With rifles slung to their backs, two soldiers were all smiles as they became engaged during combat patrol, just days before Valentine's Day.

CPOL Denemar Albani, a radioman, popped the question to his girlfriend, combat medic Pvt. Christine Porcadilla while their team was resting in a patrol base in the middle of a forest in Barangay Titulok, Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat.

With grins on their faces, their comrades from the 33rd Infantry Battalion gamely held placards with the words 'Will you marry me' as Albani knelt and asked for Porcadilla's hand.

Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, commander of the unit, immediately signed the couple's permit to marry, after both completed the requirements set by the Philippine Army.

Both Albani, 27, and Porcadilla, 26, have fought for the government against Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, New People's Army, and several drug syndicates, according to the military.