BAGUIO CITY – President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. will lead the graduation rites of the 275-member Bagong Sing Class of 2024 of the Philippine Military Academy at the Borromeo grounds in Fort del Pilar on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
The President will be commissioning the members of the graduating class as 2nd Lieutenants and Ensigns of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) upon the recommendation of Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr..
The Chief Executive, who will be serving as the guest of honor and speaker during the graduation rites, will be avoided the traditional arrival honors at the Sun Dial area before proceeding to the Borromeo grounds for the commencement exercises.
President Marcos will be conferring the Presidential Sober to cadet first class Jeneth Ilumba of Surigao City, Surigao del Norte, who will be graduating at the top of this year’s class while Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio will be awarding the Vice Presidential Saber to cadet first class A Mark Armuel Boiles of Novaliches, Quezon City, who is the class salutatorian.
Top government officials and diplomats will be in the city to grace the traditional PMA graduation rites that will feature seven female cadets who are in the top ten honor list.
Some 278 cadets will be composing the 2024 Bagong Sinag Class where 224 are males and 54 are females.
144 cadets will be joining the Philippine Army, 72 cadets will be joining the Philippine Navy, and 62 cadets will be commissioned with the Philippine Air Force.
Of the 114 cadets joining the Philippine Army, 115 are males while 29 are females. In the case of those joining the Philippine Navy, 59 are males and 15 are females. There are also 50 males and 12 females joining the Philippine Air Force.
PMA Superintendent Rowen Tolentino said that the graduating class will be the seventh batch of PM\a graduates where the valedictorian is a female since the Academy started accepting females as members of the cadet corps. By Dexter A. See