i can't speak for PAL since I'm not affiliated with them, but as far as I know they've been doing the same thing for a very long time. only an idiot would think it's possible to jump to the FO's seat of a PAL jet straight out of Av School. even gen av pilots who spent a lot for an Airbus type rating and apply at PAL (not PAL Express) still start as SO's just like the Av School grads.
it's up to their management to find out if the Av School is enough to sustain their airline's demands. from what i've heard, they've even increased the flight time requirement of gen av pilots applying as SO's to 400 hours and the narrow-body FO's have to be wide-body FO's first before getting command time. that's good news for the Av School cadets as far as getting in PAL, not good for them if they wanna stay with PAL.