BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—The Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Gabay Laya” (Guardians of Freedom) Class of 2016 is the smallest batch in decades with only 63 cadets less than a month before graduation day.
Out of an estimated 15,000 examinees in 2011, only 104 were admitted to the PMA, the country’s premier military school.
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It was cut down to 63 during the four-year training “because of the normal causes of attrition like academics and violation of cadet regulations, including the honor code,” PMA spokesperson Lt. Col. Rey Balido told INQUIRER.net on Friday.
This means that the number of graduates for 2016 could still go lower than 63 depending on the performance of the cadets as they hit the homestretch in the Academy.
What sets the PMA Class of 2016 apart from the other batches in recent previous years is that it had admitted 104 cadets wherein there is an average of 300. The Class of 2017 for instance has around 300 cadets, Balido said.
The PMA superintendent in 2012, Major General Nonato Peralta, previously said that the Class of 2016 was a small batch because they only wanted to get the “physically and mentally fit” for training.
The graduation rites of PMA Class of 2016 is tentatively set on March 13, however, it still depends on the availability of President Benigno Aquino III, the event’s guest of honor.
Upon graduating, they will be commissioned to service as second lieutenants and ensigns.
In 1970, there were only 65 graduates from the Academy. The Class of 2016, however, is not the smallest batch in PMA’s history as there were times that there were only around 20 graduates in the 1960s. RAM
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