Law Enforcement Organization and Administration

3:30 – 5:30/ Tec 211

Submitted by: Mark H. Dayanan

Submitted to: Prof. William Revisa

Historical Background of Philippine National Police

Spanish Regime

The maintenance of law and order in the Philippines up to the 19 th century

was looked upon by the Spanish government as part of the military systems for
the defense of the colony. So the locally organized police forces, although
performing civil duties and seemingly created for the sole purpose of maintaining
internal peace, were in fact direct adjuncts to the colonial military establishment,
that is the members being potential soldiers in the guise and garb of policemen,
or policeman in appearance but colonial soldier and policeman in one, was
exemplified in the Guardia Civil which gave the Spanish Colonial Government a
tremendous power to control and centralize police administration, thus enabling
the supreme head to indicate the politics to be pursued in maintaining peace and
order. What may be termed police functions then consisted mainly in:

a. the suppression of brigandage by patrolling unsettled area.

b. detention of local or petty uprising by spying upon the work and
Government of the people, and lastly,
c. the enforcement of tax collection, including church revenues.

Carabineros de Seguridad Publica

Organized in 1712 for the purpose of carrying the regulations of the

department of state; this was armed and considered as the mountain police;
years after, this kind of police organization discharged the duties of a port,
harbor, and river police.

The Guardrilleros

This was a body of rural police organized in each town and established by
the Royal Decree of 18 January 1836; this decree provided that 5% of the able-
bodied male inhabitants of each province were to be enlisted in the police
organization for three years.

The Guardia Civil

This was created by Royal Decree issued by the Crown on 12 February

1852 to partially relieve the Spanish Peninsular troops of their work in policing
towns; it consisted of a body of Filipino policemen organized originally in each of
the provincial capitals of the Central provinces of Luzon under the Alcalde Mayor.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION AND WORLD WAR II (1941-1945)

The outbreak of war in the early 1940s saw the PC join the United States
Army Forces in the Far East in defense of the Philippines against the Japanese
invasion. Since then, the PC was part of a military organization. In June 1945,
Military Police Command was made a nucleus of the AFP.

Four (4) signal units were organized on August 1, 1945, for the service in
the projected operation against the Japanese mainland. These units were Signal
Operations, the Signal Light Construction Battalion, the Signal Base Depot
Company and the 1st Signal Company, PA.

Two (2) of the four (4) Signal units of were deactivated in September 1945,
when the war ended with the surrender of Japan. Only the Signal Operations
Battalion and the 1st Signal Company, PA remained. During the battle of Bataan,
the men of Signal Corps displayed rare brand of courage by dashing in numerous
battleground to repair damaged wires. Indeed, the Signal Corps managed to
render outstanding performance until the surrender of Bataan and Corregidor,
despite of limited resources.

The fall of Bataan was not the end of hostilities insofar as the AFP Signal
Corps was concerned. Major Francia (who later became Brigadier General) and
the late Brigadier General Macario Peralta organized the first guerilla unit in the
Visayas. The Guerilla unit was also the first resistance outfit to have established
radio contact with the American Forces in the Western Pacific (AFWESPAC)
under Gen Douglas Mac Arthur based in Australia. The contact with AFWESPAC
effected the transshipment of military supplies and Allied Bureau Personnel from
Australia to the Philippines via US submarines. One of those dispatched to the
Philippines on a secret mission was the late Col Jesus Villamor of the defunct
Philippine Army Air Corps (now the Philippine Air Force).

Somewhere in the year 1941 the designated Chief Signal officer of the
Philippine Constabulary (PC) was Col JUAN E ARROYO until 1942. The vital
information regarding the strength and disposition of the enemy fed to
AFWESPAC by then CPT Frago precipitated the conquest of Bataan and
Corregidor by the American Liberation in early 1945 in fulfillment of Mac Arthur’s
promise to return. During this period, the current PC Signal Officer was COL
JUAN E ARROYO.
Philippine Republic
The system of police force built by the erstwhile Philippine Republic
received its severe shock at the onslaught of the revolution of 1896. The blow
was intended against the Spanish Army and the Government as a whole. In spite
of its military structure and semi-military training. It easily collapsed because it
lacked the true police morale and pre-requisite of civil nature, so essential in its
strength as a part of the executive branch of the civil government.

PRE-AMERICAN ERA

In the early years (1860s), the Signal Corps had fallen behind in the field
of military communications. Although the army still used flags and torches to
convey information, the rapidly developing technology of the late nineteenth
century carried communications into the electrical age. The Signal Corps’ role in
the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the subsequent Philippine Insurrection
was on a grander scale. The first battle was in the sea near the Philippines where
on May 1, 1898, Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish squadron.
Communications difficulties hampered Washington’s ability to direct operations in
the Philippines nearly ten thousand miles away. As volunteer troops from
Western States as well as some Regular Army units gathered at San Francisco,
USA to sail for the Philippines, Maj Gen Wesley Merit assumed command of what
eventually became known as the VIII Army Corps. Recognizing the necessity of
communications, Merit requested the signal soldiers, especially those who could
speak Spanish to accompany his troops.

By that time, Adolphus Greely was the Chief of the Signal Corps (He
succeeded Brigadier General Albert James Myer –the first chief and founder of
the Signal Corps 1860-1880). Greely commented the Signal Corps was “fortunate
in the linguistic acquirements of its officers” he could comply with the Merritt’s
wishes. With Spanish forces concentrated in the Caribbean, the Philippines lay
vulnerable to attack. After the Merritt’s forces took control of the Manila Bay by
destroying the relatively weak Spanish squadron on May 1, 1898 they finally
arrived in Manila on 30 June 1898 which signaled the start of the establishment
of Signal Corps in the Philippines.

The First Volunteer Signal Company which was the first signal unit to land
in the Philippines arrived at Manila Bay on 31 July 1898. The next day it began
the construction of a telegraph line to connect Cavite, the base of supply, with the
American troops stationed outside Manila. Working in heavy rains and excessive
heat, the task was not an easy one. Difficulties notwithstanding, the company
completed the job on August 5, 1898. The 18th Volunteer Signal Company
arrived on 24 August to assist with the establishment and maintenance of
telegraph and telephone lines.
 Although the protocol signed on 12 August called for a cease-fire on all
fronts, the troops in the Philippines did not receive the news for several days
because of the severed cable. Thus, the armies fought the Battle of Manila on 13
August after peace had been declared. Like the Battle of New Orleans fought and
won eighty-five years earlier by Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson after the formal
conclusion of hostilities, the Battle of Manila occurred solely as a result of the
slowness of communications. Because the Spanish could not successfully defend
Manila, they made arrangements with the Americans to surrender after a token
resistance. According to the agreement, the insurgents were not allowed to enter
the city. All commanders had not been apprised of the arrangement, however,
and hard fighting in several sectors resulted in some casualties. Having salvaged
their honor, the Spanish finally surrendered, bringing the war to an end.

During the Battle of Manila, signal detachments served with each division
and brigade commander, with one held in reserve. Another detachment ran an
insulated wire along the beach as the troops advanced. Signalmen maintained
communication with the Navy with flags, which they also used to direct naval
gunfire against the Spanish positions.

Within fifteen minutes after the troops seized the Spanish lines, the Signal
Corps ran its telegraph wires to the front. As Capt. Elmore A. McKenna,
commander of the 1st Volunteer Signal Company, reported, “A red and a white
flag of the Signal Corps were the first American emblems shown within the
Spanish entrenchments, being there some minutes before the Spanish flag was
pulled down and the American flag run up in its place.”

The government’s Dodge Commission, which investigated the conduct of

the war, concluded that “the work accomplished by the Signal Corps was of great
aid to the army in the field and very efficient in maintaining communication in all
of the camps. Despite the hardships of the war, signalmen had “filled neither the
guardhouse nor the hospital.” In his words: “Battles may be fought and epidemics
spread, but speedy communications must nevertheless be maintained.”

The peace negotiation between Spain and the United States was in the
late September 1898. By the treaty of Paris, signed in December 1898, Spain
ceded the Philippines and other territories to the United States. In return, the
United States gave Spain $20 Million. United States president William McKinley
then issued a proclamation declaring US policy to be one of the “benevolent
assimilation” which signaled the Philippine-American War as the Filipino refused
to recognize the transfer of sovereignty. And this signaled the However, the
fighting broke out on February 4, 1899.

The next day a signal officer, 1st Lt. Charles E. Kilbourne, Jr. (son of the
inventor of the outpost cable cart), distinguished himself at Paco Bridge, in a
suburb of Manila. Under enemy fire he climbed a telegraph pole to repair a
broken wire, reestablishing communication with the front. For this feat he became
the third Signal Corpsman to win the Medal of Honor.
 American commissioners arrived in March primarily to act as a fact-finding
body for President McKinley in preparation for the establishment of a civil
government. On 4 April 1899 they issued a proclamation intended to convince the
Filipinos of America’s good intentions. It included a pledge to construct a
communications network throughout the archipelago. The Signal Corps, under
Maj. Richard E. Thompson and his successor Lt. Col. James Allen, became
responsible for installing this system, which entailed laying cables between the
principal islands. In addition to the permanent lines, the Corps ran temporary
lines to accompany the troops in the field. Because the two volunteer signal
companies still serving in the Philippines could not handle the expanded duties, a
third company was formed out of personnel drawn from the two existing
companies as well as from other units. Each company operated with a division,
forming detachments as needed for a variety of duties. The 18th Company,
serving with Maj. Gen. Arthur MacArthur along the railroad from Manila to
Dagupan, became railway dispatchers. As the volunteer signal units were
gradually mustered out, Regular Army units replaced them.

The Signal Corps labored under adverse conditions. Lack of roads

hindered the transportation of material and equipment; the terrain was often
either jungle or swamp. To facilitate transportation, signalmen used carabao, or
water buffalo, as pack animals. When possible, they employed either Filipino
laborers who were friendly to the Americans or Chinese coolies as porters and
linesmen. Wooden poles required constant repairs because they rotted in the
intense heat or were destroyed by ants.

The tropical climate, with its alternate wet and dry seasons, caused the
soldiers physical discomfort and exposed them to indigenous diseases, such as
malaria and amebic dysentery. The insurgents posed the greatest danger,
however, incessantly sabotaging the lines and ambushing the soldiers who came
to fix them. Armed escorts often accompanied the signal parties to provide
protection, as the signalmen carried only revolvers

Perhaps the most ambitious job undertaken by the Signal Corps was the
laying of submarine cables between the major islands. (Although a British firm,
under concession from Spain, had already constructed cables between many of
the islands, the Army needed its own system.) Other forms of communication
were too slow, with mail sometimes taking two to four months to travel from one
island to another. In some areas the Signal Corps conducted inter-island
communication by heliograph and the newly adopted acetylene lantern. The
transport Hooker, having been outfitted by the Quartermaster Department,
arrived in the Philippines in June 1899 to begin cable-laying operations. While the
Corps had received some experience with underwater cables in Cuba, it obtained
assistance for the Philippine project from professional cable engineers.
Unfortunately, on the way to Hong Kong to obtain coal, the Hooker was wrecked
on a reef near Corregidor. Luckily, most of the cable and machinery were saved,
and in April 1900 a second ship, the Romulus, began laying the recovered cable.
With the arrival of the Burnside in December 1900, the Corps extended its
system, laying over 1,300 miles of cable connecting the principal islands of the
archipelago by June 1902.

However, by early 1900 organized Filipino resistance had declined

markedly. Despite American control of most of the provinces on Luzon, which
was Aguinaldo’s home and the center of the independence movement, guerrilla
warfare continued and the pacification of the entire archipelago proceeded
slowly. It was difficult for the Americans to tell friend from foe: The insurgents
posed as civilians by day and took up arms at night. The hundreds of raids and
ambushes mounted by the guerrillas cost the Americans dearly in
casualties. With the eventual capture of the elusive leader of the first Philippine
Republic, General Emilio Aguinaldo on March 23, 1901, the event signaled the
end of the Filipino-American War. The restoration of peace and order in the
Philippines remained a vexing problem to the colonizing Americans. With the
capture of Aguinaldo in March 1901, guerrilla activity subsided but did not cease.
Given the improving conditions in the islands, the Army shed its governmental
responsibilities, and William Howard Taft became the civil governor in June
1901.

Colonial America

When the early colonists set up a system of laws and law enforcement in
America, they brought the common law system of England with them. In this early
system, the county sheriff was the most important law enforcement official. The
duties of the sheriff in those times were far more expensive than they are today.
Then the sheriff collected taxes, supervised elections, and so forth. As far as law
enforcement goes, the role of the sheriff in colonial America was completely
reactive. If a citizen complained, the sheriff would investigate the matter. If
evidence could be collected, an arrest would be made. There were no preventive
efforts, and preventive patrol was not conducted.

AMERICAN OCCUPATION (1901-1935)

The establishment of a Civilian Government by Americans in the year

1901 did not hinder the goal of the Signal Corps in establishing vital
communication systems and facilities that will be beneficial for the Philippine
government in its attainment and preservation of peace and
independence. Indeed, the Signal Corps still work hand-in-hand with the U.S.
Army as partners in all activities and operations even in the organization of
Insular Police Force pursuant to Organic Act No. 175 “An Act Providing for the
Organization and Government of an Insular Constabulary and for the Inspection
of the Municipal Police”. By that time, the designated Chief of Constabulary was
Henry T Alien (U.S. Volunteer in the Philippines) and the existence of the
volunteer signal companies is still at large.

A gradual transfer of the Signal Corps’ communications system to the civil

government began in 1902. This was followed by the Filipinization of the
Constabulary with the appointment of General Rafael Crame as PC Chief in
1917. From then on, all of the enlisted men were Filipinos, taken, as a rule, from
the locality in which they are to serve.

In the middle of 1930’s, when Col Paciano C Tangco (then a Major) first
attempted to provide signal communications for the AFP by improvising
homemade radio sets for the Philippine Constabulary (PC) field operatives. The
PC was engaged in an intensified campaign against the notorious Asedillo-
Encallado bandit groups operating in Tayabas Quezon (now Quezon).

COMMONWEALTH ERA (1935-1946)

Prior to the establishment of the Common Wealth of the Philippines, the

United Stated Army had maintained a force in the Philippines. This force was
composed mostly of native Filipinos and led by US officers, including a US
general, Gen Douglas MacArthur. This force was the Philippine Department. With
the exception of the Philippine Constabulary, the region had no forces. The
National Defense Act or Commonwealth Act No. 1 on December 1935 was
enacted creating the Philippine Army and this ended the 35 years of service and
experience of the Philippine Constabulary as an insular police force. 19 Thus, the
Philippine Constabulary became the nucleus of the nation’s defense force, for it
was the only well-disciplined armed organization in being at the time.

The Philippine Constabulary personnel and duties were transferred to the

control of the Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army pursuant to Executive Order
No 11 dated January 11, 1936. Shortly after the passage of the National Defense
Act and Executive Order No 11, the AFP Signal Corps was created somewhere
in 1936 as one of the technical services of the Philippine Army (PA). It was given
the mission of establishing signal communications in the ten (10) military districts
of the country. During that year, the current Chief of the Signal Corps was COL
PACIANO TANGCO PA.

Inspire of the scarcity of equipment, the AFP Signal Corps showed

commendable Services during the outbreak of World War II. Among the notable
feats was that of the team of Col Angelo Frago who established a secret
communications link between Manila and Corregidor right under the noses of the
Japanese Imperial Army in Manila. It was also the signal unit of Panay Guerilla
Forces under then CPT AMOS M FRANCIA that established contact with a
maritime section in San Francisco, California, operating under the US
department.
POST-LIBERATION ERA (1946 – 1972)

In anticipation of a protracted war with Japan after liberation of the country

several Signal Corps units were activated: the 1st Signal Operations, 1st Signal
Light Construction Battalion, 1st Signal Base Depot Company and the 1st Signal
Company, PA. During this time, the Military Place Command (MPC)
AFPWESPAC was slowly being reverted to its mother unit, the Philippine
Constabulary. Consequently, extensive communications network linking General
Headquarters with subordinate units was being established through a joint
Filipino-American effort. The network was to be manned by the personnel of the
Signal Service Group (Comp), MPC, PA under Col Juan Arroyo (then Major). The
network played the significant role of transmitting election messages and returns
during the first post-war election in November 1946.

The MPC Signal Corps installed and operated a broadcasting station

”KAIMP” (Voice of Peace and Order) to support the psychological warfare
activities of the corps. It served as a medium for disseminating important
information and announcements nationwide to MPC, PA Personnel.

The need for the expansion and improvement of the existing network
prompted communications to support such project in 1947. Among the significant
developments and improvements to note include: the acquisition of AFWESPAC
Signal Corps School buildings and facilities, the stockpiling of the signal
equipment turned-over by the AFWESPAC, the activation of the Signal Branch,
Philippine Ground Force and the organization of the Signal Intelligence Service.
Later on, manual telephone systems were replaced by XYPABX systems and HF
radio circuits were replaced by multi-channel VHF radio systems.

The Office of the Chief Signal Officer (OTCSO) was first organized
pursuant to Central General Staff Circular Nr SC-1-34, Hqs Army of the
Philippines dated 05 May 1947. During this period, the activation of the Signal
School was made possible after the Armed Forces in the West Pacific
(AFPWESPAC) turned over buildings and facilities being used by the Signal
Training School at Polo, Bulacan. Furthermore, the Signal Operations Battalion
again transferred to Santolan Road about a kilometer from the HPA. During that
time, the battalion had an authorized strength of 26 officers and 575 enlisted men
organized into Hqs and Hqs Detachment, Alpha (Wire) Company, Bravo (Radio &
Message Center) Company and Medical Detachment.

On October 1947, the Signal Intelligence Service was activated with its
Hqs also located at Camp Marulas, Polo, Bulacan. This was followed by the
merging of the Signal Operations Battalion and the 1st Signal Company, PA on
December 17, 1947. During this period, the 1st Signal Company, PA was
deactivated and absorbed as Charlie (Heavy Construction) Company of the
Signal Operations Battalion pursuant to Philippine Army TOE 11-95. The
authorized strength of the battalion, however, was reduced to 22 officers and 352
enlisted men.
 The Signal Operations Branch was deactivated and in its place the Signal
Battalion was activated with the first commander MAJ ARMANDO MEDEL in
Camp Murphy on January 22, 1948. It was organized into four (4) operating
companies namely: ALPHA Company, which was responsible for the installation,
maintenance and operation of Camp Murphy Telephone System; BRAVO
Company, which was in charge of the AFP radio network including teletype
service; CHARLIE Company, which was responsible for the cable construction
and maintenance not only for the Camp Murphy cable system but also in support
of cable construction on other AFP Camps; DOG Company, which was tasked for
the repair of all types of signal equipment and in charge of photographic and
public address system coverage, and HQS & HQS COMPANY which was tasked
for the direction, personnel, training and logistic support for the operating units.

On July 22, 1948, a Signal Repair Company with a strength of 3 Officers

and 50 enlisted men was added to the Signal Service Battalion pursuant to
General Order Nr 322, Hqs, National Defense Force dated 22 July 48 enlarging
the battalion to five (5) companies, namely: Hqs & Hqs Company, Alpha (Wire)
Company, Bravo (Radio and Message Center) Company, Charlie (Heavy
Construction) Company, and Delta (Signal Repair) Company.

The strength of Signal Service Battalion was reduced anew to 17 officers

and 263 enlisted men on November 19, 1948. Furthermore, it was moved again
to Camp Diliman on August 9, 1949 when the US Army Quartermaster Depot
vacated the place. It was LTC PACIANO TANGCO JR who accepted the camp
from the US Army.

The development of the AFP fixed communication system has started in

the year 1950. Voice communications became operational between Camp
Murphy (Quezon City), Camp Lapu-Lapu (Cebu City), Camp Evangelista
(Cagayan de Oro) and Fort Del Pilar (Baguio City). In addition to this, the
pneumatic conveyor system and the first automatic (dial) telephone system was
installed in Camp Murphy. Typical teletype equipment during the period was the
FGC-25X, GGC-3, and the TT-photographic and public address system coverage
and other communication support missions of the Battalion. As a result, more
personnel were called since the expansion of Signal Service Battalion to fill the
requirements of its four (4) operating units. The Battalion provided the basic
military training while further signal specialization were undertaken by the Signal
School at Camp Marulas, Polo, Bulacan. On December 26, 1956, the Alpha and
Bravo Companies of Signal Service Battalion were relocated from Camp Diliman
to Camp Murphy to facilitate the operation and maintenance of the GHQ
COMCENTER and transmitting station at Camp Murphy.
The Military Police Command became the Philippine Constabulary by
virtue of Executive Order No. 308 dated 30 March 1950. Despite of the early
birth, it was only on September 1955 that the organization of the PC Signal Corps
was formalized. It is interesting to note that in 1955, the PC was emasculated.
The Provincial Commands were placed under the respective Military Area
Commanders. The CPC only remained command over HC units. In
communications, HPC had only telephones at the different offices, a teletype
machine at AG, HPC connected to GHQ Com Center, and local courier
service. During this year, the Chief of the PC Signal Corps was COL AUGUSTO
F GUTIERREZ. He rendered valuable service for about five years and was
replaced in the year 1960.

With the appointment of GEN MANUEL F CABAL as CPC, the situation

was drastically reversed. HPC took complete command and control of the Huk
campaign, so that the Military Area Commands were under HPC. Consequently,
HPC had to provide the signal communication means. GEN CABAL earmarked
then LTC AUGUSTO F GUTIERREZ, then the Signal Officer of the 1st Military
Area for the position of PC Chief Signal Officer. COL GUTIERREZ picked out a
complement of thirty (30) technically trained enlisted personnel from the 1st and
2nd Military Areas to take care of the PC communications needs. They were
placed under the command of CAPT TEOTIMO G JUAN, who started the
groundwork for radio and teletype circuits (land line circuit each to Olivas and
Canlubang and radio teletype circuit each to Cebu City and Cagayan De Oro
City). Thereafter, the PC successfully commanded and controlled the units in the
Huk campaign and other tasks related to peace and order drive at the time as
well as the 1955 elections. Other accomplishments included the creation of the
TRAFCON (now CHPG) communication system and the conduction of the initial
planning stages of the PC automatic telephone system.

From then on, a series of reorganization took placed in the PC Signal

Corps to keep pace with the rapid build-up of forces in the Constabulary. The
Office of the PC Chief Signal Officer was created pursuant to GO No. 29, HPC
dtd Sep 55. The creation of a Communication Platoon was formalized pursuant to
GO No. 44, HPC dtd 12 Mar 58. The unit was organic to Hqs Svc Coy, HPC, but
was operationally under the PC Chief Signal Officer.
The Communication Platoon became a Signal Company and subsequently
activated pursuant to Section IV, GO No 159, GHQ AFP, dtd 9 Oct 58 with an
authorized strength of two (2) officers and eighty (80) enlisted personnel.
Likewise, Signal Coys were constituted pursuant to approve TOE 11-1OP, GHQ
AFP, dtd 1 Oct 58. These Zone Signal Coys were under the technical supervision
of the PC Chief Signal Officer.

In the year 1960, the designated Chief of the PC Signal Corps was COL
ARMANDO V MEDEL. The construction of various buildings for the AFP long
lines stations and camp communication facilities reeled off. Among these were
the Manila Zone Center Building, the proposed hub of long distance telephone
and telegraph communication of the AFP network and the GHQ COMCENTER
building at Camp Aguinaldo (formerly Camp Murphy). He was replaced by COL
LEONARDO A MAYUGA in the year 1962 and serves the Corps until 1966.

In 1964, a new 12-channel VHF TRC-24 (50-1875MHz) radio relay

systems replaced the old 4-channel TRC-1 (70 - 100 MHz) system and
significantly improved the communications network. Radio relay stations were
established at Mt Banoy in Batangas, Mt Sibuyan in Romblon, Mt Mauyong in
Cebu and Mt Kitanglad in Bukidnon to link Manila Zone Center to the 3rd PC
Zone/3rd Military Area at Camp Lapu-Lapu in Cebu City and 4th PC
Zone/4th Military Area at Camp Evangelista in Cagayan de Oro.

Pursuant to Section 11, GO No 45, HPC, dtd 13 Sep 66, Hqs Sig Svc &
Spt Grp was constituted effective 1 Oct 66. It had an authorized strength of six (6)
officers and eighteen (18) enlisted personnel. The unit was composed of five (5)
Sig Svc & Spt Bns. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th sig Svc & Spt Bns were assigned to
their corresponding PC Zones, while the 5th Sig Svc & Spt Bn was assigned at
HPC to serve as working arm of the PC Signal Officer. During this year (1966),
the designated Chief of the PC Signal Corps was COL FLORENCIO G
BERNARDO and he served the Corps until 1967.
Together with the National Power Corporation, the unit rolled out 96,000
feet of high tension lines. It is the Signal Corps’ share in the electrification thrust
of the government.

In 1967, Hqs Svc & Spt Grp was unfilled and the Office of the Chief Signal
Officer was constituted with an authorized strength of three (3) officers and four
(4) enlisted personnel pursuant to Secs I & II, GO No 113, HPC, dtd 22 Nov 67.
The five (5) Sig Svc & Spt Bns were reduced to company size and remained
under the technical supervision of the Office of the Constabulary Chief Signal
Officer (OCC-SO).

With the advent of Communications-Electronics in the AFP, the Office of

Constabulary Chief Signal Officer (OCC-SO) was renamed Office of the
Constabulary Chief Communications-Electronics (OCC COMMEL). The Office of
the Zone Chief Communications-Electronics (OZCC-E) was likewise created at
the four (4) PC Zones. The artery of the Communications-Electronics passes
down to the communications section of the PC TFs, PC Provl Comds, PC Bns
and communications teams of PC line companies and detachments.

In the year 1958, the high frequency (HF) radio links were upgraded into 4-
channel very high frequency (VHF) radio relay systems using the military type
radios TRC-1. This was the beginning of the transition from the old HF system to
the newer VHF system. The network extended from Manila to Baguio in the north
and from Manila to Cagayan de Oro in the south. This was followed by the
approval of Plan FORESIGHT SIERRA (1959) by the Chief of Staff and work
commenced earnestly under the Systems Engineering Agency (SEA), then
attached to the Officer of the Chief Signal Officer.

The construction of various buildings for the AFP long lines stations and
camp communication facilities reeled off in 1960. Among these were the Manila
Zone Center Building, the proposed hub of long distance telephone and telegraph
communication of the AFP network and the GHQ COMCENTER building at
Camp Aguinaldo (formerly Camp Murphy).
 In mid-1963, Signal Service Battalion was reorganized internally. Bravo
Company was deactivated and in its place the Signal Long Lines Company was
likewise re designated as Command Signal Operations Company (August 20,
1962). The activation of Signal Long Lines Company under Signal Service
Battalion was on September 1, 1963. Upon its activation, four (4) channel radio
relay circuits were extended to the South connecting GHQ and Hqs, 3rd Military
Area in Cebu through relay stations in Mt Banoy in Batangas, Mt Giting-Giting in
Sibuyan Island, and Mt Kitanglad in Bukidnon

In response to the increasing AFP requirements, a US Army mobile team

arrived to conduct in-service training on 12-channel VHF radio set AN/TRC-1
equipment. The training took about three (3) months after which AFP propagation
and installation teams were dispatched to northern Luzon, Mindanao and
Mindanao to install and operate the equipment at the designated terminal and
relay sites. The Manila Zone Center was completed on November 1963, paving
the way for the transfer of the Signal Long Lines Company from Camp Aguinaldo
to Fort Bonifacio.

In the year 1964, new 12-channel VHF TRC-24 radio relay systems
replaced the old 4-channel TRC-1 system and significantly improved network.
Radio relay stations were established in Mt Banoy (Batangas), Mt Sibuyan
(Romblon), Mt Mauyong (Cebu) and Mt Kitanglad (Bukidnon) to link Manila Zone
Center to the 3rd PC Zone/3rd Military Area in Camp Lapu-Lapu, Cebu City and
4th PC Zone/4th Military Area in Camp Evangelista, Cagayan de Oro. Thus, the
Signal Long Lines Company was detached from the Signal Service Battalion and
was made a separate unit under the Signal Service Group which later became
Communications-Electronics Group on 01 March 65. It was organized/activated
replacing the defunct Signal Service Group. Personnel of the newly organized
unit under Commel Group came from the Signal Service Battalion.

A signal Construction Company was provisionally organized on June 16,

1967 which was tasked to undertake the biggest civic action activity of the
Commel Group. .This Company of 3 officers, 300 enlisted men and 62 first class
trainees, undertook the construction of 100 kilometer Luna-Bantay Transmission
line in Ilocos Sur. Together with the National Power Corporation; the unit erected
a total of 96,000 feet high tension lines, the Signal Corps’ share in the
electrification thrust of the government. During that year, the Chief of the Commel
Group was Col Ciriaco P Hocson until 1972.