FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City – Cadets of the country’s premiere military academy will be using a modern sports complex donated by the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation by next year.
As part of the 116th Philippine Military Academy foundation day activities, held here over the weekend, Pagcor Chairman Cristino Naguiat, who was guest of honor and speaker, said they have infused some P105 million for the construction of the academy’s two-story sports facility that will serve as an added sports facility for the Summer Capital to cater to the hosting of regional and national sports competition.
“The sports complex which will be completed by February 2015 will house a covered basketball, volleyball, badminton and tennis courts a gymnastics center, offices and classrooms is the state firm’s contribution to improving the facilities of the country’s military school as requested by President Benigno Aquino III during last year’s PMA graduation program,” Naguiyat stressed.
Naguiat said their donation to the PMA is part of their commitment for improving education in the country more importantly the academy which molds future leaders of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He pointed out the condition of the PMA’s former gymnasium has been poor and no longer apt to accommodate the needs for physical fitness activities of the academy and other outside competitions.
He cited the funds for the construction of PMA’s modern sports complex comes from Pagcor’s savings which has also helped so much in the education sector, particularly the building of schoolbuildings intended for upcoming senior high school students in the different parts of the country by the year 2016.
‘This includes some P5 million in funds that have been allocated for building thousands of classrooms in partnership with the Department of Education including the repair of hundreds of classrooms destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda,” he added.
Naguiat revealed the firm will be adding by the end of the month some P2 billion for the construction of more classroom buildings and other education needs of the country bringing their total investments to the improvement of the education to some P7 billion this year.
PMA spokesperson Major Reynaldo Balido Jr. cited the donation of Pagcor is a big help to the country’s premiere military school as physical fitness is one of the pillars of molding future cadets and officers of the AFP.
Balido said the new sports facility will also strengthen the sports program of the PMA and the entire city as it can now host inter-sports competition among universities through the Baguio-Benguet Educational Athletic League.
Naguiat was also honored by a parade and review by the Cadet Corps of the AFP. He also awarded PMA uniformed and non-uniformed personnel who have demonstrated outstanding performance of their duties for the year.
The foundation day activities also included a bloodletting activity in cooperation with the PMA’s Host Parents Association, The Department of Health, Baguio General Hospital and the Philippine National Red Cross.
The actual foundation day of the PMA is October 25 but the celebration was moved earlier due to previous commitments of Naguiat. Other guests in the foundation day program are Department of National Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Northern Luzon Commander Lt. Gen. Felicito Trinidad. They were joined by academy officials led by PMA superintendent Maj. General Oscar Lopez.
Since the foundation of the PMA in 1898, it has produced more than 8,000 graduates which has formed the roster of officials that has officiated the more than 300,000 personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
