National Defense College of the Philippines

Our mandate is “To prepare future defense and security leaders for high positions of responsibility and command and undertake strategic research and special studies as a basis for the formulation of policies to enhance national defense and security, and programs and projects in pursuit of the Department of National Defense (DND) mission.”
Our vision is “To be a center of excellence in educational and policy development for dynamic strategic leaders in national defense and security in the Asia Pacific by 2022”.
The National Defense College of the Philippines upholds the constitutional provision that “The defense of the State is the prime duty of every citizen.” The NDCP pursues this commitment by educating future national leaders from the various sectors of society on the aspects of national defense and security.
The NDCP has the broad mission to prepare and develop potential national defense leaders, civilian officials of the different branches of the government, and selected executives from the private sector for more effective participation in national security formulation, for high command and staff duty, and the conduct of strategic and international studies as the basis for national policies. Cognizant of this mission, the academic department envisions to be a modern, technology-driven, and globally competitive national defense and security institution of higher learning in the country.
The College believes that a national security administrator must possess the broad skills and the proper attitude necessary to perform various responsibilities. The NDCP provides the kind of education needed by this administrator in terms of analytical and conceptual skills to prepare him to meet the broad challenges emanating from the internal and external environment.
Applicants are required to pass a series of psychological tests, written and oral examinations. Those who qualify are interviewed, screened, and selected by the Board of Admissions. Finally, the Board of Admissions submits the list of those who qualified to the President of the NDCP, who, together with the Executive Vice President and the Vice President/Dean for Academic Affairs, decides en banc on the final list of those to be admitted.
During class sessions, a variety of methodologies are employed. These range from group discussions, workshops, panel discussions, directed readings, reaction papers, and other participatory learning strategies. Opportunity lectures, symposia, field trips cum on-site briefings are also employed to reinforce the learning process further.
Course examinations deal with the recollection of data obtained from the class sessions, references, and other sources. They include assessing the students’ capabilities to integrate, synthesize, and apply the knowledge and skills acquired in the course work.
A very highly selective method of choosing lecturers/discussants is maintained at all times. To establish the lecturers’ credibility, criteria for selection include, among others, outstanding academic qualifications and exposure to and mastery of topics to be taken up. A sound, updated, and credible curriculum is maintained. Continuing analysis and assessment of the curriculum is periodically made to keep it abreast with national security concerns and developments.
The NDCP Library contains approximately 20,000 volumes of reference books, magazines, periodicals, research work of students, and other studies by the staff, faculty, and consultants of the College. This collection is designed to provide current information to the faculty and staff, students, and alumni of the regular and special courses at NDCP, academicians, and researchers from other educational institutions, government agencies, and military establishments. The College has an online catalog. You can use it to find information on books and other documents we hold. Anyone can search the catalog free of charge.
The National Defense College of the Philippines was first conceived in 1957 when the military advisors of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) proposed the setting-up of a SEATO War College in the Philippines. Cognizant of the need to establish a higher educational institution in the military that would be an institution at the zenith of the defense establishment where civilian-military cooperation for national security could be effectively forged, President Diosdado Macapagal signed Executive Order No. 44 on August 12, 1963, authorizing the establishment of the National Defense College of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (NDCAFP) and putting the College under the administrative and operational guidance of the AFP Chief of Staff. The College opened its first Regular Class (RC) on February 15, 1966.
There were legislative moves to pass a law creating the National Defense College of the Philippines. In the House of Representatives, Congressman Manuel A. Zosa filed the House Bill 1420 in 1970, proposing an “Act Creating the National Defense College of the Philippines and for Other Purposes.” In the same year, Congressman Ramon D. Bagatsing filed House Bill No. 1447 proposing an “Act Creating the National Defense College of the Philippines, Providing an Academic Board, and for Other Purposes.” In the Senate, Senator Leonardo B. Perez filed Senate Bill 597 proposing an “Act Creating the National Defense College of the Philippines and for Other Purposes.” However, these legislative proposals did not reach third reading because President Ferdinand E. Marcos dissolved the Philippine Congress.