ANTI-TANK LIVE FIRE EXERCISE Army and Marine soldiers execute and apply skills during an anti-tank live fire exercise in Fort Magsaysay, Palayan city, Nueva Ecija, simulating actual combat scenarios. —INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Army is seeing an increase in the number of recruits this year, amid surveys showing that the majority of Filipinos are willing to fight against foreign invaders.
Army spokesperson Louie Dema-ala told INQUIRER.net in a text message that almost 40,000 individuals applied in the Philippine Army for the first few months of this year alone.
In contrast, there were over 45,000 applicants covering the entire 2023, Dema-ala recalled.
Despite the big turnout, only 4,029 of this year’s applicants will be enlisted.
The training for the enlisted personnel will be divided among five batches.
“The first batch begins their training in the first week of March,” Dema-ala noted.
The total number of Army applicants is likely to increase since the online application remains open.
Full implementation of the online application process for Army aspirants begins this year.
READ: No more walk-in: PH Army recruitment will be 100% online this 2024
“The recruitment has no deadline. It is ongoing,” Dema-ala said.
An Octa Research survey commissioned by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) revealed that 77 percent of the 1,200 male and female respondents expressed willingness to fight for the country against a foreign enemy.
“There are many ways to do this,” AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said in a statement.
He suggested that the public can join the Reserve Officer Training Course and Reserve Corps, and even practice professions that may become useful or even vital in case of emergencies, such as in the medical field or engineering.
Brawner said the people can also help “by informing our friends around the world and echoing our call against the illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive tactics other countries are doing against our country, particularly in the West Philippine Sea.”