PMA receives 377 new cadets

FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City, Philippines — Cheered on by parents and guests, 377 new cadets of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) ran, rolled and squatted at Borromeo Field here as they endured their first military routines after their reception rites here on June 1.

The 78 females and 299 males, who will form the PMA Class of 2023, set foot on academy grounds a week after the graduation of the “Mabalasik” Class of 2019.

“We received you not with the relaxing atmosphere of civility but with the rigid bearing of alertness and promptness, hoping to instill in you the nobility of military service and the sacredness of honor,” Lt. Gen. Ronnie Evangelista, PMA superintendent, said in his welcome speech.

The new cadets will benefit from improvements at the academy, including a renovated Regis Hall from a donation by Bloomberry Cultural Foundation, which will serve as their new barracks. —Vincent Cabreza