Julia Barretto is now an ensign in Coast Guard Auxilliary K9 Squadron

Ensign Julia Barretto gets her insignia pinned on her epaulets in a ceremony at the Philippine Coast Guard headquarter in Port Area, Manila, on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. (Photo from the PCG Facebook page)

MANILA, Philippines — Julia Barretto is the latest celebrity to join a uniformed service. On Wednesday, she was among the four new volunteers welcomed at the donning and oath-taking ceremonies of the Auxiliary K9 Program of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) at its headquarter in Port Area, Manila.

The other auxilliarists are Ando Catipay, Jalil Laidan, and Harold Talan.

Barretto’s boyfriend, fellow actor Gerald Anderson, who is a lieutenant commander in the PCGA K9 Squadron, attended the ceremony, photos of which the PSG posted in an announcement on its Facebook page.

Barretto was the most senior appointee in the group, being an ensign, a rank equivalent to second lieutenant in the Philippine Army.

She was thus given the opportunity to speak on behalf of the new members.

She thanked the PCG for accepting her and pledged to actively support the initiatives of her unit towards the delivery of “humble and compassionate service to the Filipino people.”

In turn, the PCG commandant, Adm. George Ursabia Jr., who led the ceremony, thanked the new members, who pledged commitment to serve the nation by supporting the Coast Guard in the performance of humanitarian missions and disaster response operations.

Ursabia then highlighted the increasing need for K9 units in the country for the promotion of national security.

According to the PCG, members of the PCG Auxiliary are committed to serving the PCG by offering their time, efforts, and resources without expecting anything in return.

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