The Philippine Army (PA) has began training 708 new recruits who applied online through the Centralized Recruitment Program on Friday, March 1.
The recruits are part of the first batch of the candidate soldiers for this year as they kicked off their Basic Military Training during the opening ceremony for the Candidate Soldier Course (CSC) Class 792-2024 at the Officer Candidate School (OCS) Grounds of Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac.
Maj. Gen. Potenciano C. Camba, Army chief of staff, said that the four-month CSC will mold the trainees into "capable, committed and competent" infantrymen of the Philippine Army.
“Allow me to emphasize that one important quality you will develop in this training is your attitude towards your military service and your peers. The level of dedication that you will give in this training will also dictate the level of performance you will give in future assignments and designations," Camba told the trainees.
"Kaya naman, pagbutihin ninyo ang inyong pagsasanay. Huwag kayong sumuko (That's why you need to excel in your training. Never give up)," he added.
The army is implementing for the first time this year the "Centralized Recruitment Program for Candidate Soldiers" which is designed to recruit capable and qualified applicants online, making the process more systematic and efficient.
Camba explained that the centralized recruitment enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of the process to ensure that the best and most qualified candidates are selected in accordance with the needs and required competencies of the army.
The CSC is a 16-week training that aims to test the physical and mental limits of the trainees through three training modules namely Transformation Module, Basic Squad Training Module, and Warfighting Module.
An applicant for the CSC should be at least a Senior High School graduate, a natural-born Filipino citizen, single with no parental obligation, at least five feet tall (both male and female), physically and mentally fit, at least 18 years old but not a day older than 26 years old upon oath-taking, and should have no pending cases in any court.
The army leadership has set a quota of around 4,000 candidate soldiers for 2024, including the 708 members of CSC Class 792-2024 as part of the year's first training cycle.
Meanwhile, around 800 candidate officers will also be recruited by the army to complete the quota of nearly 5,000 additional soldiers for 2024.
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