Collection

History

The creation of the philippine marine corps was conceived by the late president Ramon Magsaysay, then the secretary of national defense, primarily to serve as a highly mobile, hard-hitting seaborne force to check the growth of the communist led hukbalahap and other lawless elements along the vast coastline of the archipelago.
The first marine company was formally activated on 02 November 1950 with 6 officers and 230 enlisted men from the philippine naval patrol who were mostly world war ii veterans. a common denominator existed among the first marines as it is today...they were all volunteers. this unit became the nucleus of the present philippine marine corps.
After five months of training, the unit was ordered to conduct its first amphibious assault against the local communist hukbalahap at umiray, quezon on 19 April 1951. To their disappointment, the marines seized their first beachhead unopposed. It was not until they were deployed in Nueva Ecjia on 3 June 1951 that the marines experienced their baptism of fire. Since then, the marines never left the combat zone. Detachments of platoon and squad size units were deployed against pirates and smugglers in the southern Philippines, against private political armed groups in the northern and central provinces, and against lawlessness and criminality in various provinces in the main island of Luzon. as a company, there had never been a similar size unit, with only so few men in our armed forces that was ever deployed in almost all parts of the country.
The extensive engagement of the first marine company in various successful mission had convinced the armed forces of the Philippines of the need for more marines. On 7 November 1955 the first marine battalion was organized and activated. Since then, 7 November was adopted as the Philippine marine birthday.
The real test for the fledgling unit came when national unrest again swept the country in the early 70's. The secessionist movement in Mindanao deployed armed groups for open hostilities against the government while the local communist movement in Luzon showed indications of resurgence. During these critical times, the people clamored for the deployment of the marines in their provinces to keep the peace. As such, more marine units had tо be activated and fielded to join other units in these areas of conflict.
Over the years, the corps has evolved from a company of volunteers to three marine brigades and one marine reserve brigade, ten battalion landing teams, a combat and service support brigade, one reconnaisance battalion, a training center, a headquarters battalion and the marine security and escort group.
On november 7, 1995, the 7000 strong Philippine marines was renamed as the Philippine marine corps, one of two major type commands of the Philippine navy.
After the signing of the 1996 peace agreement with the moro national liberation front, the moro islamic liberation front, which was a breakaway group of the secessionist movement, intensified their claim for an independent Bangsamoro republic in the southern Philippines. The late 90's again saw the Philippine marine corps spearheading the campaign to dismantle this secessionist organization. the internal security operations conducted by the government in the year 2000 commenced with the liberation of Kauswagan town in Lanao Del Norte province by the Philippine marine corps against the moro islamic liberation front forces that held hostage approximately 400 innocent civilians. The marines continued spearheading the offensive in dismantling the numerous camps established by the enemy until the eventual capture of camp Abubakar, the stronghold of the secessionist movement. the bloody campaign earned for the marines numerous individual and unit awards for heroism and gallantry in combat.
Through the years, the Philippine marine corps have likewise responded to various non-traditional military duties. It has been in active support to lead government agencies in local and international law enforcement and peacekeeping, in government development programs, environmental protection, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief operations.
The philippine marine corps is guided in its genuine and unwavering service to god, country and the phlippino people, by its motto of Karangalan,Kkatungkulan, and Kabayanihan.