Two women—ensign Gay Famero, 27, and 2Lt. Rey Gaezzel Anfone, 24—are the top graduates of the officer candidate courses (OCC) of the Philippine Navy and Philippine Army, respectively, besting their mostly male counterparts.
The two women, along with 2Lt. Paul John Valencia, 25, of the Philippine Air Force, led the 152 new officers who were feted in synchronized OCC graduation rites at Camp Aguinaldo on Friday.
The top three young officers each received the presidential saber for being the best in their respective classes.
Of the 152 new officers, aged 21 to 29 years old, only 39 were women while 113 were men. There were 58 new officers from the Army, 52 were from the Navy, and 42 from the Air Force.
Famero, a certified public accountant from Romblon, admitted that their male classmates were physically stronger but the females in their class made up for it in academics.
“Women are more disciplined in studying. Although there is an emphasis on gender equality, by nature men are stronger than us,” she said.
Famero bested 51 others in the Navy OCC training, fulfilling her childhood dream of being part of the uniformed service.
Academic performance accounted for 75 percent of their grade, while physical activities and fitness accounted for the rest.
Anfone, a licensed nurse from North Cotabato, added that she had difficulty adjusting to military life since she was not active in sports or physical activities as a civilian.
“It was harder for me since I was not a sporty individual. But women are more studious than men, and if you are passionate about what you are doing, you can learn everything,” she said.
Aside from Famero and Anfone, four other women were among the top nine graduates of the military’s OCC training for this year.
For the Air Force, 2Lt. Gemadel Maquiling and 2Lt. Tyrone T. Estillero placed second and third. Ensigns Mechelle Amores and Christy Raterta came after Famero in the Navy.
In the Army, 2Lt. Arnold Quiñon and 2Lt. Stephanie Collado placed second and third, respectively.