BAP "Villavicencio" is the second out of four "Carvajal"-class frigates ordered by the Peruvian Navy in 1973. It was built by the Italian shipbuilder Cantieri Navali Riuniti at its shipyard in Riva Trigoso, Genoa. Delays in the building of the first ship of the class, BAP "Carvajal", meant "Villavicencio" was commissioned first on 25 June 1979 with the pennant number FM-52.
"Villavicencio" is named after Vice Admiral Manuel Villavicencio (1840–1925) who fought in the War of the Pacific.