PMA homecoming a go despite GCQ

Benjamin Magalong

BAGUIO CITY—The alumni homecoming of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) will push through this month despite the general community quarantine (GCQ) covering the city, Mayor Benjamin Magalong said on Monday.

The PMA Alumni Association has yet to officially announce the event but it has assured the city government that only a little over 100 alumni members are participating in the event from Feb. 12 to

Feb. 14, the mayor said.

Previous homecomings drew as many as 3,000 graduates, including retired generals who served since World War II, and their families.

The PMA recently experienced a coronavirus outbreak that infected more than 50 cadets, around 20 military teachers and employees, and three kitchen staff.

Magalong said the outbreak had been contained and sufficient health protocols would be put in place inside the 373-hectare military school in time for the arrival of the PMA graduates, some of whom are now in their 70s and 80s.

“PMA is safe,” Magalong told the Inquirer in an interview at the City Hall grounds after the flag-raising ceremony on Monday.

Swab test first

He said the participants would be required to take reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR, tests for COVID-19 before coming to Baguio. They will also be barred from mingling with the cadets housed on the academy’s sprawling campus.

The city has been allowed to take in leisure travelers this month despite its GCQ status after securing an exemption from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The homecoming is a key tourism highlight for Baguio.

Traditionally, they would assemble at the Borromeo Field for a program to represent all PMA classes from the 1940s to the most recent batch.

They would then break off for picnics around the military campus. The prehomecoming activities would usually include golf tournaments. It was not known if a golf tournament will be staged this year. —VINCENT CABREZA INQ