BAGUIO CITY – The Philippine Military Academy (PMA) will be implementing a revised curriculum next year in compliance with the marching orders of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. for the Academy’s graduates to be equipped with 21st century skills and in line with the country’s comprehensive archipelagic domain concept (CADC).
PMA Superintendent Vice Admiral Cesar Bernard Valencia pointed out that the revised curriculum will incorporate the adoption of new approaches to teaching from the traditional to output-based education and the adoption of the PMA growth plan.
He claimed that part of the changes that will be introduced in the curriculum will be subjects on cyber warfare, artificial intelligence, drone warfare, asymmetric warfare, among others, to ensure that the future military officers will be ready with technology and digital-based strategies to address the country’s security concerns and be fully aware of the latest trends in the international scene.
The PMA Superintendent said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff already approved the proposed revision of the Academy’s curriculum and it is now awaiting the issuance of the requisite Department Order from the Secretary of National Defense (DND) for its roll out to the incoming freshman cadets.
Last year, President Marcos, who is also the AFP Commander-in-Chief, urged both the PMA and the AFP to make sure that the Academy’s graduates will be equipped with the 21st century skills on technology and critical analysis.
Further, AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner, Jr. also issued a directive to ensure that the country’s military should be multi-disciplinary to allow them to cope with the changing times coupled with the enhanced implementation of the CADC.
“We will enhance our curriculum to ensure that our graduates will be able to adapt to the fast changing times. We will introduce electronic gaming but with focus on strategy and tactics,” Valencia stressed.
According to him, there will also be online electronic game competitions using the commercially available electronic games between the PMA cadets and their counterparts in West Point as part of the curriculum to allow the enhancement of their skills on strategies and tactics in preparation for the 21st century digital warfare.
He admitted that the present generation is now what is called the ‘joystick’ generation which the PMA curriculum has to work through to be able to produce military officers who are capable of dealing with the current local and global threats to safety and security of the people.
Valencia claimed that the revised curriculum will be implemented in the next five years to pave the way for the Academy to be able to implement its short, medium and long-term plan to enhance the same to conform with the fast changing trends in domestic and international security issues and concerns that will have an impact in the country’s overall security scenario.
He expressed hope that the implementation of the revised curriculum will address gaps that had been identified to ensure that the future graduates of the Academy can effectively and efficiently discharge their duties and responsibilities as defenders of the country from internal and external threats to security and the overall safety of the Filipino people. By Dexter A. See
