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. 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.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is a group based in Mindanao seeking an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro region of Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago, Palawan, Basilan, and other neighbouring islands. The armed wing of the group was the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), although the name of its parent organization, the MILF, was often used to refer to the BIAF. In July, 2018, the Philippine government passed the Bangsamoro Organic Law, giving more autonomy to Muslims. In return, MILF announced that it would disarm its 30,000 fighters.
Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines (OEF-P) or Operation Freedom Eagle was part of Operation Enduring Freedom and the global War on Terror. The Operation targeted the various Jihadist terror groups operating in the country. By 2009, about 600 U.S. military personnel were advising and assisting the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the Southern Philippines. In addition, by 2014, the CIA had sent its elite paramilitary officers from their Special Activities Division to hunt down and kill or capture key terrorist leaders. This group had the most success in combating and capturing Al-Qaeda leaders and the leaders of associated groups like Abu Sayyaf.
The Moro people or Bangsamoro people are the 13 Muslim-majority ethnolinguistic Austronesian groups of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan, native to the region known as the Bangsamoro. As Muslim-majority ethnic groups, they form the largest non-Christian population in the Philippines, and comprise about 5% of the country's total population, or 5 million people.
The Moro conflict was an insurgency in the Mindanao region of the Philippines, which involved multiple armed groups. Peace deals have been signed between the Philippine government and two major armed groups, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), but other smaller armed groups continue to exist. In 2017, the peace council settled around 138 clan conflicts.
The Philippine Army (PA) is the main, oldest and largest branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), responsible for ground warfare and as of 2021 had an estimated strength of 101,000 soldiers backed by 100,000 ready reserves. The service branch was established on December 21, 1935, as the Philippine Commonwealth Army. The Philippine Army has engaged in many conflicts including the ongoing Communist rebellion in the Philippines, the Moro conflict and, alongside other national military forces, in conflicts of international scope.
The 1st Infantry Division, Philippine Army, nicknamed Tabak Division, is the Philippine Army's primary infantry unit, and specializes in anti-guerrilla warfare. The division has been involved in combating terrorists in Southern Mindanao.
The Western Mindanao Command is the Armed Forces of the Philippines' unified command in charge of the Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and the BARMM. It is responsible for the defense of these areas against external aggression, as well as combating terrorism and insurgency. It is also one of the government organizations advocating the "Culture of Peace" in Mindanao.
The 8th Infantry Division, Philippine Army, known officially as the Storm Trooper Division, is one of the Philippine Army's Infantry units in the Visayas and under the AFP Central Command, combating local communist insurgent units, and terrorists.
Benito Antonio Templo de León is a retired military officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). While a Roman Catholic, he was conferred the rare Muslim-Maranao honorary title of Sultan a Romapunut for his peace efforts. De León held the Army rank of major general and was the commander of the Philippine Army 5th Infantry Division until his designation as Inspector General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He retired in 2016 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56.
The 104th Infantry Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Philippine Army, known officially as the Sultan Brigade, is one of the brigades of the Philippine Army which is organic to its 1st Infantry Division. It is an infantry unit, and specializes in anti-guerrilla warfare.
Delfin C. Castro was a major general of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He was the commander of the AFP Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), from 1981 to 1986. Notable incidents during his tenure include the Pata Island massacre, the assassination of Zamboanga City Mayor Cesar Climaco, the rescue of kidnapped Bishop Federico O. Escaler from Muslim rebels and the strafing of the Japanese vessel Hegg by Philippine Air Force fighters off Mindanao.
The battle of Jolo, also referred to as the burning of Jolo or the siege of Jolo, was a military confrontation between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the government of the Philippines in February 1974 in the municipality of Jolo, in the southern Philippines.
The Pata Island massacre refers to an event that took place on February 12, 1981, on Pata Island, Sulu province in the Philippines. More than 100 Philippine Army officers and men were killed by Moro natives in what was called by retired Major General Delfin Castro as "the biggest number of casualties incurred by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in a single incident since the start of the conflict in Mindanao and had the dubious distinction of achieving the biggest losses in AFP firearms and equipment in a single incident." An estimated 3,000 Tausug civilians, including women and children, were killed in months of shelling by military forces in 1982 and was tagged as the Pata Island massacre.
The Patikul massacre refers to an event that took place on October 10, 1977 in Patikul, Sulu province in the Philippines. Thirty-five officers and men of the Philippine Army were killed by elements of the Moro National Liberation Front under Usman Sali. Among the dead were Brigadier General Teodulfo Bautista, commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division, Adjutant General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Col. Gabriel Pangilinan and four lieutenant colonels.
The 1976 Tripoli Agreement was signed on December 23, 1976 in Tripoli, Libya by Carmelo Z. Barbero, representing the Government of the Philippines and Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front. The agreement defined autonomous administrative divisions for Muslims in the southern Philippines, the establishment of an autonomous government, judicial system for Sharia law and special security forces, and the observance of a ceasefire. The autonomous region was to have its own economic system, including an Islamic bank.
The Jeddah Accord was signed on January 3–4, 1987 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia by Aquilino Pimentel Jr., representing the Government of the Philippines and Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front. The two panels agreed upon the continued discussion of the proposal of the grant of full autonomy to Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Palawan subject to democratic processes.
The 2000 Philippine campaign against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was a military campaign conducted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against a Muslim secessionist group that took place during the presidency of Joseph Estrada in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines. The campaign was waged "to weaken the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's capability to undermine the territorial integrity of the Philippines and inflict harm on both government personnel and civilians".
Carlito Guancing Galvez Jr. is a retired Philippine Army general serving as the Senior Undersecretary and briefly as officer-in-charge of the Department of National Defense since 2023 and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process since 2018. He also served as the Chief Implementer of the Philippines' Declared National Policy Against COVID-19. In November 2020, he was appointed as the country's COVID-19 vaccine czar, and was responsible for leading the government's efforts in bringing into the country about 245.23 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of May 2022 beginning in 2021 despite the global vaccine shortage. Prior to this, he also previously served as the 50th Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from April to December 2018.
Separatism in the Philippines refers to bids for secession or greater autonomy for certain areas in the Philippines. The scope of the article includes such efforts since the Philippine Revolution both currently and historical.
Philippines 