PMA alumni homecoming rescheduled due to nCoV scare

MANILA, Philippines — The upcoming reunion of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) alumni in Baguio City has been rescheduled due to public health and safety concerns over the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

In a statement on Wednesday, PMA Alumni Association Inc. (PMAAAI) Chairman Cavalier Rufo De Veyra said the alumni homecoming originally set for Feb. 14 and 15 will instead be set for Feb. 22.

Thousands of PMA alumni, mostly retired and active military officers, come together at this time of the year for the annual reunion at Fort del Pilar.

De Veyra said the decision to set a new date was reached with the help of Baguio City Mayor Benjie Magalong and PMA Superintendent Vice Adm. Allan Ferdinand Cusi, who are also PMA alumni. It was also made into a one-day event instead of two.

The city mayor has coordinated with the hotels and restaurants, where the PMA members can ask for a rebooking without surcharge or fees. But the restaurants and hotels will keep the payments that were already made, he said.

The PMA leadership last week announced that it will close its grounds to tourists for at least three weeks as a proactive measure to protect their cadets and the public. Only the relatives of the cadets are allowed to visit on weekends.

Baguio City on Friday announced the cancellation of public activities that draw tourists and crowds in the next three weeks as a preventive measure against the coronavirus threat.

The PMAAAI earlier insisted on pushing through with the alumni homecoming on the originally scheduled date because it found “no compelling reason to change course” at the last minute.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Tuesday expressed his support to the decision of the country’s premier military school to close its campus to outsiders and to reschedule the alumni homecoming as a precaution against the novel coronavirus.

“We deem it prudent to avoid situations where the health and safety of our cadets, PMA alumni, and their families are put at risk,” Lorenzana said.

The Philippines has recorded one death due to the coronavirus, the first outside China. As of Wednesday, there are three confirmed cases and 133 are under investigation from the flu-like infection.

Elsewhere in the world, the virus has killed 490 lives and infected over 20,000 people.

/atm