SUMMARY
The Philippines became independent from the United States, to which it had served as a protectorate, on 4 July 1946. The country was ruled by Spain before becoming an US protectorate in 1898. During the Second World War, the Philippines came under a short-lived Japanese occupation that ended in 1945. Following the ousting of dictator Ferdinand Marcos (in office since 1965) in 1986, the Philippines has been a presidential republic led by the Presidents Corazon C. Aquino (1986-1992), Fidel V. Ramos (1992-1998), Joseph Ejercito Estrada (1998-2001), Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2001-2010), Benigno S. Aquino III (2010-2016), Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016-2022), and Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr (2022-). In the mid-2000s, the Philippines started to experience a deterioration of its democratic milieu; it has however remained an electoral democracy.
The Government of Philippines had access to more than 100 000 for most years when it was engaged in fighting various insurgent organizations. In addition, the Government of Philippines has maintained the practice of arming and training private warlord militias (“local civilian defense units”) to fight both the CPP, and later the MILF. While technically under government control, these groups tended to act autonomously, controlled by local political executives and strongmen. The militia groups were organized as the more formal Civilian Armed Force Geographical Units (CAFGUs), and the less formal Civilian Volunteer Organizations (CVOs). In 2013, the number of government troops was estimate at more than 200 000, including the police and CAFGU. However, since the conflicts in the Philippines were confined to relatively small geographic regions, it was very hard to assess how many of these troops were deployed in each conflict. Following a peace agreement signed with the Moro separatist group (MNLF) in 1996, some 7500 former rebel fighters were also integrated into the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine police force.
The Government of Philippines also had close ties to the Ampatuan militia during the rule of President Macapagal-Arroyo, whose victory in the 2004 presidential election largely hinged on the Ampatuan family securing her voter support in Mindanao. It should however be noted that the Government of Philippines was not complicit in the Ampatuan militia’s attacks on civilians in 2009.
The United States considered the Philippines a Major Non-NATO Ally, and the two states signed a Mutual Defense Treaty in 1951, which was reaffirmed via the 2011 Manila Declaration. The Philippines has maintained a close relationship to the United States, and the AFP has received both military equipment and materiel from the United States, as well as training and military advisors. One example was the joint US-Philippine military operation (“Enduring Freedom – Philippines”) that was launched in 2002 against Islamist insurgents (particularly the Abu Sayyaf Group) in southern Philippines. As part of this operation, the United States sent military advisors to assist in the training of AFP troops.
