ILOILO City – After three months of rigid training in Camp Peralta, Jamindan, Capiz 221 new members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) took their oath on Monday.
Of these new soldiers, 112 belonged to Class 556-2018; 109 were with Class 557-2018.
Private Gideon Fusin topped Class 556-2018 with a general average of 94.15 percent while Private Jenhrod Maceda topped Class 556-2018 with an average of 94 percent.
Part of the training at Camp Peralta’s 3rd Division Training School (3DTS) was “jungle warfare mountain operation,” according to the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) spokesperson, Captain Eduardo Precioso.
“They are the last recruits this year. But we have another recruitment scheduled next year, perhaps on the first quarter of 2019. Hopefully more men and women will apply,” said Precioso.
The new soldiers will be deployed to various Army battalions in Cebu, Negros and Panay islands.
During the soldiers’ graduation, they were issued service firearms. The ceremonial entrustment was spearheaded by 3ID commanding general, Major General Dinoh Dolina.
The Philippine Army is stepping up its campaign against insurgents. Colonel Benedict Arevalo, 301st Infantry Brigade commander, stressed they do not intend to let the New People’s Army (NPA) win.
Several Philippine Army soldiers in the region recently trained in handling mortars to be used during combats with rebels. Arevalo believed using the weapon would put them “at an advantage” as they try to quell the insurgency.
Mortars are artillery weapons that fire explosive shells known as mortar bombs. Being short-ranged, they are usually aimed at close targets.
The bomb is loaded into the barrel and fired into the air, with the barrel set at a certain angle to the ground.
“The purpose is to prepare our troops to fight,” Arevalo said. “We do not fight on equal terms with the enemy. We always fight in an [advantageous] position.”
He believed mortars would provide the soldiers with superior firepower.
Mortars are already seldom used in anti-insurgency combats in Panay Island, Arevalo learned. Every battalion must have a mortar team, he stressed.
According to Arevalo, they want to sustain their offensives against the NPA.
Civilians still complain about the rebels’ “extortion and terroristic activities” while the rebels’ armed encounters with government troops continue, said the Army official./PN
