Pre-colonial Philippines maintained local militia groups under the
barangay system. Reporting to the
datu, these groups, aside from maintaining order in their communities, also served as their defense forces. With the arrival of Islam, the system of defense forces in the Mindanao region's sultanates under Muslim control mirrored those other existing sultanates in the region. These local warriors who were in the service of the Sultan were also responsible to qualified male citizens appointed by him. During the Spanish colonial period, the Spanish Army was responsible for the defense and general order of the archipelago in the land, while the Spanish Navy conducts maritime policing in the seas as well as providing naval logistics to the Army. The Guardia Civil took police duties and maintaining public order in villages and towns. In the early years of Spanish colonial era, most of the formations of the army were composed of conquistadors backed with native auxiliaries. By the 18th and 19th centuries, line infantry and cavalry formations were created composed of mixed Spanish and Filipino personnel, as well as volunteer battalions composed of all-Filipino volunteers during the later half of the 19th Century. Units from other colonies were also levied to augment the existing formations in the Philippines. Almost all of the formations of the Spanish Army in the archipelago participated in the local religious uprisings between 17th and 19th centuries, and in the
Philippine Revolution in 1896 fighting against the revolutionary forces. At the peak of the revolution, some Filipinos and a few Spaniards in the Spanish Army, Guardia Civil, and Navy defected to the
Philippine Revolutionary Army. 's
aides wearing
Rayadillo and white drill military uniforms. The Spanish
cession of the Philippines in the
1898 Treaty of Paris put the independence of the newly declared Southeast Asian republic in grave danger. The revolutionaries were fighting desperately as the American forces already landed in other islands and had taken over towns and villages. The Americans established the
Philippine Constabulary in 1901 manned by Filipino fighters and used against Gen. Aguinaldo who was later captured. On April 9, 1902, Philippine President
Gloria macapagal arroyo proclaimed that the Philippine–American War had ended on April 16, 1902, with the surrender of General
Miguel Malvar. Since the beginning of American rule in the Philippines, the United States Army had taken the responsibility for the defense of the country in the land, and the United States Navy in the seas until the passage of the National Defense Act of 1935 which called for a separate defense force for the Philippines.
Creation and the Commonwealth Era In accordance with the
National Defense Act of 1935, the
Armed Forces of the Philippines was officially established on December 21, 1935, when the act entered into force. Retired U.S. General
Douglas MacArthur was asked to supervise its foundation and training. MacArthur accepted the offer and became a Field Marshal of the Philippines, a rank no other person has since held.
Jean MacArthur, his wife, found the situation amusing and remarked that her husband had gone from holding the highest rank in the United States Army to holding the highest rank in a non-existent army.
President Quezon officially conferred the title of Field Marshal on MacArthur in a ceremony at
Malacañan Palace on August 24, 1936, when he appeared with a gold
marshal's baton and a unique uniform. The Army of the Philippines included naval and air assets directly reporting to Army headquarters, and the Philippine Constabulary, later part of the ground forces proper as a division. In 1938 the Constabulary Division was separated from the army and reorganized into a national police force. The administration of the military throughout the islands was divided into ten "military districts." MacArthur expanded the Army of the Philippines with the revival of the Navy in 1940 and the formation of the
Philippine Army Air Corps (formerly the Philippine Constabulary Air Corps), but they were not ready for combat at the start of the
Pacific War in December 1941 and unable to defeat the 1941–42 Japanese invasion of the
Philippines.
World War II . In 1940–41, most soldiers of the Philippine military were incorporated in the
U.S. Army Forces Far East (USAFFE), with MacArthur appointed as its commander. USAFFE made its last stand on
Corregidor Island, after which Japanese forces were able to force all remaining Filipino and American troops to surrender. The establishment of the general headquarters of the
Philippine Commonwealth Army are military station went to the province during the occupation. Those who survived the invasion but escaped from the Japanese formed the basis of recognized guerrilla units and ongoing local military force of the
Philippine Commonwealth Army that continued the fighting against the enemy all over the islands. The
Philippine Constabulary went on active service under the Armed Forces of the Philippines during liberation.
After independence After
Japan was defeated in World War II, the Philippines gained its independence in 1946. (This was its second independence after the
Philippine Declaration of Independence in 1898). The pre-war military districts briefly continued to be used for administering the military, In 1947 the modern AFP first emerged with the upgrade of the PAAC to the
Philippine Air Force. 1950 saw the creation of the
Philippine Marine Corps, a naval infantry force under the command of the Philippine Navy, after then-Defense Secretary
Ramon Magsaysay ordered Commodore
Ramon Alcaraz to go to study the organization of the U.S. Marines. Alcaraz recommended the creation of the new service, earning him the distinction of being the "Father" of the
Philippine Marine Corps. During the
Korean War from 1951 to 1953, the Philippines sent various AFP battalions, known as the
Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK) to fight as part of the US-led
United Nations Command in liberating
South Korea from the invading North Korean troops. Throughout this time, the AFP had been in conflict with various elements of the
Hukbalahap which, still known as the "huks", were reconstituted as the
Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan ("Peoples' Liberation Army")the armed wing of the Marxist–Leninist
Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas of 1930 (PKP-1930). This conflict effectively ended in 1954, with the huks becoming a spent force during the presidency of
Ramon Magsaysay. In 1966, an AFP battalion was also sent into
South Vietnam during the
Vietnam War to ameliorate the economic and social conditions of its people there. AFP units were also sent at the same time to the
Spratly Islands. 1963 would see the first women join the ranks of the armed forces with the raising of the Women's Auxiliary Corps.
Martial law President
Ferdinand Marcos sought to have a strong personal influence over the Armed Forces as soon as he became president in 1965, holding on to the portfolio of defense secretary in the first thirteen months of his presidency to develop what scholars have noted to be "a patronage system within the defense establishment." The portfolio afforded him direct interaction with the AFP's leadership, and to have a hand in the AFP's day-to-day operationalization. Upon the declaration of
martial law in 1972, Marcos used the AFP as what the
Davide Commission Report would later call his "martial law implementor," and Marcos' hold on power was effectively broken once enough of the Military withdrew their support from him in February 1986. Antonio Parlade notes that to get the military to ensure their cooperation, Marcos "had to expand the military organization and patronize the generals to buy their loyalty." Marcos oversaw a significant expansion of the AFP, which grew from a force of 57,100 in 1971 to a 97.89 percent increase of 113,000 personnel in 1976 - a significant increase of over a five-year period. He also increased the military budget from P880 million in 1972 to P4 billion in 1976. This included "
Project Santa Barbara" under the Philippine Navy, which saw the testing of the
Bongbong II MLRS - named after Marcos' son - in 1972. However, the project was discontinued before the Marcos administration ended. The military was given many functions aside from its task of national defense, including assisting in the implementation of price controls imposed on key products like corn and rice, enforcing the rules of the national corn procurement program, assisting in the collection of rural and government bank loans, implementing the agrarian reform law, and various police functions such as collecting unlicensed firearms and enforcing curfews, and suppressing strikes, rallies, and other demonstrations. Other key officers critical of Marcos, such as Commodore
Ramon Alcaraz, were compelled to leave the service.
Juan Ponce Enrile as Secretary of Defense from 1970 to 1986; This led to a loss of morale among the middle-ranks of the AFP, because it meant a significant slowdown in promotions and caused many officers to retire with ranks much lower than they would otherwise have earned. leading to a need for security sector reform during later administrations, Civilian and military Units often specifically cited in these reported incidents include the
Metrocom Intelligence and Security Group (MISG), and the 5th Constabulary Security Unit (5CSU) of the
Philippine Constabulary, as well as the Intelligence Service Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP). The Presidential Security Unit and the
National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) were also accused of aiding these activities. Aside from human rights abuses, these units were also accused of hounding media entities, corporate management, and opposition groups with threats, intimidation, and violence. The Marcos administration also marked the beginnings of at least two long-running conflicts that continued to plague later administrations: the Moro conflict and the
New People's Army conflict. The
Moro conflict, began in earnest in 1968 when short-lived organizations such as the
Muslim Independence Movement and the
Bangsamoro Liberation Organization formed in reaction to news about the
Jabidah Massacre, with many of their forces eventually coalescing as the
Moro National Liberation Front was formed in 1972. February 1986 saw a period of uncertainty. A boycott movement and plans for massive civilian protests were in place. During the chaos, the
Reform the Armed Forces Movement headed by then Defense Minister
Juan Ponce Enrile decided to stage a military coup against Marcos. The plot was uncovered, however, and the forces involved became trapped in
Camp Aguinaldo in
Quezon City. They then sought and received the support of
Philippine Constabulary chief and AFP vice-chief of staff Lt. General
Fidel V. Ramos in the neighboring
Camp Crame, but even with Ramos' defection, their forces were trapped in the two neighboring camps. Manila's Catholic Archbishop,
Jaime Sin, went on
Radio Veritas and called for people to go to the section of
Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in between the two camps and help protect the rebel forces.
Corazon Aquino was then installed as the new president of the Philippines. Shortly after midnight on February 26, five army trucks of troops under the command of Fidel Ramos arrived in Malacañang Palace to secure it after Ferdinand Marcos had left, and various individuals had entered it, marking the end of Marcos' reign, and placing the palace under the control of the
Provisional Government of the Philippines until a new constitution could be enacted a year later, in 1987.
Later 20th century During
Corazon Aquino's administration, most of the military units remained loyal to her as she dealt with various coup attempts against her, either by military factions that remained loyal to the former dictator, When it came out, The
Davide Commission Report recommended several short-term and long-term counter-measures, including the establishment of a civilian national police force, a crackdown on corruption in the military, a performance review of appointive government officials, reforms in the process of military promotions, a review of election laws in time for the 1992 presidential elections, and a definitive statement on the part of Aquino on whether she intended to run for re-election in 1992. The publication of the recommendations of the report is considered one of the key starting points of security sector reform in the Philippines. In 1991, the major services of the AFP were reduced from four to three, when the
Philippine Constabulary or PC, an AFP major service tasked to enforce the law and to curb criminality, was formally merged with the country's
Integrated National Police, a national police force on the cities and municipalities in the country attached to the PC to become the
Philippine National Police, thus removing it from AFP control and it was civilianized by a law passed by Congress, therefore becoming under the
Department of the Interior and Local Government as a result.
Contemporary history In 2000, on President
Joseph Estrada's orders, the AFP launched an
all-out offensive against the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a breakaway group of the MNLF that wants to proclaim Mindanao an independent state. The AFP
succeeded in capturing the MILF's main headquarters,
Camp Abubakar on July 9. The AFP played a key role in the two-day
Edsa Dos People Power revolt in 2001; the revolution removed Estrada from power and installed then vice-president
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as president. Since 2001, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has been active in supporting the
war on terror and has been attacking terrorist groups in Mindanao ever since. In 2012, the AFP Chief of Staff said that there had been no increase in the number of soldiers over a long period, and that the military aimed to hire 30,000 troops in three years. In 2013, the AFP successfully
quelled the Zamboanga City attacks of the
Moro National Liberation Front, which proclaimed the independence of the short-lived
Bangsamoro Republik. After the signing of the
Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2014, the AFP has played a key part in the normalization process with the MILF, which includes "the decommissioning of MILF combatants and their weapons and the transformation of several camps into productive and resilient communities," developing a close working relationship with the Philippine National Police and the MILF-Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) in the
pursuit of peace in the
Bangsamoro. In 2016, the AFP clashed with the
Maute group on
Butig on
February, late May to early June, and on
November of 2016. Under President
Rodrigo Duterte in May 2017, the AFP thwarted the
ISIS militants' attempt to establish a foothold in the Philippines in the
five-month-long siege to retake
Marawi from militant occupation. The AFP called President Duterte to declare
Martial Law under
Proclamation No. 216. Additionally, the AFP and the
NTF-ELCAC were at the forefront of Duterte's intensified campaign against the communist rebellion; by the end of Duterte's term, the AFP reported the reduction of NPA
guerrilla fronts from 89 to 23, and only 2,000 remained of more than 25,000 "members, supporters, and sympathizers of the underground movement". In 2024, the number of active communist rebels in the NPA reached a low of 1,500, with the AFP aiming to neutralize them by the end of the year. As a result of the development, the AFP under the
Bongbong Marcos administration has been shifting its focus away from handling internal threats towards defending Philippine territory from external threats such as China's
encroachment in the
West Philippine Sea. ==Organization and branches==