Editing Armed Forces of the Philippines (section)

===Creation and the Commonwealth Era===
[[File:Philippine Commonwealth Army personnel.JPG|thumb|282x282px|Philippine Commonwealth Army personnel]]
In accordance with the [[National Defense Act of 1935]], the ''Armed Forces of the Philippines'' was officially established on December 21, 1935, when the act entered into force.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1935/12/21/commonwealth-act-no-1/|title=Commonwealth Act No. 1|date=December 21, 1935 }}</ref> Retired U.S. General [[Douglas MacArthur]] was asked to supervise its foundation and training. MacArthur accepted the offer and became a Field Marshal of the Philippines, a rank no other person has since held.<ref>See for example {{cite book|last=Manchester|first=William|author-link=William Manchester|title=[[American Caesar|American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964]]|publisher=Little, Brown|location=Boston|year= 1978|isbn=0-440-30424-5|oclc=3844481}}</ref> [[Jean MacArthur]], his wife, found the situation amusing and remarked that her husband had gone from holding the highest rank in the United States Army to holding the highest rank in a non-existent army. [[Manuel L. Quezon|President Quezon]] officially conferred the title of Field Marshal on MacArthur in a ceremony at [[Malacañan Palace]] on August 24, 1936, when he appeared with a gold [[Baton (military)|marshal's baton]] and a unique uniform.<ref name=James1970>{{cite book
|last=James
|first=D. Clayton
|title=The Years of MacArthur, Volume 1: 1880-1941
|publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin]]
|location=Boston
|year=1970
|page=505
|isbn=0-395-10948-5
|oclc=60070186
}}</ref>

The Army of the Philippines included naval and air assets directly reporting to Army headquarters, and the Philippine Constabulary, later part of the ground forces proper as a division. In 1938 the Constabulary Division was separated from the army and reorganized into a national police force.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1938/06/23/commonwealth-act-no-343/|title=Commonwealth Act No. 343 AN ACT TO ABOLISH THE STATE POLICE FORCE, TO REORGANIZE THE PHILIPPINE CONSTABULARY INTO A NATIONAL POLICE FORCE AND PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR|date=June 23, 1938}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1938/06/23/executive-order-no-153-s-1938/|title=Executive Ordef No. 153 s. 1938 Reorganizing the Philippine Constabulary into a National Police Force|date=June 23, 1938}}</ref>

The administration of the military throughout the islands was divided into ten "military districts."<ref name="Schaefer2004">{{Cite book |last=Schaefer |first=Chris |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58386735 |title=Bataan diary : an American family in World War II, 1941-1945 |date=2004 |publisher=Riverview Pub |isbn=0-9761084-0-2 |location=Houston, Tex |oclc=58386735}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! Military District
! Areas Covered
|-
|1st
|North Luzon
|-
|2nd
|Lingayen and the Central Plain
|-
|3rd
|East Central Luzon, Bataan, and Zambales
|-
|4th
|South Central Luzon, including Manila, Batangas, Palawan, and Mindoro
|-
|5th
|East and Southeast Luzon and Catanduanes
|-
|6th
|Tablas, Panay, and Marinduque
|-
|7th
|Negros
|-
|8th
|Bohol and Cebu
|-
|9th
|Samar and Leyte
|-
|10th
|Mindanao and Sulu
|}

MacArthur expanded the Army of the Philippines with the revival of the Navy in 1940 and the formation of the [[Philippine Army Air Corps]] (formerly the Philippine Constabulary Air Corps), but they were not ready for combat at the start of the [[Pacific War]] in December 1941 and unable to defeat the 1941–42 Japanese invasion of the [[Philippines]].