Biggest class in PMA history to graduate on March 25

FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City - Never has there been a class this big, and with the most number of women at that, to graduate from the country's premiere military training institution in its 108-year history.

And despite the constant controversies rocking the armed forces, 324 cadets are determined to make their way into the 120,000-strong military.

The "Mandala 2006" class bears the distinction of being the largest class the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) has produced and it will send off the 324 cadets to graduate next weekend, said PMA spokesman Navy Lt. Alvin Lopez.

The class also boasts of having the most number of female members at 37, Lopez said.

Last year, four female cadets graduated in the Top 10 of their class of only around 200.

Pre-war classes of the Philippine Constabulary Academy, the PMA's old name, were rather small with the PCA class of 1909 having only four members.

Without hinting who among the 324 are on the honor roll, Lopez said 179 will join the Philippine Army, 79 will go to the Navy and 66 to the Air Force.

Commencement exercises will be held on March 25.

Before the Mandala batch, the "Bantay Laya" class of 1994 held the record with the highest number of graduates at 273 cadets, Lopez said.

The milestone figure in the PMA's history comes as the Armed Forces of the Philippines is hounded by talks of unrest within its ranks following a reported thwarted attempt to launch a coup d'etat. The government responded by declaring a week-long state of emergency and now continues to purge the AFP and national police of members suspected of plotting to overthrow the Arroyo presidency. - Philippine Star News Service