AFP infuses ranks with more girl power

Second Lieutenant Mary Jean B. Cabillete tops the new batch of Second Lieutenants of the Philippine Army. She was awarded by President Benigno Aquino III, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and AFP Chief General Emmanuel Bautista at Camp Aguinaldo.

MANILA, Philippines – Call it girl power.

Female graduates topped the latest batch of newly commissioned Second Lieutenants from the Officer Candidate School.

Each branch of the military service – the Army, Air Force and Navy – was led by a female graduate. The joint graduation ceremony was held at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Theater at Camp Aguinaldo on Monday.

The ceremony was attended by President Benigno Aquino III, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, AFP Chief General Emmanuel Bautista and other ranking officers.

There were a total of 140 new graduates: 55 from the Army, 40 from the Navy and 45 from the Air Force.

For the Philippine Army, the top graduate or the recipient of the Presidential Saber was Second Lieutenant Mary Jean Cabillete. For the Philippine Navy, it was Ensign Vanessa Katrina Tulang who led their batch. For the Air Force, Second Lieutenant Kristyl May Beatingo was the top graduate of their batch.

The new graduates took their oath before Bautista.

“Take pride in the uniform that you wear, and in the patriotic duty that you will perform as protector of the people and of the State, in the attainment of our vision of being a world-class armed forces, source of national pride; and in our commitment to winning just and lasting peace for our nation,” the AFP chief said in his speech.

Aquino, meanwhile, thanked the fresh graduates for choosing the military profession.

Ensign Vanessa Katrina J. Tulang of the Philippine Navy is the recipient of the Saber award from their batch.

“The truth is there are many professions for you to choose from. You can join the private sector and have a quiet life, but you chose to join the Armed Forces. In short, you set aside your personal interest for public service. That’s why it is only right that our soldiers who serve with all passion to get recognized,” he said.

The OCS, one of the sources of commissionship of the AFP, started in the 1980s. It produces two batches of graduates that undergo a year of training every year.

“Maybe they [female] are more persevering,” Bautista said in jest on the sidelines after the ceremony when asked of his opinion that female officers topped the new graduates.

“We have gender equality in the military so regardless of the gender you can aspire for any award, reward or position. We give equal opportunity to everybody,” he also said.

Second Lieutenant Kristyl May A. Beatingo receives her diploma and Presidential Saber from President and AFP Commander-in-Chief, Benigno Aquino III, Secretary of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin, and AFP Chief of Staff, General Emmanuel Bautista.

He noted that there are plenty of career opportunities for women in the military. There are also female officers assigned in infantry battalion.

“There are also female soldiers engaged in combat. Some are wounded in action,” Bautista said.

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Photos from AFP Public Affairs Office