The Philippine Military and Police

Teresa Katherine R. Kua

University of the Philippines Manila

October 2012
 The Philippine Military and Police

The military and police forces are one of the important elements of society.

Generally, the military and the police forces serve as instruments to ensure power,

order and safety in a country from external and internal factors, respectively. With the

great potential power that these institutions hold, they must be known and understood

by the public thoroughly.

In the Philippine context, the military and police forces have come a long way

before being what they are now. It all started with the establishment of the Philippine

Revolutionary Army, the armed force of General Emilio Aguinaldo’s military government,

on March 22, 1897 wherein General Artemio Ricarte was the first Captain General.

Also, because of this, General Artemio Ricarte is considered to be the Father of

Philippine Army. The purpose of the establishment of the Philippine Revolutionary Army

was to protect the newly established Philippine Republic in the Philippine-American war

wherein the Filipinos completely lost. Then, on August 8, 1901, the Philippine

Constabulary was formed by the United States in pursuant of Act 175 which primary

objective was to “maintain peace and order within the country” through fighting the

remnants of the previous revolutionaries. Then through the National Defense Act of

1935, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (formerly known as Philippine Army) was

formally organized during the American Commonwealth era, on December 22, 1935 by

President Manuel Quezon wherein he asked General Douglas McArthur to be the its

first commanding officer. Subsequently, on March 30, 1950, President Elpidio Quirino

issued EO 308 that merged the Philippine Constabulary (PC) with the Armed Forces of

the Philippines (AFP), due to the increasing threats by the HUKBALAHAP. On the other
hand, the RA 4864 also known as the “Police Act of 1966” paved way for the creation of

the Police Commission which was later reorganized as the National Police Commission

in 1972.

In the whole history of the Military and Police force, there were two significant

period in the Philippine history in which they became a big part, namely the EDSA

Revolution I and II (Carlos, n.d.). In the declaration of Martial Law in 1972 by President

Ferdinand Marcos, the military’s role in politics became more prominent while the

Integrated National Police (INP) with PC as the nucleus of the Department of National

Defense due to the Presidential Decree No. 765. Despite all these power, the military

played a vital role in ousting President Marcos. Then, in the revolutionary governance of

President Corazon Aquino, the police, the PC, and the AFP were separated through the

Philippine National Police Law of 1990 which also limited the function of the AFP in the

external defense. After which, through the enactment of RA 6975 entitled “An Act

Establishing the Philippine National Police under a reorganized Department of the

Interior and Local Government and Other Purposes” the PC and INP merged into the

Philippine National Defense on December 13, 1990. During President Joseph Estrada’s

term, an all-out war was launched against the MILF, whose main objective was for

Mindanao to be an independent state. A year after, the EDSA 2 occurred which ousted

President Erap Estrada his position and placing Vice President Gloria Macapagal

Arroyo as the new president, as the PNP and AFP withdrawn their support for President

Estrada.

Although the Philippine Military and the Police Force rooted from a common

history, they have separated roles in the society. Generally, the role of the military is
more concentrated in external defense. However, in the Philippine setting, according to

the 1987 Constitution, the mission of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is “to protect

the people, secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory”.

So in fulfillment of this mandated mission, the AFP performs the following functions:

1. Internal Security Operations

2. Territorial Defense

3. Disaster Response

4. International Defense and Security Engagements

5. International Humanitarian Assistance and Peacekeeping Operations

6. General Administration, Training and Support

7. Support national development

Based on these functions, it is evident that the AFP actually performs both a

primary military role as the State’s instrument of war-fighting and a secondary non-

military role of supporting national development.

On the other hand, the role of the police should be about domestic order which is

clearly seen in the Powers and Functions of the Philippine National Police. According to

the 1987 Constitution the powers and functions of PNP are as follows:

1. Law Enforcement

2. Maintain peace and order

3. Prevents and investigates crimes and bring offenders to justice.

4. Exercise vested power from the Philippine Constitution and pertinent laws.

5. Detain an arrested person for a period not beyond what is prescribed by the law
 6. Implements pertinent laws and regulation on firearms and explosive control

7. Supervise and control the training and operations of security agencies.

In addition to these, the PNP is also absorbing the power of the National Action

Committee on Anti-Hijacking of the Department of National Defense, all the function of

the Philippine Air Force Security Demand and the police functions of the Coast Guard.

With the extensive roles played by both the Armed Forces of the Philippines and

the Philippine Nation Police, they are divided into different units specializing on

different fields. For instance, the Armed Forces of the Philippines which is primarily

headed by the President of the Philippines as its Commander-in-Chief and at present is

President Benigno S. Aquino III and secondarily by the Chief of Staff that is appointed

by the president which at present is Gen. Jessie Dellosa. It is divided into three major

branches namely, the Philippine Army, the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air

Force. All of these branches are under the Department of National Defense headed by

the Secretary of National Defense which at present is Sec. Voltaire Gazmin. The

Philippine Army is the ground arm of the AFP headed by the Commanding General of

the Philippine Army which at present is Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista. The Philippine

Navy is naval warfare branch of the AFP headed by the Flag Officer-in-Command that

at present is Vice Admiral Alexander Pama. Also, the Philippine Navy is subdivided into

two of command—the Philippine Marine Corps which President Ramon Magsaysay

envisioned to be purely concentrated in aggressively and persistently pursuing

seagoing smugglers, pirates and other lawless elements throughout the archipelago

while the Philippine Fleet prepares surface platforms, aircraft and special operations

assets for the conduct of operations pertaining to internal security, maritime security,
external defense, disaster response, and development assistance of the archipelago

with some land and air capabilities. Lastly, the Philippine Air Force is the aerial warfare

branch of the AFP headed by the Commanding General of the Philippine Air Force

which at present is Lt. Gen. Lauro Catalino Dela Cruz. Aside from the 3 major

branches of AFP, there is a considered the “fourth” branch which is the Technical and

Support branch which is responsible for providing technical and administering services.

They headed by the Deputy Chief of Staff.

In contrast, the Philippine National Police have no subdivision but it is the

national police force of the Philippines headed by the Chief of the PNP or the Police

Director General which at present is Police Director-Gen Nicanor Bartolome.

Since the Armed Forces of the Philippines and its branches and the Philippine

National Police is a public institution whose general purpose is not only to serve the

people but to serve the people efficiently, it is never safe from the criticisms of the

public and the spotlight of the social media so in consequence, there a lot of news

regarding the inefficiency of the Philippine Military and Police Forces. One of the most

argued and talked about issue about the Armed Forces of the Philippines specifically in

the Philippine Navy is the West Philippine Battle between the Philippines and China for

the ownership of the Scarborough Shoal. In this silent battle between China, it is

abruptly shown how China has more advantage over the Philippines and how the

Philippine Navy do not have the enough capacity to match the advancement of China

especially in technology. In relation to this issue is the AFP Modernization Program of

the government for the military which aims generally aims to help improve the current

status of our military through trainings, proper planning and latest gadgets. However,
the Philippine Government itself lacks a huge amount of money to give the AFP to set

up “a minimum credible defense posture”. Aside from the lack of money, there also

exist anomalies within the military system with the questionable buying of second hand

vehicles and devices from powerful and rich people in the Philippines. In addition to

what are above mentioned, are the issues about the Visiting Forces Agreement, graft

and corruption of some military officials and incaptivity of some military officials who

are high-profiled fugitives such as Palparan, Garcia and Ligot. While the Philippine

National Police also faces a lots of issues such as the weak police force due to lack of

police and latest gadgets to help protect the country. Just like the military, the PNP also

have anomalous deals just like the gun deal between Trust Trade-Glock Asia Pacific

and two other bidders wherein the lost bidders are questioning the decision of the PNP

especially with the questionable quality of guns and the company profile of the bidder

that won. Aside from these issues, there an unending list of policemen being part of

crimes instead of protecting the people resulting for the low respect and trust the public

has for the police.

It is an undeniable fact that there are existing problems within the military and

police system as supported by the issues continuously bashing them. Since the AFP

and the PNP have almost the same issues, I would like to consider them as a one

entity in discussing the most pressing problem within their system. Honestly speaking, I

did not see any huge problems in the structure of the Philippine National Police.

However, in the structure of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, specifically in their

powers and functions, wherein the AFP should perform the role of being the country’s

war fighting-instrument and at the same time, support nation-building. Although it is

evident in history that the military have continuously and remarkably been part of the

internal affairs of the Philippines such as the EDSA 1 and 2, the AFP need to focus

more on its core competency on war-fighting than its civil related activities, given their

limited resources (Acop, 2006, p.131). Moreover, I believe that limiting their role in the

internal affairs of the society in the sense that their participation would only be needed

when the Philippine National Police cannot handle the complexity of the situation. In

this sense the AFP would be able to improve more their primary role, in protecting our

external defense while the PNP in mastering their primary role of protecting the internal

affairs of our society.

In the implementation aspect of the Philippine Military and Police, in my opinion,

the two most pressing issue resides on the declining respect and trust to the AFP and

PNP due to the anomalous claims and news about them and the lack of new, latest

and efficient gadgets for both the AFP and PNP. In regards of the declining respect

and trust to the AFP and PNP due to their anomalous actions, could generally be

addressed by prioritizing the restoration of the unit of cohesiveness and the culture of

excellence in the AFP and PNP (Acop, 2006, p.131) and this values must be

thoroughly explained to the military and police. Also, the people entering the academe

in want to be a military or police must be thoroughly examined to choose only the best

for public service. Moreover, the rules and regulations within the AFP and PNP must

be strictly followed just like the One Strike Policy. With the long lasting bad reputation

the militaries and the police have, it quite disappointing that even the public is used to

this cycle and that they are generalizing all militaries and police as corrupt officials.
 One of the most long-lived problems of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and

the Philippine National Police is about their material and technological incapability. As

the protector of the public, they must have the latest, fastest and most efficient gadgets

in order to respond immediately to possible dangers to the Philippines. Indeed this

problem could not be easily addressed especially with the constraints of the budget

available but it must be realized that the most expensive gadgets does not necessarily

means the best. The AFP and the PNP must learn to choose wisely the best company

that would meet their standards. Also, the bidding process must be transparent to the

public so that they would be able to know where their taxes are going and if it is used

wisely. In this way, certain issues just like with the gun deal in the Trust Trade-Glock

Asia Pacific could be avoided.

All of these issues in the Armed Forces on the Philippines and Philippine

National Police are truly a huge factor affecting their performance as a whole. But of all

them all are secondary compared to the issue regarding the declining respect and trust

of the public to the AFP and PNP. Basically because as the protector of the Philippines

and of the people, how could they efficiently do their jobs if the public have no trust for

you anymore? This cycle could be broken if the AFP and PNP would prove that they

are again worthy of the public’s trust. On the other hand, as an individual I would try my

very best to break the norms and believe that every police officer or military is a good

individual incapable of being bribed. Also, I would follow the rules and regulations of

land to help in promoting peace within our society. Even though my actions seemed so

little, I believe that if I do the right thing I could, in a way, encourage others to do same

in the mere future.

 Indeed, being a public servant is a great responsibility which the police officers

and the militaries chose to take. However, the clean intentions of some are hidden

through the selfish desires of a few. Changing something that seemed like a cycle in

society is difficult but everything have to start somewhere just like big changes that

starts from small footsteps.

References:

Acop, D. S. (2006). Assessing the Expanded Role of the Armed Forces of the

Philippines in Nation Building. Retrieved September, 2012 from

http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/research/journals/apssr/pdf/200612/science_5.pdf.

Carlos, C. R. (n.d.). New Roles of the Military Perspectives from the Philippines.

Retrieved September, 2012 from

http://www.nids.go.jp/english/event/other/arf/pdf/philippines_paper.pdf.

Hernandez, C.G. (2006). “The Military in the Philippine Politics: Democratization,

Governance and Security Sector Reform”. In Morada and Encarnacion Tadem.

Philippine Politics and Governance, An Introduction. Quezon City: Department of

Political Science, University of the Philippines.

Pike, J. (2012). Philippine Navy. Retrieved September, 2012 from

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/philippines/navy.htm.

Heywood, A. (2007). Politics (3rd edition). New York: McMillan Press.

Robles, C. (n.d). Republic Acts. Retrieved September, 2012 from

http://www.chanrobles.com/republicacts/republicactno6975.html#.UGxcsGb9FpM

(2011). Brief History. Retrieved September, 2012 from

http://www.afp.mil.ph/index.php/site-map/brief-history.

(2007). AFP Procurement System and Organization (Vol.2). Retrieved September, 2012

from http://www.afp.mil.ph/afpwssus/afpps/index/policies/.pdf.