CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao–The military here said Wednesday that the latest Army recruits who will undergo a six-month basic military training will also be trained as peacemakers to help protect people of various faiths.
Brigadier General Cirilito Sobejana, the commander of the 6th Infantry Division (6ID), said the 285 candidate soldiers, 29 of whom are women, will have special lectures on peace advocacy in complex communities they are going to serve in Central Mindanao.
The second batch of candidate soldiers had started their rigid military training at the Division Training School in Barangay Semba, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.
Sobejana said the candidate-soldiers will be trained about insights on peacebuilding to prepare them to engaged in areas where Muslim-Christian and Lumad settlers co-exist.
Sobejana, himself a peace advocate, said outside military duties, the soldiers of the 6ID are trained peace-builders as well, giving primacy on the peace process between the government and Moro rebels.
The 6ID covers the provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, and parts of North Cotabato and Lanao del Sur. (Edwin Fernandez/PNA)
