Philippines

Republic of the Philippines

The Republic of Philippines is an archipelago comprising 7,107 islands and a population of approximately 92 million people, with Tagalog (Filipino) and English as the two official languages. Historically the region consisted of a multitide of political entities and organized societies revolving mostly around the nineteen regional languages still spoken there. During the period of European exploration, the region came under the control of the Spanish crown, being governed as a territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (from 1565 to 1821), and then directly by Spain itself following the Mexican Revolution. The Philippine Revolution lasted just over two years (from August 1896 until January 1899) but failed to establish a fully independent state. Following Spain's defeat in the Spanish-American War in 1898, the United States assumed control of Philippine territory, which rapidly sparked new conflict between native Filipinos of the First Philippine Republic and the Americans (the Philippine-American War, 1899-1902). The war ended in the dissolution of the First Republic and the entire island region becoming a unincorporated territory of the United States, with an American civilian government.

On November 15, 1935 the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established by the Tydings–McDuffie Act, which in turn led to the establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth Army under American training and supervision (and commanded by General/Field Marshall Douglas MacArthur) between 1937 and 1939. Consisting of the Army (ground forces, with naval and air assets) and the historical Philippine Constabulary, the latter became a separate, gendarmerie-like entity in 1938. In anticipation of an attack by the Empire of Japan, the Commonwealth Army came under the command of the US Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) in July 1941. Although American-Filipino forces were defeated at the Battle of Bataan and Correigidor, establishing Japanese occupation of the Philippines following the American surrender, tens of thousands of Philippine Commonwealth combatants evaded capture and disappeared into the jungles to form independent guerilla units that waged unconventional warfare against the Japanese and its Second Philippine Republic for the remainder of the war.

The Third Republic of the Philippines was officially established through the Treaty of Manila, signed July 4, 1946. The following year, the Armed Forces of the Philippines was created, with the Philippine Air Force (PAC) and Philippine Navy being established as separate branches of service. The Philippine Constabulary (PC) remainded a paramilitary law enforcement branch of the armed forces until 1991, although municipal law enforcement came under the jurisdiction of the Integrated National Police (INP) beginning in 1975.

President Ferdinand Marcos took office as the tenth president of the Philippines on December 30, 1965, after defeating incumbent Diosdado Macapagal. Although he was re-elected in 1969, Marcos declared martial law on September 23, 1972, which illegally extended his presidency beyond the two-term limit indicated in the Constitution. Known for his "constitutional authoritarian" approach to governance, Marcos developed a reputation for political repression, corruption, censorship, and heavy human rights violations; in 1983, his political rival Benigno Acquino Jr. was assassinated. Increased public opposition to the Marcos government came to a head during the People Power Revolution of February 22-25 1986 (aka the EDSA Revolution), when more than two million civilians, supported by anti-Marcos factions of the Armed Forces, conducted widespread demonstrations (mostly in Manila) and ultimately ousted the Marcos family, who fled to Hawaii.

An ongoing communist-supported insurgency has been waged in the Philippines since 1969 in the mostly central and southern parts of the islands. The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPA) has backed the militant New People’s Army (NPA) and National Democratic Front (NDF), both of which have been supported by China and, more recently, North Korea. The Mindinao region has also undergone a separatist conflict with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) as well as several splinter groups, since 1969. In March 2000 the government announced it would be intensifying its military campaign against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF); subsequently the headquarters and a number of rebel camps were neutralized.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have largely following the structure of the United States Armed Forces as a model. The three branches are the Philippine Army, the Philippine Navy (which includes the Philippine Marine Corps/PMC) and Philippine Air Force. In 1991, the Philippine Constabulary and the Integrated National Police were amalgamated into the Philippine National Police (PNP), which is responsible for all domestic land-based law enforcement tasks. The Philippine Coast Guard, created in 1967, conducts maritime law enforcement and safety, but can be mobilized in time of war. The AFP Joint Special Operations Command (AFP-JSOC) oversees all specialist units of the armed forces, including the 1st Scout Ranger Regiment, the Army Special Forces Regiment, Light Reaction Regiment, Navy Special Operations Command, Force Reconnaissance Group (PMC) and the 710th Special Operations Wing of the PAF.

Camouflage Patterns of the Philippine Army, Constabulary, and Air Force

• The use of printed camouflage by Philippine forces can actually be traced back to the Second World War, by Filipino irregular units operating alongside American guerilla forces such as the Alamo Scouts, as well as the US Marines while defending the Philippine Islands from the Japanese. After the war, departing American forces reputedly left some quantities of original "frogskin" camouflage uniforms in the hands of the newly reformed Armed Forces of the Philippines, where they were pressed into service with Scout Ranger units of the Army and the Constabulary.

• The Scout Ranger concept was the creation of general Rafael Manio Ileto, a WW2 veteran of the Alamo Scouts, who envisioned a guerilla unit that could conduct irregular warfare against communist-inspired Hukbalahap insurgents in Central Luzon. The First Scout Ranger Regiment was created on November 25, 1950. Along with the PC Rangers (men of the Philippine Constabulary that had graduated from Scout Ranger School and were organized into twelve companies), the Army Scout Rangers were the first military unit to be issued a camouflage uniform. Having worn American "frogskin" camouflage during his time as an Alamo Scout, general Ileto envisioned his rangers wearing a similar uniform. Thus early photographs of both the Scout Ranger Regiment and the PC Rangers all show men wearing a "frogskin" or "duck hunter" style camouflage pattern uniform. Sources for these uniforms remain somewhat shrouded in mystery, although it is reasonable to assume they were a mixture of surplus WW2 era American "frogskins" and locally or regionally-produced uniforms. Certainly by the early 1960s, independently produced duck hunter/frogskin camouflage was being worn by these units. Although not always clear in older photographs, it is apparent from surviving examples (such as those in the AFP Museum) and some color photos that both green and tan dominant camouflage colorways were produced.

• Another very early camouflage design worn by military units in the Philippines were copies of South Vietnamese tiger stripe patterns. Sources suggest these were produced as early as the 1960s and worn by by Army Special Forces, Home Defense Forces Group (HDFG), Scout Rangers, Special Forces Group of the Philippine Constabulary and the Navy Special Warfare (SWAG) units. Early uniforms were unquestionably fabricated from imported cloth printed in other Asian countries such as Japan and Thailand (which has continued to provide fabric and uniforms to the Philippines); however, some later production fabrics are definitely of local manufacture. By the late 1980s, the use of tiger stripe camouflage decreased to the point where it was only worn by certain Navy units, although it was later revived by the Army Special Forces as well.

These Thai-produced patterns are copied from the ARVN "Tadpole Sparse" design, although printed on fabrics that never saw use in the Vietnam War, being much lighter weight. The design to the right appears to be a direct copy of the ARVN pattern, while the left-hand pattern has some similarities, but also some differences.

Later tiger patterns produced in the Philippines seem to use locally-designed drawings, or designs produced in Thailand for export. These latter are not based on ARVN-inspired tiger patterns, but can be recognized as similar in design to those available on commercial markets even today.

• Probably as early as 1968, some units of the AFP began wearing US-designed ERDL (aka "leaf") pattern camouflage fatigues, both the original, Vietnam War era fabrics and those produced in the postwar period and often called "transitional ERDL" by some historians and collectors. Use of this pattern would continue into the late 1980s by all branches of service. Other variations of ERDL, both locally produced and sourced in Thailand would also appear in use with AFP (see below).

• Introduced in May 1977, the Philippine seven colour brushstroke pattern is loosely based on the South Vietnamese Airborne "pinks" camouflage design. Its design and implementation is attributed to Army General Arwel Oropesa. This pattern was first worn by Home Defense Forces Group (HDFG) and Army Special Forces units, and later by the Army Scout Rangers, first issued in 1977 to graduates of the Scout Ranger school. Although often categorized as having two variants (red dominant and green dominant), my observation of several extant samples suggests that there were simply a wide number of color variations produced depending on the production run. That said, Mr. Javier has written that the early version (Type 1) has a more green tint to it, while the later version (Type 2) features the more reddish tones, and was not issued until 1979. Illustrated below are at least five different examples of the pattern, showing the wide array of color combinations.

• Introduced in 1972, another very early Philippine camouflage design that was produced locally is the so-called "puzzle" pattern, named because the shapes resemble pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The pattern may also have been nicknamed "Buck Skin" camouflage. There are, in fact, two distinct variations of the puzzle pattern, with an undetermined number of "sub-variations" distinguished by color differences, as well as by slight (or major) shifts in the print screens during the fabric production process. All of the "puzzle" designs were worn by the Philippine Army and Constabulary from the 1970s into the 1980s. Seen below are two examples of what I have termed the Type I Puzzle pattern, which appears to be the most common version.

• Three examples of the Type II Puzzle design are seen below. Although they appear at first dissimilar, they are in fact variations made from the same original drawings. The colors, of course, are different, but the basic shapes can be identified if a careful examination is made. No doubt there were several companies producing the fabrics for the government during that time period, some of whom must have produced batches of cloth that were sub-standard or with errors, but which were utilized for clothing anyway. All examples featured on this page come from uniforms produced in the Philippines.

• Seen here is another variation of the leaf camouflage pattern worn by some units of the Philippine Armed Forces beginning in the 1960s and based more around the US m1948 ERDL design, although with darker colors. Originally designed for use by the Phillipine Navy (and sometimes called Philippine Navy Leaf Camouflage), the pattern continued to be worn locally during the Marcos era by other branches of the AFP as well. Two color variations were put into production: the original Navy version, and a later version designed for the Army but never fully implemented. This latter design featured a lime green base color and a more forest green mid-range color.

• By the mid-1980s, the original, American-designed US m81 woodland camouflage pattern as well as locally-made copies of woodland design emerged in service with elite units like the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Constabulary and the Presidential Security Group (PSG). In January, 1987 the AFP authorized use of m81 woodland camouflage to all of its units, and local production would begin of a heavyweight cotton twill version of the pattern. By the 1990s, locally-made ripstop variations of woodland would enter production and see widespread use by members of the armed forces. The later version of Philippine woodland (not shown) had a yellowish-khaki base and a medium olive green, as well as the standard black and chocolate brown.

• Uniform standards in the AFP have historically not been very strictly enforced, meaning that individual service members could supply their own camouflage pattern fatigues as long as they were of reasonably good quality and similiar in design to those issued by the government. Many surplus American BDUs and other items were incorporated into the armed forces this way. Additionally, surplus camouflage from other nations, like the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Thailand, were often available very cheaply at local flea markets and would frequently be obtained by military personnel, with original insignia stripped and local patches applied in their place.

• First introduced in the early-1990s, the standard camouflage pattern of the Philippine Army and Air Force has been a locally-produced copy of British DPM ever since. A number of color variations exist, printed on a variety of fabrics.

• A version of the DPM pattern camouflage is also worn by the Philippine Air Force, incorporating dark brown, dark blue & medium blue disruptive shapes on a light grey background.

• Tiger stripe pattern camouflage was revived in the early 2000s for use strictly by Army Special Forces Regiment. The uniform is officially known as the Special Forces Distinctive Uniform, or SFDU.

• Introduced in 2009, the pixelated camouflage pattern seen here was developed for members of the Special Operations Command (SOCOM). As with most of the Philippine "digital" camouflage designs, the early examples are made from imported fabrics. The uniform is officially known as the SOCOM Distinctive Uniform, or SDU.

• The Army Scout Rangers introduced a pixelated camouflage pattern of their own, primarily for ceremonial use, in 2009-2010. The pattern consists of very dark grey, medium grey and white on a black background. The uniform is officially known as the Scout Ranger Distinctive Uniform, or SRDU.

• The Army Light Reaction Battalion (LRB) also has its own distinctive pixelated camouflage pattern and uniform, known as the Light Reaction Battalion Distinctive Uniform (LRBDU).

• Officially revealed as the new camouflage pattern of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in August 2016, a variation of Camopat™ (developed by HyperStealth Industries) is now in production and will gradually replace the old DPM pattern. Originally developed in 2007, Camopat™ was created in a wide variety of color palettes; the colorway chosen for the AFP pattern was tailored for the jungles of the Philippines and is not available commercially through the developer. However, due to copyright and royalty issues, the Philippine government did not finalize an agreement with HyperStealth, so developed its own design based on the original Camopat™, now called PHILARPAT.

• Another version of PHILARPAT with a modified colorway was introduced early in 2020 for the Philippine Air Force (PAF). The color palette consists of green, black, and light green on a light grey background, and is officially known as Philippines Air Force Pattern (PHILAIRPAT).

Camouflage of the Philippine Navy and Marines

• The first distinctive camouflage design created for the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) is seen here, colloquially called Malunggay, and also Ugat (root shapes), or even "Mangrove." This design was actually introduced around 1972 as a test pattern for the Marine Corps, but was rejected, re-designed, and then rejected a second time. Thus, two color variations of the pattern exist that never saw widespread distribution to the PMC. Finally, a third version was produced that saw approval by the Department of Defense. The Type 3 design features black "twig" or "root" shapes over large blotches of dark olive green & brown on a tan background. The pattern was later re-printed with a pale green background. The original drawings for this design may have originated in Thailand. There is some evidence to suggest an early incarnation of the Philippine Constabulary Special Action Force also made use of this camouflage pattern in the early 1980s.

• A second camouflage pattern for the Philippine Marine Corps was introduced in 1978, and was reputedly influenced by the earlier Ugat design. Variations of this basic leaf design continued to be re-issued until recently, when a pixelated pattern was adopted.

• Subsequent variations of the early Philippine Marines leaf pattern dating from around 1995 to the 2000s feature a different set of drawings and often have different background or base colors. These generally feature overlapping leaf shapes in black, dark brown & dark olive green on a khaki, yellowish tan, or light olive green background.

• Since the late 1990s, the Philippine Navy Combat Engineers (Construction Battalions or Seabees) have worn a vertical tiger stripe camouflage pattern seen here. The pattern continues to be worn alongside the Marine Corps Malunggay and pixelated patterns by members of this unit.

• Early versions of tiger stripe camouflage were issued to the Navy Special Warfare Group (SWAG) in the 1970s, and this eventually became their preferred operational uniform pattern. Most of the early patterns were copied from South Vietnamese originals. The present tiger stripe camouflage pattern of the Philippine Navy Special Warfare Group (SWAG) is seen below, at the right. Several variations exist, having slightly different shades of color. This has been issued since 1990.

• In 2008, the PMC and some units of the Navy adopted a pixelated camouflage design with the Philippine Navy and PMC logos embedded into the pattern. Officially known as PHILMARPAT (Philippines Marines Pattern) the design incorporates black, brown & dark green on a light khaki background, and original supplies of cloth were imported from China. PHILMARPAT has been a copyright-protected pattern since March 2010.

• Circa 2018, the Philippine Navy adopted its own version of Camopat™ with a unique color palette. The design is mostly shades of grey with some black included.

Camouflage of the Philippine Coast Guard

• A unique "Red" DPM camouflage design (similar to some variations of the Omani "red DPM") was used by the Philippine Coast Guard K9 unit in the early 2000s and discontinued in 2005.

• Units of the Philippine Coast Guard adopted a grey variation of the "chocolate chip" six-colour camouflage design for operational use in 2007.

• In 2018, a blue-dominant pixelated camouflage design replaced the earlier grey six-color pattern for operational use.

• Early in 2020, the PCG adopted a new pixelated camouflage design with a higher concentration of grey and less blue elements. Embedded within the design is a small logo of the Philippine Coast Guard.

• A variation of the Camopat design was adopted by the PCG in June 2022. Similar to the Navy version, the Coast Guard design incorporates two shades of grey and small elements of black, with a slightly more compacted pixelization. The logo of the PCG is also embedded into the pattern.

Camouflage of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other Agencies

• A black/grey or "urban" coloration of standard m81 woodland pattern was worn by a number of Philippine law enforcement and security agencies in the mid-1980s and 1990s, including units of the Philippine Constabulary, the Presidential Security Group, and the Bureau of Jail Managment and Penology.

• A camouflage pattern based on the standard Army DPM design was introduced in the 1990s for wear by some units of the Philippine National Police (PNP). This design, the so-called "blue" or "purple DPM" incorporates black, midnight blue & dark maroon disruptive shapes on a lavender background.

• The first camouflage pattern worn by the PNP Special Action Force (SAF) was based on the US six-color desert pattern, but having a distinctively pink or mauve colorway. This pattern was worn primarily between 1995 and 1997.

• The second camouflage pattern of the Special Action Force retained the basic drawings but considerably altered the colorway to a more green-dominant scheme. six-colour pattern. Introduced in 1997, the pattern was worn until around 2000.

• The third camouflage pattern of the Special Action Force again altered the colorway. Subsequent printings utilize an even darker color palette. This pattern was introduced in 2001, and produced until 2006 (theoretically replaced by the digital design below); however, uniforms in this design continue to be worn by some members of the PNP.

• The fourth camouflage pattern of the PNP SAF was introduced in 2006. This was the first digital design worn by Philippine personnel, and the original fabric was printed in China. The pattern incorporates black, dark green, foliage green & brown on a grey background, although there is some variation among production runs.

• One of several experimental digital patterns considered for the PNP SAF but never adopted is seen below. These were part of the trials of 2005. This design incorporates similar colors to the official version, but has a logo of the SAF embedded in the pattern. This design was never adopted.

• The Philippine Presidential Security Group are a unique branch of service tasked with the protection of the President and VIPs. The agency began painting its vehicles in a unique grey-black urban camouflage pattern nicknamed "bricks" in 1989. Because the unit is secretive and does not keep a high profile, the precise date that camouflage uniforms in this patter were adopted is unknown, but at least by 1991 at the very latest. There are three primary colorways documented: a grey and black version, a grey, black and tan version, and another variation of the tan that has more "pinkish" hues.

• Circa 2011, the Bureau of Jail Management & Penology (BJMP) adopted its own pixelated camouflage design, seen below. Known colloquially as "Delta" pattern, like most of the other Philppine pixelated designs this one also has a miniature logo of the agency embedded into the pattern.

• The Department of the Interior and Local Government's Bureau of Fire Protection has recently (2012) issued a pixelated camouflage pattern with an orange colorway to some members of its Fire and Rescue Service. The pattern is issued only to the Special Reaction Unit (SRU).

• The Rescue Battalion of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) wear a woodland variation camouflage design with dark red, black and grey shapes on a lighter grey background.

• The Philippine National Police adopted a new pixelated camouflage design in 2019, called simply "Digital Green," for their Field Service Uniform (FSU). The pattern incorporates traditional "woodland colors" - black, medium brown, and foliage green on a khaki/olive background.

• Operational elements of the Philippine Bureau of Corrections (BUCOR) adopted an Asian-produced copy of the A-TACS Arid camouflage design.

• Circa 2020, the Port Police Force of the Philippine Port Authority (PPA) adopted its own pixelated camouflage uniform incoporating black, medium blue, and medium grey elements on a light grey background. The logo of the PPA is embedded into the design.

• In November 2021 the Philippine Bureau of Customs Enforcement and Security Service introduced a pixelated camouflage pattern uniform incorporating dark grey, dark blue and black. The Bureau of Customs coat of arms is embedded into the pattern.

Notes

We wish to gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the late Mr. Isangani (Gani) Ocampo for his generous assistance in providing research and documentation for this article. Gani was a true friend and I was saddened to hear of his passing. Likewise, I acknowledge the work and dedication of Mr. Pedro Antonio V. Javier, whose reference book on the evolution of Filipino Camouflage has been extremely helpful by filling in gaps in our research on this subject.