Philippine Military Academy to hold restricted graduation rites anew
NEWOFFICERS Members of the Philippine Military Academy Masaligan Class of 2021 receive their rank insignias on May 6, before they are commissioned as new officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines during their graduation on May 10. —PMA FACEBOOK PAGE PHOTO
BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — For the second time in its long history, graduating cadets of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) will attend its commencement exercise under strict quarantine rules.
Like the 2020 graduation, only a small audience, composed mostly of their teachers, will witness 164 members of the PMA Masaligan Class of 2021 graduate and join the Armed Forces of the Philippines as junior officers during ceremonies to be held indoors at Yap Hall on Monday.
Masaligan stands for “Mandirigmang Samahan na Lakas at Sandigan ng Bayan.”
Sources at the academy said President Duterte will participate in the ceremonies via video conference, although PMA officials have not indicated whether parents will also be allowed into the military campus.
The PMA locked down the school as early as February last year to prevent the cadets from contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Parents of the PMA Masidlawin Class of 2020 were asked to stay home and watch the graduation ceremony online.
Youngest, oldest
The Masaligan Class, led by valedictorian Cadet First Class Janrey Artus of San Enrique town in Negros Occidental, is composed of 138 men and 25 women in their early 20s.
The youngest graduating cadet is Giovanni Agbuya, 20, who is among 82 Masaligan members who will serve as Army officers.
The oldest cadet is Marc Simon Sercado, 26, who is joining the Air Force along with 35 other graduates.
About 40 of them are joining the Navy while the remaining six will serve in the Marines.
Twenty members of Masaligan completed college before passing the PMA entrance examination, while four joined the PMA after finishing high school, according to a fact sheet provided by Air Force 1Lt. Christine Mae Calima, PMA spokesperson.
A good number of Masaligan Class cadets were pursuing undergraduate courses in accountancy; mechanical, electronics and civil engineering; and criminology when they shifted to a bachelor of science course in general military science at the PMA.
Top performers
Aside from Artus, who is summa cum laude, this year’s top-performing cadets include Daryl Brix Colita, second; Valerie Mae Dicang, third, who is magna cum laude; class president Jan Hernan Perez, fourth; and Christine Joyce Andog, fifth.
Those who ranked from sixth to 10th are Feljoy Ending, Harold Mars Sastado, Pamela Calleja, Michael Angelo Madriaga and Shirley Fatima Lim. Andog, Sastado and Lim are graduating with cum laude honors.
The PMA will confer the athletic saber award to Kalinga province’s Jaevin Latugan and Lady Deane Sarmiento of San Fernando City in Pampanga.
Kevin Babaran of Cagayan province will receive the Aguinaldo saber, which is usually conferred by descendants of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo to the cadet with the highest aptitude and leadership rating.
