Pili, Camarines Sur, (PNA) – Seventy-five new soldiers of the 9th Infantry Division of the Philipine Army (PA) graduated on Saturday with Camarines Sur Rep. Leonor “Leni” Robredo (LP, 3rd District) formally officiating their oath taking at the Spear Troopers’ Headquarters in Camp Elias Angeles, Barangay Caroyroyan here, a belated PA report on Monday said.
Lt. Col. Medel Aguilar, 9ID spokesman, said the new soldiers’ Graduation and Entrustment of Firearms Ceremonies held at 8 a.m., Saturday, formally ended the trainings that the newly-recruited soldiers under Class 328-13 had gone through since April 30 of this year.
Robredo was invited as guest of honor and speaker to witness the formalization of the commencement of graduates who were screened and trained from more than 2,000 applicants who wanted to take the Candidate Soldiers’ Course.
In her address, she urged the new soldiers to show kindness in everything they do.
“The best thing that a public servant can do, especially those who have firearms, is to show kindness. It is listening to the voice and the message of anybody, even the enemy,” the Camarines Sur lawmaker stressed after ceremonially handing over the firearms to three members of the graduating class.
The batch is the first under the leadership of newly-intalled division commander, Brig. Gen. Yerson E. Depayso, was composed of eight college graduates, eight college undergraduates, 20 vocational course graduates and 39 high school graduates.
Majority of the members of the class are Bicolanos.
Topping the class was Candidate Soldier (CS) Rey Salvador, a native of Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, and a graduate of Nursing Assistant Course in Sorsogon State College.
Following him is his “buddy” CS Ronnel C. Detera who hails from San Pascual, Bacon District, Sorsogon City and a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Technology, Major in Automotive.
Both Salvador and Detera come from poor families.
Salvador’s family relies on the earnings of their mother who works as a vendor in his grandmother’s small store while Detera is the son of farmers in his home province.
Aguilar said that aside from Basic Military Training, the candidate soldiers were honed to become human rights advocates.
He added that they were also taught to adhere to the provisions of the International Humanitarian Law in order to properly guide them as they perform their duties as members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.