The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) () are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The President of the Philippines is the Commander-in-Chief of the AFP and forms military policy with the Department of National Defense, an executive department acting as the principal organ by which military policy is carried out, while the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines serves as the overall commander and the highest-ranking officer in the AFP.
Founded under the National Defense Act of 1935, while tracing its roots to the Philippine Revolutionary Army, the AFP has played an integral part in the country's history. The AFP has also been involved in various conflicts, such as combatting rebellion against the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its attached organizations, the New People's Army (NPA) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF), and operations against local Islamic terrorists in Mindanao. The AFP has also been part of various peacekeeping operations around the world, as part of its contribution to the United Nations. At present, military service is entirely voluntary.
As a result of the diminished number of active communist rebels and jihadist groups in the 2020s, the AFP has been shifting its primary focus from handling internal threats such as insurgency and local terrorism to defending the Philippine territory from external threats.
Leadership Commander-in-Chief: President Bongbong Marcos Secretary of National Defense (SND): Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr., PAF (Res.) National Security Adviser: Secretary Eduardo SL. Oban Jr. Presidential Adviser on the West Philippine Sea: Secretary Andres C. Centino Presidential Adviser for Peace, Reconciliation and Unity: Sec. Mel Senen S. Sarmiento
Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (CSAFP)AppointedBranch General Antonio G. Nafarrete July 21, 2026 () Philippine ArmyVice Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (VCSAFP)AppointedBranch Lieutenant General Rommel P. Roldan March 11, 2026 () Philippine Air ForceThe Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (TDCSAFP)AppointedBranch Lieutenant General Edmundo G. Peralta May 19, 2026 () Philippine ArmyCommanding General of the Philippine Army (CGPA)AppointedBranch Lieutenant General Donald M. Gumiran July 21, 2026 () Philippine ArmyFlag Officer-in-Command of the Philippine Navy (FOIC-PN)AppointedBranch Vice Admiral Jose Ma. Ambrosio Q. Ezpeleta November 15, 2024 () Philippine NavyCommanding General of the Philippine Air Force (CGPAF)AppointedBranch Lieutenant General Arthur M. Cordura December 19, 2024 () Philippine Air ForceCommandant of the Philippine Marine Corps (CMDT-PMC)AppointedBranch Major General Vicente MAP Blanco III Jul 04, 2025 () Philippine Marine CorpsArmed Forces of the Philippines Sergeant Major (AFPSM)AppointedBranch First Chief Master Sergeant Feliciano M. Lazo August 22, 2023 () Philippine Army
History
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.
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. The Philippine-American War was officially ended on April 16, 1902, with the surrender of General Miguel Malvar. This date of official ending of the war was affirmed President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on April 9, 2002, during the centennial celebration of the end of war. 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.See for example 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." + Military District Areas Covered1stNorth Luzon2ndLingayen and the Central Plain3rdEast Central Luzon, Bataan, and Zambales4thSouth Central Luzon, including Manila, Batangas, Palawan, and Mindoro5thEast and Southeast Luzon and Catanduanes6thTablas, Panay, and Marinduque7thNegros8thBohol and Cebu9thSamar and Leyte10thMindanao and Sulu
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.
Postwar Era
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, until they were reorganized into Military Area Commands in 1946.
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.
1950 delineation of service commands A major revamp in the Armed Forces was effected on March 30, 1950, when President Elpidio Quirino issued Executive Order No. 308 which called for the merger of the Philippine Constabulary with the Armed Forces, making it one more major service command. This was the second time the PC returned to a military force. Due to the unstable peace and order conditions existing in the countrysides brought about by the resurgence of the Hukbalahap (Huk) which require more personnel strength, the Philippine Army was called upon to assist in the pacification drive with the employment of its combat arms – the Battalion Combat Teams or BCTs, with PC men absorbed by the BCTs. It was under E.O. 308 and according to Administrative Order No. 113, dated April 1, 1950, the PC was formally merged with the Armed Forces of the Philippines; the merger was completed on July 27, the same year.Ladwig (2014), pp. 29. 12,000 men from the MPC to the PC.
Under the E.O., the power of executive supervision and all authority and duties exercised by the Secretary of Interior concerning the PC or its members were transferred to and exercised by the Secretary of National Defense. With the appointment, on American advice, of former USAFFE guerilla Rep. Ramon Magsaysay as Secretary of National Defense in September 1950 and the subsequent appropriation by Congress of more funds for the drive against the Communist movement in the Philippines, more BCTs were formed.Ladwig (2014), pp. 30–32.
The delineation of the missions of the then four major service commands – Philippine Army, Philippine Constabulary, Philippine Navy, and Philippine Air Force – were underlined by EO No. 389 dated December 23, 1950, which abolished the Philippine Service Command and the Philippine Ground Force. Headquarters Armed Forces of the Philippines became known as "General Headquarters, Armed Forces of the Philippines"; while General Headquarters, Philippine Constabulary became known as "Headquarters, Philippine Constabulary", the nomenclature it had in the prewar years. Also, the major commands were abolished and in their places were activated the four major services. As defined in Executive Order (E.O.) No. 389, the main function of the PC was maintaining peace and order within the country and to be the country's national police force even though it was a branch then of the military.