Donning of Ranks and Oath-Taking Ceremony for newly commissioned officers of the AFP at the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo
Tokyo, 26 March 2024 – Her Excellency Mylene Garcia-Albano, the Philippine Ambassador to Japan, presided over the ceremony of the donning of ranks and administered the oath of office to 2nd Lieutenants (2LTs) Carlo Kyle Putan and Brian Adam Chagas, the Junior Officers of the Philippine Air Force (PAF). The ceremony took place at the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo and was attended by the Philippine Defense and Armed Forces Attache (DAFA) to Japan, Colonel Randy Espino PA (GSC), along with five underclassmen in the National Defense Academy (NDA).
2LTs Putan and Chagas were among the 24 foreign graduates out of 383 fresh graduates from the NDA of Japan, with their graduation ceremony held on 23 March 2024 and graced by the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida. Established in 1952, the NDA is Japan’s premier military academy.
Since 1996, the Japanese government has annually offered full scholarship to two (2) cadets from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) for study at the NDA. The scholarship program includes a one-year course in Nihongo (Japanese language) followed by four years of undergraduate study in science and engineering. Before their admission to the PMA, 2LT Putan was a student at Nazareth Christian School of Antipolo, and 2LT Chagas attended Bayugan National Comprehensive High School.
The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo celebrates the achievements of these young officers, whose training and education reflects the strong ties and cooperative spirit between the Philippines and Japan, contributing to the strengthening of our defense and international relations.
