Mindanao.
IX. Conclusion
Ten years after the EDSA revolution, the AFP has regainedprestige and credibility in the eyesof
the people andgovernment.The rebellionsandthe HumanRightsissueswere slowlybeingresolved.The
AFP surely is still faced with serious problems such as organization, equipment, pay and allowances,
facilities,trainingandmoreeffectiveleadershipespeciallyatthe tactical level.Butwithgreaterawareness
anda highersense ofdutyamongthe military,theAFPisconfidentthattheyare onthe rightpath towards
the achievement of modern, effective, professional and truly popular Armed Forces of the people.