The Special Action Force (SAF) is the elite unit of the Philippine National Police founded by Fidel V. Ramos, later the twelfth president of the Philippines.

History

Formed on May 12, 1983, by the now-defunct Philippine Constabulary (PC) as the Philippine Constabulary Special Action Force (PCSAF) as per PC General Orders 323. The creation of the SAF was inspired by and "formed along the lines of" the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS). Fidel Ramos and Renato de Villa were the founders of the unit. De Villa directed Rosendo Ferrer and Avelino "Sonny" Razon Jr. to organize a Special Action Force. After which, a training program called the PCSAF Ranger Course, was used to train the 1st generation of SAF troopers, which had a number of 149 troopers. Out of them, 26 were commissioned officers with the others being enlisted personnel from a wide range of PC units such as the PC Brigade, the Long Range Patrol Battalion (LRP), the K-9 Support Company, PC Special Organized Group, the Light Reaction Unit (LRU) of PC MetroCom, the PC Off-Shore Action Command (COSAC) and other PC Units. Later on, they changed the name of the course to SAF Operations Course (SAFOC) then SAF Commando Course (SAFCC). During the days of the EDSA Revolution in late February 1986, Ramos was involved in planning an operation called "Exercise Ligtas Isla" ("Exercise Save Island") in case either First Lady Imelda Marcos or Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Fabián Ver would take over as ruler from President Marcos, who had already been ill by that time. When Corazon Aquino acceded to the presidency, the SAF were mandated to be on standby due to the several coup attempts by rogue Philippine soldiers throughout her rule. On January 29, 1991, President Aquino signed Republic Act 6975 into law, which changed the name of the SAF from PCSAF to PNPSAF as a part of transition of government. In 2008, it was reported that the SAF moved to a permanent camp at Barangay Pinugay, Baras, Rizal under Proclamation No. 1355 passed in August 2007. For the first time, SAF troopers were involved in the Balikatan exercises in 2009 since American and Filipino troops are usually involved. On July 20, 2016, SAF created NBP Facility Security Provisional Battalion led by PSUPT Ledon Monte to take over from the Bureau of Corrections the duties to man the New Bilibid Prison, particularly in the Maximum Security Camp where big-time drug lords and hardened prisoners are held. The PNP has approved the creation of five more Special Action Battalions to the SAF in 2017. In 2019, the SAF witnessed the beefing-up of its Air Unit with the operationalization of 9 new helicopters (7 Airbus H125 and 2 Robinson R44 Raven II units). On June 29, 2021, the Air Unit was transferred to the Office of the Chief, PNP as prescribed under NAPOLCOM Resolution Number 2021-0720. This was in line in the PNP's 2020 Annual Report in an effort to ensure the force's organizational effectiveness, air support and mobility.

Known operations

Structure

As of 2021, the SAF's command structure consists of the following:

Leadership and Command Group

Training

Prior to recruitment, prospective SAF candidates must be recruited into the PNP with the rank of Police Officer 1 (PO1), now Patrolman as of 2022. This would be followed by a six-month basic public safety course at the National Police Training Institute with field training done in the streets of the Philippines. The latter requirement was dropped as of 2018 because of concerns that new officers having field training would be exposed to bad and corrupt practices. SAF candidates then need to attend the SAF Commando Course (or equivalent training such as Scout Ranger Course, Force Reconnaissance Course, Special Forces Operations Course) to be allowed to wear the SAF Beret. The course includes modules in internal security operations, waterborne rescue, police intervention, barangay module and operational testing, followed by a field training exercise. After completing the commando course, SAF operators are allowed to take specialized training such as explosives and ordnance disposal (EOD), Basic Airborne Course (BAC), Urban Counter Revolutionary Warfare Course (SURESHOCK), K-9 Training Course, Sniper Course, SCUBA-BUSROC (Basic Underwater Search and Rescue Operations Course), the maritime tactical operation course and the SAF Seaborne Warfare Course (SSWC). For MTOC, SAF operators must have SURESHOCK and Airborne qualifications before being considered. Training occurs at the unit's headquarters in Cuartel de Santo Domingo, Santa Rosa, Laguna. The SAF has conducted cross training with the 1st Special Forces Group. Training was also provided from the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG), RAID and Yamam.

Functions

As designated by the Philippine National Police, the missions of the Special Action Force are the following:

Equipment

Pistols

Submachine guns

Shotguns

Rifles and carbines

Designated marksman and sniper rifles

Machine guns

Grenade launchers and assault weapons

Mortars

Armored vehicles

Commanders

The list are the directors who had commanded the SAF.