Army to recruit 2,300 soldiers nationwide

The Philippine Army will be recruiting 2,300 soldiers this year for its various units across the country.

Lt. Gen. Eduardo Año, commanding general, has also approved the request to raise the quota for soldiers for the the 10th Infantry Division and Mechanized Infantry Division.

“The recruitment is open to qualified individuals who have the potential to become part of the Philippine Army. We recruit 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers yearly,” said the Army spokesperson, Col. Benjamin Hao.

The 10th Infantry Division currently needs 200 soldiers while the Mechanized Infantry Division has a quota of 120 candidate soldiers. Each unit has an average quota of 50 to 100 soldiers.

As of August, the Philippine Army has validated 1,322 applicants for the Candidate Soldier Course.

The Training and Doctrine Command, Division Training Schools, Combat Support Units and Combat Service Support Units of the Philippine Army are in charge of recruitment and training.

An applicant must be a natural-born Filipino citizen; with 72 units in college, or must possess technical skills needed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines if a high school graduate.

An applicant should be at least 18 to 26 years old; at least 5 feet tall; single and without child; of good moral character.

He or she should have passed the pre-qualifying physical fitness test and physical medical exam; and must be physically and mentally fit for military training.

Applicants may visit recruitment centers in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City in Luzon; Camp Lapu-Lapu, Cebu City in the Visayas; and Camp Evangelista, Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Army will recruit 137 new officers into its ranks by November 2015 to fill this year’s quota of 274 officers.

Two officer courses have opened in June: the Officer Candidate Course Class 46-2016 with 70 students and the Officer Preparatory Course Class 64-2015 with 67 students.

The Officer Candidate Course is a year-long course for college graduates who wish to join the Philippine Army as an officer. The Officer Preparatory Training Course, meanwhile, is for those who completed the advanced Reserve Officers Training Course and the probationary officer’s training.

A second batch of both courses will be opened in November at the Officer Candidate School of the Philippine Army’s Training and Doctrine Command in Camp O’Donnell, Capas, Tarlac.

Both courses will have 137 new candidates training to be officers in the Philippine Army.