Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0290/02902.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 28KB | 459 lines

$Unique_ID{COW02902}
$Pretitle{272}
$Title{Philippines
Chapter 5D.   Organization and Training}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Melinda W. Cooke}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{forces
national
armed
air
defense
pc
army
military
training
included}
$Date{1983}
$Log{}
Country:     Philippines
Book:        Philippines, A Country Study
Author:      Melinda W. Cooke
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1983

Chapter 5D.   Organization and Training

     Responsibility for national security was vested in the Ministry of
National Defense. The main functions of the ministry were to provide the state
all necessary protection against internal and external threats, direct and
maintain law and order throughout the country, and perform whatever other
functions were provided for by law. The task of preserving national
sovereignty has been broadly interpreted since the 1970s as requiring the
participation of the ministry in national development to cure underlying
social and economic ills that were themselves perceived as threatening
national security.

     The minister of national defense is by law a civilian and a member of the
cabinet. He has the duty of overseeing the Armed Forces of the Philippines and
the national defense program. He also exercises executive supervision over
bureaus, offices, and services under the jurisdiction of the ministry,
including the Government Arsenal; the Office of Civil Defense; the Bureau of
Coast and Geodetic Survey; the Philippine atmospheric, Geophysical, and
Astronomical Services Administration; the Philippines Veterans' Affairs
Commission; the Integrated National Police, and the National Police
Commission.

     The Constitution mandates civilian control of the military and
establishes the president as commander in chief. The president also heads the
National Security Council, which is a policymaking and advisory body for
matters connected with national defense. Its members include the prime
minister and the ministers of justice, national defense, media affairs, and
foreign affairs. The director general of the National Economic and
Development Authority and the armed forces chief of staff serve as technical
advisers.

     Operational control of the four branches is vested in the chief of staff
of the armed forces. The chief of staff exercises command through the General
Headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which is located adjacent
to the Ministry of National Defense in Manila. Immediately subordinate to him
is a vice chief of staff, who is the commander of the PC and director general
of the Integrated National Police, and a deputy chief of staff, who is his
chief administrator. The chief of staff presides over the General Military
Council, an advisory body to the commander in chief on defense matters. Other
members of the council include the chiefs of each service and certain other
designated general officers.

     In mid-1983 the armed forces were in the process of reorganizing the
operational command structure to streamline command procedures. Thirteen
unified commands, directly subordinate to the armed forces headquarters, were
to be established, each of which was to encompass (with minor exceptions) the
territory included in one of the 13 regions of the civil administration. The
new regional unified commands (RUCs) were to replace five combined commands
formerly in existence. As of mid-1983, four of the 13 RUCs had been set up,
one each in the Southern Mindanao, Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, and Bicol
regions. The RUCs were given the authority to coordinate all large-scale
military actions. Their commanders reported directly to the chief of staff of
the armed forces and exercised operational control over various units under
them-army, navy, air force, or PC. Support functions, such as training and
logistics, were left to the separate branches.

     The armed forces maintained several military training institutions.
Foremost of these was the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), founded in 1905
to train Filipino officers for the PC. Located at Fort del Pilar, Baguio, the
academy trained future officers of all four services. It accepted cadets
between the ages of 17 and 23 who were selected after taking a highly
competitive examination to represent geographical constituencies around the
nation. After a four-year course patterned on that of the United States
Military Academy, graduates were assigned to different services according to
quotas based on service requirements. Within the quota limits, cadets were
given their preference, being asked in order of class standing; the PC was
most often a cadet's first choice, reflecting the potential for developing
supplementary income and local influence that came with the job. Those
assigned to the navy and the air force usually attended orientation courses
before being assigned to their units. Two bills in the interim National
Assembly in 1983 proposed the creation of separate air force and naval
academies to allow for more efficient training in those services; the PMA was
felt to be oriented toward land-based officers.

     Most reserve officers and some regular officers received their
commissions through either the ROTC at selected universities or the course at
the Armed Forces School of Reserve Commissions. The four-year ROTC program was
a prerequisite for final probationary training, leading to commissioning as a
reserve second lieutenant or, for a small number, regular commissions.
Two-year course graduates qualified as candidates for reserve noncommissioned
officer status. Commissions for women could be obtained through the Women's
Auxiliary Training Corps at selected universities. Women were commissioned
into the Women's Auxiliary Corps, of which each service had a counterpart. The
Armed Forces School of Reserve Commissions was an officer candidate school
open to enlisted men in the armed forces. Admission was highly selective and
based mainly on examination.

     The senior institution of tactical military education was the Command
and General Staff School, which prepared officers of all services for command,
staff, and managerial positions normally assigned to fieldgrade officers. The
National Defense College conducted courses for senior officers and other
government officials, as well as for civilian executives from industry,
national organizations, and education. It was designed to provide the broad
perspective necessary for national policymaking and to undertake research
programs to contribute to the attainment of national goals. The armed forces
also maintained the Research Center for National Defense and Development to
provide continuous and intensive research on diverse subjects relating to
national defense.

Army

     The Philippine army was formally organized in 1936 after the United
States accorded the Philippines commonwealth status, but it traced its origins
to the army established in 1897 to fight for national independence. The army's
structure included both operational and territorial commands under a
conventional headquarters and staff organization located at Fort Bonifacio
near Metro Manila. It was the largest of the four armed forces and in 1983 was
commanded by a major general. The highest military rank, that of general, was
held by an army officer who also held the post of chief of staff of the armed
forces. Regular army strength in 1983 was an estimated 70,000 enlisted and
officer personnel, representing approximately four times the army's strength
in the early 1970s.

     The major tactical units included four light infantry divisions, one
unconventional warfare brigade, two engineer brigades, one light armored
regiment, four artillery regiments, and a Hawk surface-to-air missile unit. In
order to boost its counterinsurgency capability, in early 1983 the army
reactivated the First Scout Ranger Regiment, which was composed of five ranger
companies, two ranger battalions, and one mountaineering battalion. Despite
the presence of divisional structures, ope