The Philippine Army (PA) is the ground arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas. On July 23, 2010, President Benigno Aquino III appointed Maj. Gen. Arturo Ortiz as the commanding general of the army.
Captain General Artemio Ricarte is considered the father of the Philippine Army,[citation needed]. The armed force of General Emilio Aguinaldo's revolutionary government replaced the Katipunan military. The Philippine Army grew out of forces which fought in opposition to and which defeated forces generaled by Ricarte and others. The Philippine Army was initially organized from among former holders of reserve commissions in the United States Army, from among former officers of the Philippine Scouts and Constabulary, and others—forces involved in the defeat of the revolutionary forces in which Ricarte served. Ricarte was the only revolutionary general who refused to take the oath of allegiance to the U.S. and that he lived in exile in Hong Kong and later in Japan. Ricarte was one of the leaders of an organization termed "MAKAPILIS", called Makabayan Katipunan ng mga Pilipino (Patriotic Society of Filipinos), and characterized as having been a "fanatical pro-Japanese organization" during the WW-II Japanese occupation.