289 new soldiers to be deployed in Eastern Visayas

Eastern Visayas’ 289 new soldiers will undergo rigid armed training before they are to be deployed to the field and fight against members of the New People’s Army in the region. (Contributed Photo)

TACLOBAN CITY –– Eastern Visayas has 289 new soldiers.

On Wednesday, they took their oath as members of the 8th Infantry Division, whose headquarter is based in Catbalogan City, Samar.

They are to be deployed among the division’s three brigades, consisting of 11 battalions after they finished their armed combat training.

Major General Raul Farnacio, the commanding general of the division, expected the new soldiers to strictly follow their sworn duties.

“As the division commander, I expect you to be high-level disciplined soldiers, of full standing, courageous, and faithful to the duty that you have sworn,” he said during the ceremony at the grounds of the 8th ID headquarters.

Eastern Visayas, composed of the provinces of Leyte, Southern Leyte, Biliran, Western Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar, continues to be beset with the presence of rebels.

Army troops and New People’s Army guerrillas have engaged in armed clashes that resulted in deaths from both sides. (Editor: Leti Boniol)