Duterte offers up to P3M prize for silent drill competition in December

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday offered up to P3 million cash prize for another silent drill competition set for December.

Duterte said this as he renewed his order for the military to stage daily military drills.

“You guys can arrange the frequency of the drilling, but I want people to see soldiers and policemen doing the drill every day,” Duterte said on Tuesday during the change of command ceremony of the Presidential Security Group (PSG).

“It gives our people a sense of security and proud to see the uniformity in the cadence when military drills do it. Do that and the December finals would be one million. I might add to make it two million. I’ll add again to make it three million,” Duterte added, speaking partly in Filipino.

In December 2019, the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) was crowned as the champion of the first Presidential Silent Drill.

The winner brought home a prize of P300,000.

In his speech on Tuesday, Duterte also guaranteed prosthetics for soldiers who had been severely injured.

“And for those who were, you know, maybe a bit sad because they became disabled, I said I guarantee them that they can walk again and use their arms again, I said. And it’s going to be the prosthetics and robotics,” he said.

According to Duterte, he assured the troops that they would be back in service with state-of-the-art titanium prosthetics.

“I’m not asking for personal loyalty. I loathe it. All I ask is, when the time comes, I’ll be proudly saluting to you. And please remain loyal to the flag of the Philippines and no one else,” Duterte said.

Army Col. Jesus Durante officially assumed his post as the new PSG chief, replacing Brig. Gen. Jose Niembra.

Niembra will become head of the Army’s 701st Infantry Brigade of the 7th Infantry Division, which is based in Mati, Davao Oriental.

/atm