It was created by the American occupational government to replace the Spanish colonial Guardia Civil,[1] happened on the 19th century history of the Philippines.

Continued disorder and brigandry prompted Governor-General William Howard Taft to maintain the PC to combat insurgents.

Captain Henry T. Allen of the 6th U.S. Cavalry, a Kentucky-born graduate of West Point (Class 1882), was named as the chief of the force, and was later dubbed as the "Father of the Philippine Constabulary".

The Philippine Constabulary Band was formed on October 15, 1902, by Colonel Walter Loving upon the instructions of Governor-General Taft, who was known as a music lover.

The 86-piece band toured the United States to great acclaim, leading the parade in Washington, D.C. to celebrate Taft's 1909 presidential inauguration, and performing at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the 1915 World's Fair.

Part of this tract became Camp Crame, named after Brigadier General Rafael Cramé of Rizal Province who became the first Filipino appointed Chief of the Constabulary on December 17, 1917.

The PC once again existed as an independent force retaining all duties in maintaining peace and order and protection of life and property.

One of the most significant provisions of the law re-creating it was that which provided that officers and enlisted men detached from the army and transferred to the PC shall retain their identity and legal rights and obligations as officers and enlisted men of the army; that the president may, at his discretion, transfer at any time any officer or enlisted man to and from the army to the Constabulary, respectively; and that all services performed in the Constabulary shall count for all legal purposes as military service.

Thus, began the linear roster of officers for both the Constabulary and the Armed forces up until the PC was merged with the Integrated National Police in 1991.

The 1st and the 2nd were assigned to safeguard public utilities vital to the survival of the growing population of the City of Greater Manila.

The two PC regiments less the 2nd Battalion of the 1st which was ordered to proceed to Bataan immediately, were assigned in Manila to arrest all aliens believed to be sympathetic with the enemy.

In addition, these units were ordered to safeguard centers of communication and all public utilities in the city and of securing the metropolitan area against subversive elements.

"On Bataan and Corregidor, in Aparri, Lingayen and Atimonan, everywhere in the islands were the invaders dread to set foot, Constabulary troops distinguished themselves in action against overwhelming odds."

The Constabulary went on active service with the Philippine Commonwealth Army under President Sergio Osmeña's Executive Order 21, dated October 28, 1944.

[citation needed] A major revamp in the Armed Forces was effected on March 30, 1950, when President Elpidio Quirino issued Executive Order No.

308 which called for the merger of the Philippine Constabulary with the Armed Forces, making it one more major service command.

Due to the unstable peace and order conditions existing in the countrysides brought about by the resurgence of the Hukbalahap (Huk) which require more personnel strength, the Philippine Army was called upon to assist in the pacification drive with the employment of its combat arms – the Battalion Combat Teams or BCTs, with PC men absorbed by the BCTs.

113, dated April 1, 1950, the PC was formally merged with the Armed Forces of the Philippines; the merger was completed on July 27, the same year.

With the appointment, on American advice, of former USAFFE guerilla Rep. Ramon Magsaysay as Secretary of National Defense in September 1950 and the subsequent appropriation by Congress of more funds for the drive against the Communist movement in the Philippines, more BCTs were formed.

[27] The AFP was given many other functions, including assisting in the implementation of price controls imposed on key products like corn and rice, enforcing the rules of the national corn procurement program, assisting in the collection of rural and government bank loans, implementing the agrarian reform law, and various police functions such as collecting unlicensed firearms and enforcing curfews, and suppressing strikes, rallies, and other demonstrations.

[35] Aside from human rights abuses, these units were also accused of hounding media entities,[36][37] corporate management,[38] and opposition groups[39] with threats, intimidation, and violence.

[40] The need to assert civilian control of the military was a reform agenda which began being addressed almost as soon as Ferdinand Marcos was deposed by the 1986 People Power Revolution; within a year of Marcos' ouster, the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines enshrined the principle of civilian supremacy over the military.

[41] After the various coup attempts of the 1980s, the recommendations of the Davide Commission included the dissolution of the Philippine Constabulary as a service under the AFP.

The PC was then removed from the Ministry of National Defense and eventually civilianized, as part of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, through attrition and recruitment of new personnel.

As a civic function, it performed in conjunction with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Red Cross disaster relief operations during natural calamities and the like, alongside other organizations in later years.

[citation needed] ¹ – Can be attained if a PC officer was appointed as Chief of Staff, AFP ² – Can be attained if a PC officer was appointed as Vice Chief of Staff, AFP Headquarters Directorates: The Philippine Constabulary Rangers, or PC Rangers, were independent light infantry companies which served as a counter-insurgency force similar to United States Army Rangers and were organized into 12 large regional companies.