Women in the Philippine military

Since the beginning of the creation of the Philippine military approximately on October 25, 1899 with the establishment of the Academia Militar in Malolos, Bulacan by virtue of a decree issued by General Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippine Republic, through the establishment of the Philippine Constabulary on February 17, 1905 while the Philippines was under American colonial rule (1898-1946), then through the formal creation of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 1 (also known as the National Defense Act) on December 21, 1936, the Armed Forces of the Philippines never had female soldiers. Having women in the Philippine military with formal training became a reality upon the passage of Republic Act No. 7192, which granted women in the Philippines to become cadets in the Philippine Military Academy in April 1993.

Notable Filipino women soldiers
The first batch of female cadets to graduate as soldiers in the Philippines was in 1997. Among the notable female cadets was Arlene A. Dela Cruz from the batch of graduates of 1999, who received awards such as the Presidential Saber, the Philippine Navy Award, the Navy Courses Plaque, the Social Sciences Plaque, and the Humanities Plaque.

In 2011, Brigadier General Ramona Go, from San Dionisio, Iloilo, became the first female general in the Philippine Army after being a regular officer. There had been other female generals in the Philippine military, but unlike Go, those female generals were "technical service" crew, serving in the military as nurses.

In peacekeeping in October 2013, Philippine Navy Captain Luzviminda Camacho became the first female officer from the Philippines to lead "the Philippine contingent to a peacekeeping mission of the United Nations. Camacho became the "commander of the 17th Philippine Contingent to Haiti". In addition, Camacho also became the first female "commanding officer of a Navy ship".