What is AFPCES?
The AFP Commissary and Exchange Service was established pursuant to GHQ Staff Memorandum Nr 5 dtd 5 December 1972 and organized as an AFP Wide Support and Separate Unit (AFPWSSU) effective 01 July 1976 pursuant to GO Nr 920 GHQ AFP dtd 13 July 1976. Further, AFPCES was activated as a regular unit of General, Headquarters, AFP effective 31 January 1987 pursuant to General Order Nr 138 dtd 26 February 1987.
AFPCES was organized as a military unit but functions as a morale and welfare arm through its retail merchandising activities wherein quality goods are offered at the lowest possible price.
Under contemporary situations, the basic mission of AFPCES as expressed in LOI 31-A and PD 83 is partly enshrined in Sec 7 of Article XVI (General Provisions) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which states that: “the state shall provide immediate and adequate care, benefits and other forms of assistance to war veterans and veterans of military campaigns, their surviving spouses and orphans. Funds shall be provided therefore and due consideration shall be given them in the disposition of agricultural lands of the public domain, and in appropriate cases in the utilization of natural resources.”
Origin of AFPCES
It is not known to many that the origin and story of survival of the commissary are woven as postscript to the last 100 years since the Filipino nation first declared independence.
(Based on the extensive research done by LT COL RESTITUTO L AGUILAR, former Director for Sales and Operation Department of AFPCES, which traces the origin and existence of the unit through the years.)
Origin of the Commissary
Unknown to many, the commissary and exchange system in the Philippines is 115 years old this year. This century-old tradition of unselfish services to the Filipino soldier was born coinciding with one of the most glorious era in our history – the Philippine Revolution and the Fil-American War.
On 01 November 1897, President Emilio Aguinaldo and other representatives of the Filipino people met at Biak-na-Bato to draft and ratify a constitution for the Filipinos. Article XVI of that Constitution states, in effect, that: “the Secretary of War is in charge of all military correspondence; of the increase and decrease, of the organization and instruction of the army, is head of staff, is in charge of enlistment and of providing clothings, hospitals, commissary and ordinance.” The 52 delegates pledged this legal document with word and honor. Thus, the birth of the commissary systems became official with 01 November 1897 as the anniversary date.
Eventually, Lt Gen Baldomero Aguinaldo, as the Secretary of War, designated Maj Gen Isidoro Dayao Torres as the Army’s Commissary General on December 7, 1898. Gen Torres immediately established the first “Comisario de Guerra” which played a major role and a backbone in General Emilio Aguinaldo’s military establishment, particularly its operating battalions.
Coming of the Post Exchange (PX) Era
The defeat of the Filipino troops by the Americans at the turn of the century did not bring an end to the commissary system as an American version has been introduced to the field of soldiery in local setting. This was formally implemented by an act in 1901 through the Constabulary Organization which the new colonial masters established to pacify the Filipino’s fervor towards self-determination. It has a supply store established to serve the needs of officers and the men which initially benefited only the Americans, but as years went by and in consonance with the Jones Act, the rewards of the system had also been enjoyed by various government entities.
During the First World War that was centered in Europe, America, as an emerging world power, launched a program of military mobilization in the islands through the creation of Philippine National Guards. At the close of the war, the national guards were never involved in any foreign or overseas war, may be due to divine intervention. However, the deactivation of national guards has also brought the history of the Post Exchange to a close.
Closure and Return of the Commissary and Post Exchange System
In 1941, the Japanese Imperial Army bombed pearl harbour, igniting the war in the Pacific. The outbreak of the Second World War had interrupted the operations of the commissary and the exchange system in the country.
After the war, the commissary was revived on March 20, 1946, and was then called Quartermaster Sales and Commissary Store Detachment under the supervision and functional control of the Quartermaster General stationed at the Port Area, Manila. The exchange system, on the other hand, was revived through the Philippine Army Exchange on August 12, 1946 at Camp Murphy (now Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo). Three (3) years later, an AFP Exchange System under the supervision of an executive council was created, operating independently, to service all units of the AFP through a wholesale department, excepting the unit at Camp Murphy, which was to remain a retail operation.
The commissary system began to disappear from the scene by mid 1950’s. In the case of the exchange system, it went on until problems of mismanagement plagued a number of the major outlets. GHQ AFP was compelled to organize a study team to assess the operations and management of the exchanges. The AFP Exchange System ended its services formally on April 1971.
The AFP Commissary and Exchange Service was established pursuant to GHQ Staff Memorandum Nr 5 dtd 5 December 1972 and organized as an AFP Wide Support and Separate Unit (AFPWSSU) effective 01 July 1976 pursuant to GO Nr 920 GHQ AFP dtd 13 July 1976. Further, AFPCES was activated as a regular unit of General, Headquarters, AFP effective 31 January 1987 pursuant to General Order Nr 138 dtd 26 February 1987.
AFPCES was organized as a military unit but functions as a morale and welfare arm through its retail merchandising activities wherein quality goods are offered at the lowest possible price.
Under contemporary situations, the basic mission of AFPCES as expressed in LOI 31-A and PD 83 is partly enshrined in Sec 7 of Article XVI (General Provisions) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which states that: “the state shall provide immediate and adequate care, benefits and other forms of assistance to war veterans and veterans of military campaigns, their surviving spouses and orphans. Funds shall be provided therefore and due consideration shall be given them in the disposition of agricultural lands of the public domain, and in appropriate cases in the utilization of natural resources.”
Origin of AFPCES
It is not known to many that the origin and story of survival of the commissary are woven as postscript to the last 100 years since the Filipino nation first declared independence.
(Based on the extensive research done by LT COL RESTITUTO L AGUILAR, former Director for Sales and Operation Department of AFPCES, which traces the origin and existence of the unit through the years.)
Origin of the Commissary
Unknown to many, the commissary and exchange system in the Philippines is 115 years old this year. This century-old tradition of unselfish services to the Filipino soldier was born coinciding with one of the most glorious era in our history – the Philippine Revolution and the Fil-American War.
On 01 November 1897, President Emilio Aguinaldo and other representatives of the Filipino people met at Biak-na-Bato to draft and ratify a constitution for the Filipinos. Article XVI of that Constitution states, in effect, that: “the Secretary of War is in charge of all military correspondence; of the increase and decrease, of the organization and instruction of the army, is head of staff, is in charge of enlistment and of providing clothings, hospitals, commissary and ordinance.” The 52 delegates pledged this legal document with word and honor. Thus, the birth of the commissary systems became official with 01 November 1897 as the anniversary date.
Eventually, Lt Gen Baldomero Aguinaldo, as the Secretary of War, designated Maj Gen Isidoro Dayao Torres as the Army’s Commissary General on December 7, 1898. Gen Torres immediately established the first “Comisario de Guerra” which played a major role and a backbone in General Emilio Aguinaldo’s military establishment, particularly its operating battalions.
Coming of the Post Exchange (PX) Era
The defeat of the Filipino troops by the Americans at the turn of the century did not bring an end to the commissary system as an American version has been introduced to the field of soldiery in local setting. This was formally implemented by an act in 1901 through the Constabulary Organization which the new colonial masters established to pacify the Filipino’s fervor towards self-determination. It has a supply store established to serve the needs of officers and the men which initially benefited only the Americans, but as years went by and in consonance with the Jones Act, the rewards of the system had also been enjoyed by various government entities.
During the First World War that was centered in Europe, America, as an emerging world power, launched a program of military mobilization in the islands through the creation of Philippine National Guards. At the close of the war, the national guards were never involved in any foreign or overseas war, may be due to divine intervention. However, the deactivation of national guards has also brought the history of the Post Exchange to a close.
Closure and Return of the Commissary and Post Exchange System
In 1941, the Japanese Imperial Army bombed pearl harbour, igniting the war in the Pacific. The outbreak of the Second World War had interrupted the operations of the commissary and the exchange system in the country.
After the war, the commissary was revived on March 20, 1946, and was then called Quartermaster Sales and Commissary Store Detachment under the supervision and functional control of the Quartermaster General stationed at the Port Area, Manila. The exchange system, on the other hand, was revived through the Philippine Army Exchange on August 12, 1946 at Camp Murphy (now Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo). Three (3) years later, an AFP Exchange System under the supervision of an executive council was created, operating independently, to service all units of the AFP through a wholesale department, excepting the unit at Camp Murphy, which was to remain a retail operation.
The commissary system began to disappear from the scene by mid 1950’s. In the case of the exchange system, it went on until problems of mismanagement plagued a number of the major outlets. GHQ AFP was compelled to organize a study team to assess the operations and management of the exchanges. The AFP Exchange System ended its services formally on April 1971.