The Armor Division is a combined arms organization composed of tank, cavalry and mechanized infantry.

[3][4] The Armor "Pambato" Division[5] traces its origins to the cavalry units raised by the Spanish Army during the long years of colonial rule and the revolution.

[7] An old Renault FT tank used during the First World War became the first armored vehicle to be used in the Philippines, albeit only for training purposes.

During the stages of the defense of Bataan, for the first time, tanks and armored vehicles were used in battle in the Philippines, replacing the horses.

The Philippine Army also created and organised of Battalion Combat Teams (BCT), that saw action during the Korean War, as part of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea, such as the 10th BCT Tank Company, where they participated the Battle of Yultong, led by Conrado Yap.

This is pronounced "pambato" with stress at the second syllable "ba" synonymous with "panlaban" which is translated in English as "bet" or the single best unit/person/item amongst a group in the same category, in the hope of winning the field or game they are playing.