BAGUIO CITY—“We are ready to serve.”
Thus said newly commissioned 2nd Lt. Rovi Mairel Martinez in her valedictory address on Sunday after President Rodrigo Duterte challenged 167 new graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) to serve the country.
“To the Filipino people to whom we have pledged to serve with honor and integrity, we owe these [achievements] to you,” said Martinez, the valedictorian of Salaknib Class of 2017.
“We vow as young leaders of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to always serve you and the country with vigor and unwavering commitment,” she said to the audience that included Vice President Leni Robredo, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Año, Philippine National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa and the heads of the service commands.
Ninety members of Salaknib Class are joining the Philippine Army while 33 are joining the Philippine Air Force. Forty-four others are joining the Philippine Navy.
“Let us not fail our alma mater… Let us make it proud by doing our job and by doing it well,” Martinez said, after
Mr. Duterte handed her the Presidential Saber.
Female cadets praised
Mr. Duterte lauded the 63 female members of the class, the largest number of women to graduate from the academy in its 119-year history.
The school also set a new milestone when Martinez and seven other women placed among the top 10 graduates.
Second Lt. Shiela Joy Jallorina became the 41st recipient of the Aguinaldo Saber, which was handed by Emilio Aguinaldo Suntay III, great-grandson of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, during the pregraduation ceremonies led by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Saturday.
“What a wonderful way to celebrate International Women’s Month,” Lorenzana said of the honors achieved by the female cadets.
As with most PMA graduations, it was the last ranking cadet, Rinze Marrion Eviota of Lapu-Lapu City, who received the most cheers for being the goat of Salaknib Class.
After receiving his diploma from Mr. Duterte, Eviota faced his classmates and bowed. He turned around and bowed once more to the guests, drawing applause from the crowd.
Success stories
One of Salaknib’s members used to be a housemaid.
Newly commissioned Ensign Meriam Libongcogon of Cebu province said she was born poor and had to land odd jobs to help raise money for her family while she struggled to maintain good grades in school.
“When I was young, I helped earn money for the family. I used to gather coconut shells to sell or haul sand for families that were building houses. The coins I earned I placed in a piggy bank … Our life may not have been grand but it did not stop me from fulfilling my dreams,” she said.
“I did not have an allowance growing up. I was happy if I had a peso coin … We sometimes settled for a meal of bananas … whatever was available. Yet I graduated from grade school as a valedictorian,” Libongcogon said.
She completed high school on a scholarship. “Because I was 15 years old, I could not land a good job and my parents could not afford to send me to college so I took a job as a maid in my hometown, Balamban,” she said.
In his speech, Lorenzana had a message for cadets like Libongcogon: “Success comes to those who seek it and those who work hard for it.”