The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) () is the naval infantry force under the command of the Philippine Navy. The PMC conducts amphibious, expeditionary, and special operations missions.
History
— LTSG Manuel Gomez's mission on the formation of the Philippine Marines in 1950
On orders from President Elpidio Quirino and Secretary of National Defense (later President) Ramon Magsaysay, the unit that was to be known as the Philippine Marine Corps was organized on November 7, 1950, initially known as "A" Company, Philippine Fleet, then headquartered in Naval Base Cavite, Cavite City. It was organized under the structure patterned after a Rifle Company of its American counterpart, the United States Marine Corps (USMC).
Personnel from the United States Army, and the USMC helped train the first "Philippine Marines" in combat and amphibious duties in Fort Bonifacio in Makati and in various other locations. Lieutenant Senior Grade Manuel Gomez (Philippine Military Academy Class of 1941) was its first Commandant, with then-Lieutenant Junior Grade Gregorio Lim assisting him, with six other officers (4 seconded from the Navy and two from the Philippine Army) joining them, several of these officers being veterans of the Second World War.
230 enlisted men will also form the unit, volunteers from the Army and the Navy, veteran Philippine Scouts, and high school graduates. These inaugural Philippine Marines volunteered to serve one or more tours of duty and were later given the choice to continue serving in the Navy, or now dedicate their career into the nascent fighting unit.
Under LTSG Gomez, the Marines underwent a 24-week training program following the ones conducted by the USMC. The final eight weeks of this program was spent in a field with the trainees virtually living in an area swarmed with dissident units, such as Communist rebels from the Hukbalahap.
Their hard work and training would pay off as "A" Company conducted its first amphibious landing on April 19, 1951, in Umiray, Quezon, and took part in battle for the first time on June 4 of the same year in Nueva Ecija against the Huks. These and other notable battles in various parts of the country, as well as overseas deployments to Korea, led to the Navy's decision to activate "B" Company, and the Headquarters and Service Company, now with LCDR Lim in charge. These three companies will now compose the 1st Marine Battalion, activated on November 7, 1955. Further marine companies and a weapons company would later be formed to augment the expansion of the force in the 1960s, and the abilities even expanded to VIP protection, and would also see the raising of its very own drum and bugle corps. The Marines would see themselves in action in securing the Spratly Islands in 1971 and in combating Muslim separatist forces and a strong New People's Army in the following years as the force became the Philippine Marine Brigade with the formation of the 2nd and 3rd Marine Battalions, the Headquarters Service Group, the 1st Provisional Tactical Battalion which saw action in Mindanao against Islamic separatists, and the Marine Training Group, later the Philippine Marines Training Group.
To highlight these changes the force was renamed as the Philippine Marines in 1976.
As the 1980s arrived, the force expansion was accompanied by battles against both communists and armed Islamist rebels all over the country, and in 1986 even took part in the successful People Power Revolution. The latter years would also see them in action as one coup d'état after another was launched against the Corazon Aquino administration, all ending in failure. It also saw Rodolfo Biazon becoming the first and only Marine general to head the Armed Forces as Chief of Staff after a fruitful term as Superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy, also being the first and only Marine general officer to occupy the office so far in PMA history.
The 1990s would see further expansion as the force, as part of the Philippine Navy, became the Philippine Marine Corps in 1995 as the force turned 45 years old. The early 2000s would see the Marines once more facing not just communists and Islamic militants but also terrorist groups as well.
After decades of using their well-distinguished "Malunggay" leaf pattern camouflage uniforms, the PMC has used a digital disruptive camouflage pattern called the Philippine Marine Pattern (PHILMARPAT) since 2008, and has official copyright awarded to them. PHILMARPAT, which is inspired from the MARPAT used by their US counterparts, is now used in their Pixelated Battle Dress Uniforms (PBDUs).The Marines saw action in the Battle of Zamboanga City in 2013, providing amphibious assault and fire-support for the Infantry forces. During the Battle of Marawi in 2017, they were also seen fighting against the Islamic state militants as their Vehicles like LAV-300s and V-150s are modified with wooden planks to protect them against IEDs and RPGs.
In 2018, Filipino lawmakers were proposing a law to make the Marines as an independent branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, but the ties with the Navy would still remain. Defense Secretary Lorenzana has opposed this proposal.
On July 17, 2024, the PMC renamed the Marine Battalion Landing Team 4 (MBLT-4) to the Marine Security Battalion. Equipment
The Philippine Marine Corps has made use of its existing equipment to conduct its operations while modernization projects are underway. The Republic Act No. 7898 declares the policy of the State to modernize the military to a level where it can effectively and fully perform its constitutional mandate to uphold the sovereignty and preserve the patrimony of the republic. The law, as amended, has set conditions that should be satisfied when the defense department procures major equipment and weapon systems for the Corps.
These are acquisition projects of the government that have been signed and awaiting delivery for the modernization of the Corps. The Philippine Navy intends to acquire 60 new Tactical Combat Vehicles for the PMC, as part of the Horizon 2 phase of the Revised AFP Modernization Program. 12 V-300 and 15 V-150 wheeled armored vehicles will have their turrets upgraded, and 7 V-150s will also undergo mobility upgrades as part of the Horizon 2 phase of the Revised AFP Modernization Program. Indian company Larsen & Toubro was contracted to conduct the said upgrade works. The Philippine Navy has ordered 702 units of ATGL-L rocket propelled grenade launchers and munitions from Bulgaria's Arsenal JSCo. for the PMC. These would replace the ageing 90mm recoilless rifles, which would in turn be mounted on light vehicles. The typical Marine squad table of organization will also be revised to include the ATGL-L RPG as part of its squad weapon. The weapons and munitions were delivered on 14 April 2021, and will be tested, while Marine units will undergo training with the new weapon. 7,491 new body armor and 9,528 new combat helmets were ordered from Israel's Maron Dolphin in August 2020. The PMC is procuring new 60mm, 81mm, and 120mm Mortars. 30 units M-98 81mm mortars expected to be delivered from Spain's EXPAL Systems SA, while the procurement process is still ongoing for the acquisition of 60mm and 120mm mortars. The Philippine Navy signed a contract with India to acquire three batteries of shore-based anti-ship missile system, most likely the Indian-made PJ-10 BrahMos Coastal Defense Battery System, to be operated by the PMC. The Philippine Navy plans to acquire two or three batteries of shore-based air defense missile systems, to be operated by the PMC to defend naval and marine installations and the BrahMos anti-ship missile batteries. Organization
The Philippine Marine Corps is organized into four maneuver brigades, a Combat Service and Support Brigade (CSSB), the Coastal Defense Regiment (CDR) and independent units such as the Force Reconnaissance Regiment (FRG), and the Marine Security and Escort Group (MSEG). The four maneuver brigades provide administrative and logistical support to the units assigned to them, while the CSSB acts as a training and administrative command for the Field Artillery (FABN) and Assault Armor (AABN) battalions.
In addition, Marine Reserve Brigades are activated and are under the control of the Naval Reserve Command, which are spread out to 6 different regions across the country.
Marine Brigades The Philippine Marine Corps has four Marine Brigades, each of which are primarily responsible for various operations and doctrines relating to intelligence gathering, reconnaissance, and amphibious and coastal patrol missions for both coastal and inter-island operations.
The PMC's Marine Brigades are: 1st Marine Brigade (1MBde) (Laging Handa; "Always Ready") Activation Date: January 1975 Deployment Area: Western and Central Mindanao 2nd Marine Brigade (2MBde) (Red Shield) Activation Date: April 1978 Deployment Area: Sulu, Basilan 3rd Marine Brigade (3MBde) (Agila; "Eagle") Activation Date: February 1982 Deployment Area: Palawan, Kalayaan Island Group 4th Marine Brigade (4MBde) (Makusug; "Strong" in Cebuano) Activation Date: June 24, 2019 Deployment Area: Northern Luzon
Marine Rifle Battalions
The Philippine Marine Corps has twelve regular Marine Rifle Battalions.IISS (2012), p. 276 Three battalions are assigned to each of the four maneuver brigades and a single battalion is rotated back to the Marine headquarters for refit and retraining for at least six months up to one year before redeployment to operational areas throughout the Philippines. Each of the twelve battalions is organized into three rifle companies and a headquarters and service company. The battalions are augmented with elements of other units, such as artillery, armored vehicles or watercraft, for specific tasks. A combat engineer unit from the Naval Combat Engineer Brigade (NCEBde) or Seabees can be attached for construction, survivability, mobility and counter mobility support. Elements from the Force Reconnaissance Group (FRG) can also be attached for reconnaissance and unconventional warfare support to make it Special Operations Capable (SOC).
1st Marine Rifle Battalion (1MRBn) (Unang-Una; "First and Foremost") 2nd Marine Rifle Battalion (2MRBn) (Superstar) 3rd Marine Rifle Battalion (3MRBn) (Forger) 4th Marine Rifle Battalion (4MRBn) (Aim High) 5th Marine Rifle Battalion (5MRBn) (Only Our Best) 5th Marine Company (5MC) 25th Marine Company (25MC) 35th Marine Company (35MC) 6th Marine Rifle Battalion (6MRBn) (Katapatan; Loyalty) 7th Marine Rifle Battalion (7MRBn) (Striking) 8th Marine Rifle Battalion (8MRBn) (Peacemaker) 9th Marine Rifle Battalion (9MRBn) (Red Lions) 10th Marine Rifle Battalion (10MRBn) (Kapayapaan; Peace) 11th Marine Rifle Battalion (11MRBn) (Matatag; "Strong") 12th Marine Rifle Battalion (12MRBn) (Tagapagtanggol; Defender) 212th Marine Company (212MC) (Gladiator)
Force Reconnaissance Regiment
The Force Reconnaissance Regiment (FRR), formerly the Force Reconnaissance Group (FRG), was first activated as the 1st Reconnaissance Company on August 19, 1972
The FRG is organized into a Headquarters, Service and Training Company and six Recon Companies. Each company is attached to a Marine Brigade as a quick maneuvering force. It specializes in sea, air, and land operations, like its counterpart in the Special Warfare Force of the Philippine Navy, ranging from surveillance, close combat, demolition, intelligence, and underwater operations in support of overall naval operations.
Marine Reserve Brigades The PMC has in its disposal Marine Reserve Brigades (MBde(Res)) which are primarily responsible for training marine reservists in both combat operations in wartime preparedness and humanitarian assistance missions in times of natural disasters.
The PMC's Marine Reserve Brigades are: 7th Marine Brigade (Reserve) - NCR (HQS Philippine Marines, Bonifacio Naval Station, Taguig City)