Civil Guard (Philippines)

The Civil Guard (Spanish: Guardia Civil) of the Philippines was a local gendarmerie police force organized under the Spanish colonial government. It was disbanded after the Spanish–American War and was replaced by the Philippine Constabulary.

History
The Guardia Civil was first founded as the national police force of Spain in 1844 during the reign of Queen Isabella II of Spain by the Basque Navarrese aristocrat Francisco Javier Girón y Ezpeleta, 2nd Duke of Ahumada and 5th Marqués de las Amarillas, an 11th generation descendant of Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II. The first Guardia Civil academy was established in the town of Valdemoro, south of Madrid, in 1855. Graduates were given the Guardia's now famous tricorne or Cavaliers hat as part of their duty dress uniform.

In the Philippines, the Guardia Civil was introduced by the Spanish colonial government in 1868, during the rule of Governor-General Carlos María de la Torre y Nava Cerrada. The organization began with a size of one division or around 1,200 men. By 1880, and this size was maintained until 1897, the Guardia Civil in the Philippines had a size of three divisions or more than 3,600 men. Two were stationed in Luzon and the third in the Visayas.

Role
The Guardia Civil was based on the Civil Guard (Spain). Officers were drawn from the regular Spanish army. Under normal conditions, they formed patrols consisting of two men. Larger detachments were organized for operations such the suppression of bandit groups. By 1897, the force had 155 Spanish officers.

The Guardia Civil had the power to impose penalties for infringements of law and local ordinances. They could arrest people upon suspicion alone, and the Spanish colonial government did not bar the Guardia Civil from using torture techniques in interrogation processes. They could also kill suspects without trial if resistance was offered.

During the first phase of the Philippine Revolution (1896-1897), the Guardia Civil comprised around 60 percent of the native component of the Spanish military forces in the colony.

Guardia Civil Veterana
The Guardia Civil Veterana or Veteran Civil Guard was formed during the period 1871 to 1872 under the Governor-General Rafael de Izquierdo y Gutiérrez to be the urban gendarmerie force of Manila. This organization began with 37 officers and 322 men as of July 11, 1872. By 1898, it had 14 officers and 325 men.

Criticism
The works of the Guardia Civil can also be witnessed in José Rizal's two novels Noli Me Tángere and El filibusterismo. In terms of the interrogation process, Rizal describes in the 57th chapter of his novel how a man named Tarsilo was killed by torture. In that same part of the book, it is recorded that a certain Andong Sinto-sinto was sent to the capital, Manila, to be imprisoned by merely picking bananas for supper. In the 5th chapter of Rizal's Fili, a cochero or driver was held up, hit and taken to prison by a Guardia Civil for failing to show his cedula.