Lacson drills self-respect into PMA grads

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—There is no better feeling than self-respect in a culture where corruption still prevails, former Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, the Philippine Military Academy homecoming guest speaker on Saturday, reminded his fellow alumni.

Former senator and now rehab czar Panfilo Lacson was guest of honor and keynote speaker at the PMA Alumni Homecoming on Saturday, Feb. 15. / FRANCES MANGOSING/INQUIRER.net

Lacson, now the “Yolanda” rehabilitation czar, reminded every officer who had trained at the PMA to continue abiding by the corps of cadets’ honor code as well as the virtues of courage, integrity and loyalty.

“Every single day of our lives after graduation becomes a test of endurance, not of physical [trials] but of our moral strengths,” he said.

Lacson is a member of PMA “Matatag” Class of 1971. He served as Philippine National Police director general and a senator for two terms. He ran for president but lost in 2004.

Lacson said every PMA graduate must be ready for that time honored challenge only we Cavaliers know by heart: “All right, sir!”

He was referring to the challenge one cadet may hurl at another to find out if he or she is telling the truth or has acted honorably.

After graduating from the PMA, Lacson said, “the idealist—still very much armed with academy virtues—suddenly comes face to face with practically everything that is opposite of what was taught on the hallowed grounds of Fort Del Pilar—corruption, treachery and cowardice.”

“So when young graduates encounter in their fields of assignment some upperclassmen who had already succumbed to the temptations of misplaced values or had countenanced [such acts], the effects [on the young graduates] could be very frustrating if not disastrous,” he said.

He said that leaving the PMA “must never give us the false sentiment of freedom from the bounds of the honor system.”

“There is no better feeling than one of self respect, dignity and pride,” he said.

Lacson, however, made no reference to current corruption cases bedeviling the country, not even the ongoing pork barrel scam involving senators and congressmen.

Maj. Gen. Reynaldo Reyes (ret.), the alumni association chair, mentioned that Lacson had advocated for the abolition of the pork barrel during his terms as senator, adding that he never touched the fund.

Lacson said his speech included excerpts from an essay he wrote in 2007 for Cavalier magazine but which never saw print. It was entitled, “All Right, Sir! Quo Vadis.”

He said the piece was written when he was an opposition senator, but it was not used despite the fact that it did not contain anything that would have imperiled the soldiers’ careers.

On Saturday, he said he had cut short his speech to its essence, “having experienced on many occasions in the past… standing under the heat of the sun even at parade rest and listening to long speeches that we seldom remembered anyway.”

Vice Adm. Edgar Abogado, the outgoing PMA superintendent, urged the alumni to reflect on the academy’s values as they “travel down memory lane.”

Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas joined the parade as an honorary member of Class ’84.

A member of the host class, “Makatao” Class ’89, provided a romantic interlude when he gifted his wife with a necklace and then gave her a post-Valentine’s kiss in front of the cheering crowd.

Reynaldo Bocalbos, 95, of Class ’40, was the oldest alumnus in attendance, while the youngest was Lea Agcaoili of Class ’92.

Three alumni joined the parade in wheelchairs: Retired generals Emilio Luga Jr. and Jun Borromeo Positos Jr. and retired Col. Ponce Cabinian, all members of PMA Class ’54.

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