William Cohen at the Camp Aguinaldo Grandstand and Parade Ground. Camp Aguinaldo was established on January 11, 1935, as Camp Murphy, including
Zablan Field, which acted as an
airstrip. It was then part of
San Juan,
Rizal. It was named in honor of the first
American High Commissioner to the Philippines Frank Murphy. It was renamed Camp General
Emilio Aguinaldo in 1965, after the first president of the Philippines. The
Philippine Constabulary General Service Battalion was the first to use the camp in January 1935. In December of that year, the National Defense Act paved the way for the formation of the
Philippine Army. It also designated the
Philippine Constabulary as the Army Constabulary Division, After
World War II, Camp Murphy was divided into two camps—
Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo. The Zablan Field's former Japanese runways now forms the roads of White Plains Avenue and a portion of Katipunan Avenue, just in front of White Plains subdivisions. The camp was transferred to the jurisdiction of
Quezon City in 1941, and briefly became part of the
City of Greater Manila, resulting from Quezon City's merger with Manila and several Rizal towns, from 1942 to 1945. During the
EDSA Revolution in February 1986, Camp Aguinaldo, along with
Camp Crame, were targeted by the
Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) - a cabal of disgruntled officers of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) led by RAM founder Col.
Gringo Honasan as key strategic facilities to restrict counteroffensive from Marcos-loyal troops as a part of a
coup attempt against Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, however the coup was quickly uncovered and was ultimately aborted. On November 21, 2013, Civic Groups and Volunteers were to be transferred to Camp Emilio Aguinaldo from
Villamor Air Base in Pasay. It was done to give more storage spaces for those who were part of
Oplan Salubong. All relief supports including food, medical and transportation services were to be transferred to Camp Aguinaldo together with the DSWD in the benefit of
Typhoon Yolanda survivors. In March 2019, the
DOTr announced that the
Katipunan station of the Metro Manila Subway is planned to be built underneath a portion of the camp's property, along the intersection of
Katipunan Avenue and
Col. Bonny Serrano Avenue, in order to boost property values in the area and generate investments for the government . ==Barangay==