1st Infantry Division (Philippines)

First Infantry Division
Coat of Arms of the 1ID
Active	May 05, 1936 - April 09, 1942 (as 1st Regular Division, PCA) May 07, 1942 - June 30, 1946 (as 1st Infantry Division, PCA) July 01, 1947 - present
Country	Philippines
Branch	Philippine Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Conventional Warfare, Anti-Guerrilla Operations
Size	4 Brigades
Part of	1st Military District under the Philippine Commonwealth Army (1941-1942) 1st Military Area under the Philippine Commonwealth Army (1942-1946) Under the Philippine Army (Since July 01, 1946)
Garrison/HQ	Camp Major L. Sang-an, Pulacan, Labangan, Zamboanga Del Sur
Nickname(s)	Tabak Division
Motto(s)	"Your Security, Our Mission Community Development, Our Goal"
Anniversaries	4 December
Engagements	World War II * Philippines Campaign (1941-1942) * Battle of Bataan (1942) * Japanese Occupation of the Philippines (1942-1945) * Philippines Campaign (1944-1945) * Battle of Luzon (1945) * Battle of Batanes (1945) CPP-NPA-NDF conflict Moro conflict * Zamboanga City crisis Operation Enduring Freedom - Philippines
Decorations	Presidential Streamer Award
Commanders
Current commander	MGen Gerardo F. Barrientos, Jr, AFP
Notable commanders	BGen Guillermo B. Francisco BGen Mateo M. Capinpin BGen Fidel V. Segundo BGen Cesar F. Fortuno, AFP BGen Raymundo T. Jarque, AFP MGen Diomedio P. Villanueva, AFP MGen Narciso J. Abaya, AFP MGen Romeo B. Dominguez, AFP MGen Glicerio Sua, AFP, MGen Noel A. Coballes AFP
Insignia
Armed Forces Occupational Specialty Insignia

The 1st Infantry Division, Philippine Army, known officially as the Tabak Division, is the Philippine Army's primary Infantry unit, and specializes in anti-guerrilla warfare. The division has been involved in combating terrorists in Southern Mindanao.

The establishment of the 1st Regular Division, Philippine Commonwealth Army also known as Tabak Division was on May 5, 1936 to April 9, 1942 and stationed at Camp Murphy (now Camp Aguinaldo) in Quezon City, Rizal (now Metro Manila). The unit engaged in military operations in Bataan from January 1, – 9 April 09, 1942 supporting the USAFFE military forces led by General Douglas MacArthur against the Imperial Japanese troops led by General Masaharu Homma during the Battle of Bataan in 1942.

When the Battle of Bataan began in January 1942, the local troops of the PCA 1st Regular Division led by Brigadier General Mateo C. Capinpin (1938-1941) and Brigadier General Fidel V. Segundo (1941-1942) was sent to Bataan to augment the USAFFE forces against the Japanese. The battle lasted until April 1942. Before the fall of Bataan, Filipino troops and officers of the 1st Regular Division fought side by side with the USAFFE in Bataan, attacking Japanese troops along the Layac Line, Porac-Guagua Line, Abucay-Mauban Line, Battle of Trail 2, the Battle of the Pockets and the Battle of the Points before the invasion at Mount Samat on April 3, 1942. After the Battle of Bataan on 9 April 1942, the local forces under the PCA 1st Regular Division surrendered to the Japanese Imperial troops. The now infamous Death March commenced the following day with more than 78,000 Filipino and American POWs from Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga and by train to Camp O'Donnell in Capas, Tarlac.

After the Fall of Bataan on 1942 by the surrendering troopers of the 1st Regular Division by the Japanese hands in Bataan.

The 1st Infantry (TABAK) Division traces its beginning from the first regular Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army during the commonwealth period. It was activated on 18 January 1936 with Brigadier General Guillermo B. Francisco as its first Commanding General, initially it was filled up by regular troops from the Philippine Constabulary. It was strengthened in 1941 when World War II loomed in the Pacific region.

The Division was formally reactivated just in time for the PA's final offensives in the Central Luzon region against the HMB in the late 1950s.