Philippines

Republic of the Philippines

The Republic of Philippines is an archipelago comprising 7,107 islands and a population of approximately 92 million people. Occupied by Japan during the Second World War, the country was granted independence by the United States following the war.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines consist of the Army, Navy (including the Marine Corps), Air Force and the Coast Guard. The Philippine Constabulary was also a former branch of the armed forces, but was reorganized into the Philippine National Police in 1991, at which point it ceased to be a branch of the armed forces.

Camouflage Patterns of the Philippine Armed Forces

• Presumably the earliest camouflage uniforms produced in the Philippines were made using copies of South Vietnamese tiger stripe patterns. Sources suggest these were produced as early as the 1960s or 1970s and worn by by Army Special Forces, Home Defense Forces Group (HDFG), Scout Rangers and Navy Special Warfare (SWAG) units. Early uniforms were probably fabricated from imported cloth printed in other Asian countries, although later patterns are definitely of local manufacture. By the late 1980s, the use of tiger stripe camouflage decreased to the point where it was only worn by certain Navy units.

• Introduced in 1977, the Philippine seven colour brushstroke pattern is loosely based on the South Vietnamese Airborne "pinks" camouflage design. This pattern was first worn by Home Defense Forces Group (HDFG) and Army Special Forces units, and later by the Army Scout Rangers. Although often categorized as having two variants (red dominant and green dominant), the reality seems to be that there were simply a wide number of color variations produced depending on the production run. Illustrated below are at least five different examples of the pattern, showing the wide array of color combinations.

• Another very early Philippine camouflage design that was produced locally is the so-called "puzzle" pattern, named because the shapes resemble pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Several color variations were produced, some of them using different sets of drawings. These designs were worn by the Philippine Army and Constabulary from the 1970s into the 1980s.

• A Philippine copy of the US m81 woodland camouflage pattern emerged during the mid-1980s and saw scattered use with special units of the Philippine Army and Constabulary.

• First introduced in the early-1990s, the standard camouflage pattern of the Philippine Army and Air Force has been a locally-produced copy of British DPM ever since. A number of color variations exist, printed on a variety of fabrics.

• A version of the DPM pattern camouflage is also worn by the Philippine Air Force, incorporating dark brown, dark blue & medium blue disruptive shapes on a light grey background.

• Tiger stripe pattern camouflage was revived in the early 2000s for use by Army Special Forces and the Special Operations Command. These units continue to wear the pattern sporadically, but it is scheduled to be replaced by a pixelated design.

• Introduced in 2009, the pixelated camouflage pattern seen below was originally issued to members of the Special Operations Command. As with most of the Philippine "digital" camouflage designs, the early examples are made from imported fabrics.

• The Army Scout Rangers introduced a pixelated camouflage pattern of their own, primarily for ceremonial use, in 2009-2010. The pattern consists of very dark grey, medium grey and white on a black background.

Camouflage of the Philippine Navy and Marines

• The first camouflage pattern issued to the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) dates to the early 1980s. Variations of this basic leaf design continued to be issued until recently, when a pixelated pattern was adopted. Seen below is the earliest issue PMC pattern.

• Another early PMC camouflage pattern is seen here. The design features black "twig" shapes over large blotches of dark olive green & brown on a tan background. The pattern was later re-printed with a pale green background. The original design may have originated in Thailand.

• Subsequent variations of the early Philippine Marines leaf pattern feature a different set of drawings and often have different background or base colors. These generally feature overlapping leaf shapes in black, dark brown & dark olive green on a khaki, yellowish tan, or light olive green background.

• Another leaf camouflage pattern attributed to the Philippine Navy appears to be based more around the US m1948 ERDL design, although with darker colors. It is unknown which Navy units would have worn this pattern, but possibly SWAG or the Seabees.

• Since the late 1990s, the Navy SeaBees (Construction Battalions or Navy Engineers) have worn a vertical tiger stripe camouflage pattern seen here.

• Early versions of tiger stripe camouflage were issued to the Navy Special Warfare Group (SWAG) in the 1970s, and this eventually became their preferred operational uniform pattern. Most of the early patterns were copied from South Vietnamese originals. The present tiger stripe camouflage pattern of the Philippine Navy Special Warfare Group (SWAG) is seen below, at the right. Several variations exist, having slightly different shades of color. This has been issued since 1990.

• Since 2008, the PMC and some units of the Navy are wearing a pixelated camouflage design with the Philippine Navy and PMC logos embedded into the pattern. The pattern incorporates black, brown & dark green on a pale green background, and original supplies of cloth were imported from China.

Camouflage of the Philippine Coast Guard

• "Red" DPM (quite similar in the colours to the Omani "red DPM") used by the Philippine Coast Guard K9 unit

• Philippine Coast Guard "choc chip" 6 colour uniform

• Philippine Coast Guard digital pattern

Camouflage of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other Agencies

• A camouflage pattern based on the standard Army DPM design was introduced in the 1990s for wear by some units of the Philippine National Police (PNP). This design, the so-called "blue" or "purple DPM" incorporates black, midnight blue & dark maroon disruptive shapes on a lavender background.

• The first camouflage pattern worn by the PNP Special Action Force (SAF) was based on the US six-color desert pattern, but having a distinctively pink or mauve colorway. This pattern was worn primarily between 1995 and 1997.

• The second camouflage pattern of the Special Action Force retained the basic drawings but considerably altered the colorway to a more green-dominant scheme. six-colour pattern. Introduced in 1997, the pattern was worn until around 2000.

• The third camouflage pattern of the Special Action Force again altered the colorway. This pattern was introduced in 2001, and worn until 2006.

• The fourth camouflage pattern of the PNP SAF was introduced in 2006. This was the first digital design worn by Philippine personnel, and the original fabric was printed in China. The pattern incorporates black, dark green, foliage green & brown on a grey background, although there is some variation among production runs.

• The Philippine Presidential Security Group are a unique branch of service tasked with the protection of the President and VIPs. Since the late 1990s, the unit has worn a unique urban camouflage pattern nicknamed "bricks." There are two primary colorways documented, a grey and a tan dominant.

• Circa 2011, the Bureau of Jail Management & Penology adopted its own pixelated camouflage design, seen below. Like most of the other Philppine pixelated designs, this pattern also has a miniature logo of the agency embedded into the pattern.

• The Department of the Interior and Local Government's Bureau of Fire Protection has recently (2012) issued a pixelated camouflage pattern with an orange colorway to some members of its Fire and Rescue Service.