Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU)

The Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units are paramilitary units composed largely of volunteer [ie, paid, but not drafted] reservists organized into companies of 88 personnel that are handled by a squad of regular troops responsible for providing guidance and control.

There are two types of CAFGUs: the CAFGU Active Auxiliaries (CAA), which are organized under the direct supervision of the army and receives living allowances from the AFP; and the Special CAFGU Active Auxiliaries (SCAA), which receive living allowances from companies or LGUs that employ them to secure areas or business establishments. Special Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (SCAAs), funded by private business and Local Government Units (LGUs) and under the operational control of the AFP, were authorized by a 1989 Directive of Chief of Staff General Renato de Villa.

• During martial law, paramilitary groups like the Civilian Home Defense Forces (CHDF) became notorious for the human rights abuses they committed. As a result, these groups were ordered dissolved under Article 18, Section 24 of the 1987 Constitution, which bans private armies and paramilitary forces, including specifically the CHDF, not consistent with the citizen armed force established under the Constitution.
• In July 1987, barely six months after the new Constitution took effect, President Corazon Aquino signed Executive Order (EO) 264 providing for the “Citizen Armed Force” and creating in the process the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Units (CAFGU).
• What was invoked as justification for the formation of the CAFGU was the provision in the 1987 Constitution calling for the formation of a “Citizen Armed Force” (Article 16, Sec. 4), which shall undergo military training and serve as may be provided by law.
• EO 264 provided that all able-bodied citizens shall become reservists with appropriate ranks. All reservists in a particular locality shall be organized into reserve geographical units subject to call and mobilization as the need arises, individually or as a unit
• It also provided that Active Auxiliary Units which shall be part of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Units (CAFGU), may be utilized, to be constituted out of volunteers to be screened in consultation with the local executives and civic/business leaders. These Active Auxiliary Units shall mean a degree of activation of military reservists short of full active duty status.
• In the website of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Reservist and Reserve Force Development, the military maintains that CAFGU Active Auxiliaries are “reservists on active duty.” (See Reserve Force Development Frequently Asked Questions.)
• In 1992, Zambales Rep. Antonio Diaz Magsaysay filed House Bill 2542, which sought to repeal EO 264.  Diaz noted that EO 264 revived the dread of the CHDF’s reincarnation under a new name and called the CAFGU the “escape hatch” of the CHDF as well as the re-entry vehicle for their atrocities.
• In hearings conducted at the House of Representatives in 1995 concerning bills seeking to demobilize paramilitary units including the CAFGU and abolish EO 264, Col. Rolando Floria proposed a five-year demobilization plan beginning 1994. Under the plan, the CAFGU was supposed to be totally demobilized by 1999. The bill never made it through the legislative gridlock.
• In 1995, yet another bill seeking to demobilize the CAFGU was filed by Senator Orlando Mercado. The bill noted the transfer of internal security functions to the Philippine National Police (PNP). Again, the bill didn’t pass.
• Today, the CAFGU’s strength is gaining from a low of 32,748 in the late 1990s to the 61,148 in 2007. The military is asking for more funds to recruit more CAFGU.
• Some 525 CAFGU companies are currently deployed in 71 provinces nationwide, according to data obtained by Newsbreak from the Philippine Army.
• Aside from the regular CAA companies, CAFGU battalions reported that they are administering 49 Special CAFGU companies with some 3,200 men.

According to the Philippine Military, in 2015, CAFGU members receive P150 subsistence daily allowance or a total of P4,500 or P4,650 per month. This amount is also given to regular soldiers. In order to ensure the welfare of CAFGUs, the Philippine Army facilitates special benefits including individual clothing and equipment, health and insurance benefits, scholarship for dependents, maintenance of CAFGU bases.

The Philippine Army, in compliance with the General Appropriations Act Fiscal Year 2015 (GAA FY 2015), is putting on hold CAFGU recruitments. Section 3 of the General Provisions of GAA FY 2015 provided “No new Cafgus shall be recruited for training and the corresponding costs attendant to the training of existing Cafgus shall be gradually scaled down in anticipation of its planned demobilization as a result of the implementation of the Revised AFP Modernization Program.”

In 2015, the CAFGU strength was around 56,000 deployed to the 14 battalions of the Philippine Army. The average monthly loss of CAFGU members nationwide in the Army roster is 400. This is due to deaths, voluntary termination of service and administrative cases. ●