CAPAS, Tarlac — The Philippine Army has welcomed new 229 second lieutenants to serve the country, with no less than former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff — now senior Defense Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr. — gracing the graduation ceremony over the weekend.

The new army officers were members of Officer Candidate Course Class 56-2022 completed a one-year program at Training and Doctrine Command.

Faustino congratulated the graduates for hurdling the course designed to prepare them for their future task to protect the people and secure the state.

"You made it through the rigorous training, however, not to dampen your spirit, training in a controlled environment is much different from the realities on the ground — make no mistakes about it. You must be adept at assessing situations to come up with the right courses of action," Faustino said.

He also advised them to avoid mediocrity as it intends to get in the way of the best and instead, strive for excellence at all times.

"I enjoin you to utilize your diverse talents to actively participate in the 10-point defense agenda of the Department of National Defense… By fulfilling the defense agenda, we are contributing to the vision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of having a better and stronger Philippines through national unity, nation-building, and economic recovery," Faustino said.

He added that the prevailing security conditions demand the officers to become technologically savvy, adaptable to various conditions, resilient to all challenges and culture-sensitive military officers.
Meanwhile, class valedictorian Probationary 2nd Lieutenant Jerald Garcia described the training facilitated by TRADOC as "amazing."

"TRADOC has given us and taught us the skill set and training that we needed to learn to become effective leaders and officers in the future," Garcia said.

OCC Class 56-2022 bears the name "IKARIGATAK," an Ilocano term which translates to "paghihirapan ko" in Filipino. Likewise, it is an acronym for "Itinakdang Kawal ng Republika, Iaalay ang Galing at Tapang para sa Kapayapaan."

Professions of the newly-commissioned officers include licensed pilots, electrical engineers, civil engineers, aeronautical engineers, and mechanical engineers.