I doubt if this is just a money-for-training ploy. The fact is that FO jobs are for locals only as expats can only be hired as stop gap for a max. 6 months + 6 months extension. With so many jobs in the region, the locals tend to go overseas (after getting the magic no. of 500hrs on type) where the FO pay is more than what Airphil pays their capts. Also, the local output of flight schools is below the demand by all local airlines combined.
I also heard that they are sending their recent recruits to TR outfits overseas since Cebpac has seem to have cornered Alpha Aviation's A320 sims.