The Philippine Army Kamagong Concept
The Birth:
During the peak of the declaration of Martial Law in 1972, when the AFP needed to deploy forces all over the country most especially in Mindanao in a scale that was not experienced before, the Kamagong Concept was adopted in order to effectively respond to the needs of time. This concept was purposely crafted to address the defects of the Army’s Contingency Plan (OPLAN PAGTITIBAY).
In early 1972, the Army made an assessment and review of OPLAN PAGTITIBAY, which proposes to mobilize the pre-organized reserve units when national threat is imminent. Result of said assessment revealed the following defects:
Actual mobilization of reserve forces takes at least 3 months which is not desirable when threat is imminent;
Mobilization for war may create a negative psychological effect on people; and,
There is a great possibility that reservists may not respond to the mobilization call as desired.
The Name:
The concept was named after a very hard tree found in the Philippine forests to characterize the concepts’ durability and sturdiness. While there were other more durable and sturdy trees known, Kamagong was chosen due to its typically masculine resonance and the name evoked the feeling of strength, solidness and invincibility.
The Concept:
The KAMAGONG Concept was a revolutionary change in the scheme of contingency planning. Under the concept, a 20 or 21 year-old trainee shall, if becomes necessary, be employed side by side with the regular troops.
Instead of mobilizing reserve units to augment the regular force, which requires much time and effort as proposed by OPLAN PAGTITIBAY, OPLAN KAMAGONG envisioned to employ the services of the extended trainees who are:
the most readily available;
the most fit; and,
the most fresh from basic military training.
Every year, thousands of young men had to go through basic military training as provided by Law in the 1935 Constitution that “the defense of the state is the prime duty of the government and the people”. In the fulfilment of this duty, all citizens may be required by law to render personal, military or civil service.
The extension of training period is provided by RA 4091 (Trainee Utilization Law) which amends Section 53 of the National Defense Act requiring all young men who reached twenty years of age to register and acquire a six-month military training and one year actual service in the regular force.
Implementation of the Concept:
The following are the summary of salient points in the implementation of the KAMAGONG Concept:
Trainees serving extended tours of duty were earmarked for assignment to Kamagong units;
Officers and selected senior enlisted personnel were assigned to the Kamagong Battalion to form its cadre;
After the prescribed six-month training the Kamagong Battalion was formally organized and activated;
If time warrants, the battalion would undergo unit training until it was employed;
After the trainees completed their tour of duty as prescribed by law, they were replaced by the new batch of trainees who just finished their basic military training; and,
Since the training was a continuous process, with at least four batches of trainees each year, the Kamagong Battalions were assured of readily available freshly trained replacements.
PD 182: Strengthened the Kamagong Concept
RA 4091 (Trainee Utilization Law) was found to be inadequate for the purpose of fully implementing the Kamagong Concept due to the following reasons:
It only allowed trainees one year of extended service;
Not enough incentives were provided for a trainee in combat; and,
There was not enough force in making combat service mandatory because no prescribed penalty for violation of said law.
To give life, strength and substance to the concept, Presidential Decree 182 was promulgated in 06 May 1973 with the following salient points:
It authorized one more year of service to draft trainee graduates after completing 18 months of training/service;
It made service mandatory and provided penalties for any violation of its provisions; and,
It provided adequate incentives for draftees. In addition to monetary benefits, the draftee who finished his required service was given preferential employment to government service notwithstanding his lack of educational qualifications and civil service eligibility. In fact many draftees were enlisted to the regular force.
Kamagong Force Build-up:
The Kamagong Concept was approved by the Commander-in-Chief on 28 October 1972, the same day when the first three Kamagong Battalions were officially activated: the 12th, 22nd and 28th Battalions.
In 1973, the following 12 additional Kamagong Battalions were organized: 3rd, 6th, 24th, 21st, 9th, 25th, 30th, 7th, 15th, 19th, 8th, and 18th Battalions giving a total of 15 Kamagong Battalions.
On March 1974, the Army’s reorganization was approved by the GHQ leading to the conversion of all regular battalions to Kamagong Battalions with a prescribed regular soldier to trainee ratio of 275 regular : 325 trainee from the old ratio of 50 regular : 391 trainees. Eight more battalions were organized within the year increasing the total of maneuver battalions to 36 as of September 1974.
It is worthy to note that from only 9 battalions as of 01 July 1972, the Army’s standing force grew up to 36 battalions as of 01 July 1974. Meaning, the Kamagong Concept was able to organize 27 maneuver battalions in just 26 months.
References:
History of the Philippine Army 1945-1985 Volume II by OACH
The Kamagong Concept as a New Approach to National Development by LTC WILFREDO F LAGANZON (Commandant’s Paper: 1975-1976)
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