The early proponents of the PAAF meant not only to promote athletics in the whole archipelago but in the whole Far East.

The PAAF formed a committee in 1912, composed of Frank L. Crone, Elwood Stanley Brown and William Tutherly, for this purpose.

The first Filipino Olympian was David Nepomuceno who participated in Athletics in the 100m and 200m sprints events at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.

[3] In 1975 the PAAF was renamed to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) after the establishment of the Department of Youth and Sports Development which effectively abolished the former.

The first elected Filipino president of the sports body was then Senator Manuel L. Quezon who succeeded Forbes and served from 1916 to 1935.