Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Saturday called on the new officers of the Philippine Army to uphold their sacred duty to the Republic.

During the Joint Graduation Ceremony of the Officer Candidate Course “Gundaway” Class 64-2026 and the OCC-Reserve Officers’ Training Corps “Talagilab” Class 03-2026 on 4 July 2026, at the Officer Candidate School, Training and Doctrine Command, Philippine Army, Camp O’Donnell, Sta. Lucia, Capas, Tarlac, Teodoro represented President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who is on an official visit to Canada.

Teodoro conveyed the President’s warmest congratulations and expressed his confidence in the graduates as they begin their careers as commissioned officers of the Philippine Army.

Addressing the graduates, the Secretary commended them for choosing a life of service despite the personal, financial and social challenges they faced at a young age.

“I would just like to say that it is indeed a great honor. It is a great honor for me to be your guest of honor. Why? First of all, it is truly humbling to realize that, at such a young age — you are all still so young compared to me — you have already gone through so many challenges in life,” Teodoro said.

“You struggled and you overcame. And you chose a path not easy to get to where you are. So, what does it give us, the leadership? For me, it gives me a sense of purpose and a sense of responsibility to reassert myself, to reassert all efforts, more than my best, to build a credible deterrent posture for the Republic of the Philippines,” the defense chief added.