Philippine Independence Medal

Philippine Independence Medal
Service ribbon of the Philippine Independence Medal
Awarded by the Republic of the Philippines
Type	Commemorative medal
Eligibility	Military Personnel
Awarded for	Participation in the Philippine Campaign
Campaign(s)	Philippine Campaign, WWII
Status	No longer awarded
Statistics
Established	1946
First awarded	1945
Last awarded	1948
Precedence
Next (higher)	Philippine Defense Medal
Next (lower)	Philippine Liberation Medal
Streamer

The Philippine Independence Medal is a military award of the Republic of the Philippines which was created by order of the Philippine Army Headquarters on July 3, 1946. The Philippine Independence Medal was created to recognize those members of the military who had participated in multiple Philippine Commonwealth military operations during the years of the Second World War.

To be awarded the Philippine Independence Medal, a service member must have previously received both the Philippine Defense Medal and the Philippine Liberation Medal. The award criteria effectively awarded the medal to anyone who had participated in both the initial resistance against Japanese invasion and also in the campaigns to liberate the Philippines from Japanese occupation in 1945. A famous recipient was General of the Army Douglas MacArthur. The service member must have also served on active duty in the Philippines after July 4, 1946.

The Philippine Independence Medal was originally awarded as a ribbon, and it was not until 1968 that a full-sized medal was authorized by President Ferdinand Marcos. The Philippine Independence Medal was also authorized for award to foreign militaries, with a number of retroactive awards presented between 1945 and 1948.