STAR FIRE. The top ten cadets of Philippine Military Academy Alba Tala Class of 2018: (first row from Left) Cadets First Class Jaywardene Galilea Hontoria (1st); Ricardo Liwaden (2nd); Jun-Jay Castro (3rd); Leonore Andrea Japitan (4th); Mark Jantzen Dacillo (5th); (Second row from Left) Jezaira Buenaventura (6th); Jessie Larangan ; Paolo Briones ; Jayson Cimatu (9th); and Micah Reynaldo (10th). (Third row from Left) Cadets First Class Christian Michael Peña, who is receiving the Journalism Award and Jasm Marie Alcoriza who is receiving the Athletic Saber. PHOTO/Ev Espiritu
FORT DEL PILAR, BAGUIO CITY—A registered nurse from Iloilo province has topped this year’s graduating cadets at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).
Cadet 1st Class Jaywardene Galilea Hontoria/PHOTO/Ev Espiritu
Cadet 1st Class Jaywardene Galilea Hontoria of Balabag village in Pavia town leads 282-strong PMA Alab Tala (Alagad ng Lahing Binigkis ng Tapang at Lakas) Class of 2018.
The graduating class will be commissioned as military officers by President Duterte on Sunday (Mar. 18).
A graduate of the West Visayas State University, Hontoria served briefly with the Coast Guard before he passed the entrance examination at PMA.
He will join the Navy. The 25-year-old son of a farmer and a housewife will receive the Presidential Saber, the Chief of Staff Saber, the Academic Group Award, the Spanish Armed Forces Award, and the Australian Defense Best Overall Performance Award.
Topnotchers
Ranking second in the top ten is C1C Ricardo Liwaden, the son of a farmer in Barlig town in Mt. Province, while C1C Jun-Jay Castro of Amulung town in Cagayan province placed third.
Also in the top ten are: Cadets First Class Leonore Andrea Japitan of Butuan City (4th); Mark Jantzen Dacillo, of Zamboanga City (5th); Jezaira Buenaventura of Negros Oriental province (6th); Jessie Laranang of San Clemente town, Tarlac province (7th); Paolo Briones of Baguio City (8th); Jayson Cimatu of Aurora province (9th); and Micah Reynaldo of Bamban town, Tarlac (10th).
Laranang will receive the Air Force Saber while Buenaventura will receive the Aguinaldo saber.
Hontoria is also the Class Baron, the third Baron to top their class.The last such baron graduated in 1951.
PMA said 142 members of Alab Tala would join the Army, 71 have been assigned to the Air Force, while 68 are joining the Navy. Alab Tala is composed of 210 male cadets and 75 female cadets.
Before entering the PMA, Liwaden took a civil engineering course at the University of Baguio, while Briones took a civil engineering course at the St. Louis University also in Baguio.