title: Professionalization and politicization of the armed forces of the Philippines
Creators: name: Selochan, Viberto
Publisher: name: The Australian National University
Year: 1990
Subjects: subject: Philippines Armed Forces Political activity History
subject: Philippines Politics and government 1935-1946
subject: Philippines Politics and government 1946-

description: Professionalization and politicization are concepts that have been used to analyze the role of armed forces in society. While the concept of professionalization has been predominantly used to examine militaries in the Western democracies, the concept of politicization has been employed in the analyses of Third World armed forces. In this thesis both concepts are used in the examination of the historical development of a Third World military, that of the Philippines. In 1935 the Philippines achieved Commonwealth-status from the US which had colonized the islands in 1898. To prepare for its promised independence a decade later, President Manuel Quezon acquired the assistance of an American Military Mission under General Douglas MacArthur to plan a defence program for the Philippines. MacArthur designed the armed forces according to a Western model of apolitical professionalism. Education and training programs were devised to achieve this objective. But problems were inherent in the defence program from its inception. American and Philippine government officials could not decide whether the islands needed a military as suggested by MacArthur and whether the Philippines could in fact afford it. As a result education and training were not adequately conducted in the military because of a dearth of equipment and a lack of qualified instructors. World War II interrupted the development of the Philippine military and it was amalgamated into the US forces in 1941. Development of the armed forces resumed when they once again came under the Philippine government upon independence in 1946. By this stage the Hukbalahap movement was becoming a threat to the government and the military had to focus its attention on internal conflict. With American assistance in the form of materiel, education and training, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (APP) achieved characteristics of professionalism such as expertise in combat and community service and it suppressed the Huks. Its success in defeating the insurgents contributed to the military being perceived in society as efficient, and defence secretary Ramon Magsaysay gave the military a role in government when he was elected president in 1953. Officers became heads of government departments and the military was involved in nation-building programs. Professionalism did not receive as much attention as it did during the anti-Huk campaign and the military became politicized. Magsaysay's sudden death created confusion in the military and reluctance by many officers to return to the armed forces, despite the avowed desire of his immediate successors to remove officers from government positions and the military from civic action duties. Ferdinand Marcos became president of the Philippines in 1965. He returned the armed forces to performing civic action functions. In 1972 he declared martial law. The military upheld martial law and in the process became a partner in government. Officers again headed government departments, though in larger numbers than under Magsaysay, and some managed private corporations. By virtue of its activities in the martial law regime the AFP became politicized and professionalism received little attention. The result was that when the Communist and Muslim insurgencies threatened the society in the 1970s the AFP's combat skills were found wanting. The Muslim irredentists put the AFP to the test in a conflict in the South which turned into a bloody war. Major problems became evident in. the armed forces, among them a lack of adequate military education and combat training, a lack of discipline, and low morale. These issues contributed to the increasing factionalism of the AFP that finally surfaced openly in 1985. By 1986 one of these factions turned against Marcos after fraudulent elections and supported Corazon Aquino to become president. Despite its role in this event, Aquino was determined to remove the military from politics and professionalize it. But elements in the APP were not prepared to revert to performing purely military duties and made several unsuccessful attempts to seize political power. Repeated failures have not tempered their quest for government and the signs are that these factions in the AFP will continue to try to achieve a larger role in government. This suggests that once a military is politicized it is difficult to professionalize or reprofessionalize it.