MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon — After months of rigorous training, 275 candidate soldiers graduated from the Army 4th Infantry Division Training School during a joint closing ceremony last Thursday in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.
(PHOTO COURTESY OF 4TH INFANTRY DIAMOND DIVISION PHILIPPINE ARMY / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN)
The new privates graduated from two Candidate Soldier Courses.
Lt. Col. Jeff Villarosa, the training school commandant, said training began in the fourth quarter of last year and the Jungle Warfare Mountain Operation Course (JWMOC) began last April.
“The 4ID now have 275 trained, strong, brave, responsible and equipped soldiers ready to serve our people and secure our sovereignty,” Villarosa said.
He said 154 of the trainees are from the Manobo and Higaonon tribes, and 84 were former fighters of the communist New People’s Army (NPA).
One trainee, identified only as Mike, a 23-year-old Higaonon tribe member in Bukidnon, said, “I have always dreamt of becoming a soldier and be the one to protect my family, relatives and tribe in the mountains from the propaganda of the NPA terrorists.”
Rios, a vice commander in the NPA, thanked the government for giving him and other former rebels a chance to turn a new leaf. “I have never regretted my decision to return to the fold of the law and so, I call on to those who are still in the mountains, there’s a better life waiting for you here and the NPA will never be able to give you a peaceful life,” he said.
Also among the graduates were 38 former CAFGU militia members who for years have volunteered to protect their community.
Maj. Gen. Franco Nemesio M. Gacal, 4th ID commander, welcomed the new privates. “You are now officially soldiers, use the skills, knowledge and discipline which you have learned from DTS (division training school) to protect our fellow Filipinos. Let us uphold our honor, patriotism and duty to our beloved country,” Gacal said.
He also congratulated the 4DTS for a job well done in producing “world-class soldiers who have burning desires to fight for long-lasting peace in Mindanao.”
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