Army graduates urged to keep on serving the people and securing the land

From the Philippine Information Agency (Dec 9): Army graduates urged to keep on serving the people and securing the land

Major General Gerardo Layug, Commanding General of the 8th Infantry Division, Philippine Army urged the 90 new graduates of the candidate soldier course to keep on serving the people and securing the land. “I encourage you to love your service as much as you love yourself. Learn by heart the basics. Learning is a continuous process, as you discover the intricacies of the service. Stay focused on the basics and you will never go wrong,” Layug told soldiers during the closing ceremony held at 8th ID, Camp Lucban, Catbalogan City, Samar, on December 7, Friday.

Layug led the entrustment of firearms with B General Virgilio Espineli and Board Member Alberto Mendador, representative of Northern Samar Governor Paul Daza, together, with Samar officials, Matuguinao Mayor Melissa Dela Cruz and Samar Island Press Club officers. During the ceremony, the new soldiers were reminded of the army’s commitment to respect human rights, adhere to international humanitarian law, and obey the rule of law. The general also instilled to the graduates to always do the right thing.

Layug said the Philippine Army candidate soldier class 299 of 2012 was named “Mandirigmang Nagkakaisa para sa Bansang Sinilangan” or MANANABAS class who took their oath as candidate soldiers on July 9, 2012. The members of MANANABAS class has one registered nurse, one licensed criminologist, 18 college graduates and 30 under college graduates, nineteen vocational graduates and twenty three high school graduates. Eight candidate soldiers are from Luzon, twenty from Mindanao, and 62 from the Visayas. There are 44 from the island of Samar, one from Bohol, one from Cebu, two from Negros and two from Iloilo. The new privates will be assigned to different army battalions under the 8th ID in the Eastern Visayas region.

http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1221355018408