AFP needs 500 new officers to offset retirees

March 24, 2018 Metro BLISTT

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) needs to recruit at least 500 to 600 new officers every year to offset the resigned and retirees in the government forces.
Department of the National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said during a press briefing said that the government needs additional forces to prevent pulling out of military troops from their assigned posts during atrocities.
“The products of the Philippine Military Academy are not enough, that’s why we are recruiting those Reserve Officers Training Corp’s (ROTC) and even four-year-course graduates. We will train them for one year to become officers of the armed forces to fill up the vacancies,” Lorenzana said.
He said that during the Marawi siege, government troops from Luzon and in the Visayas were pulled-out to reinforce Mindanao leaving the local government units of these two regions undermanned. He said, after the conflict, local government units complained because they were left unguarded.
“We are not preparing for something big and we’re praying that the conflict in Marawi will not happen again. But if it does, at least we are prepared,” Lorenzana explained.
He said that after training, the recruits will take the exam and if they pass, they will be commissioned immediately to become members of the AFP.
Lorenzana attended two events in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) which includes the awarding ceremony for outstanding cadets on Saturday and the graduation rites of the PMA “Alab Tala” (Alagad ng Lahing Binigkis ng Tapang at Lakas) class of 2018 on Sunday (March 17 and 18). DIONISIO B. DENNIS JR. / ABN