Marcos tells 310 new PMA grads: Prepare for rapidly evolving security environment
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Sunday told the 310-strong new Philippine Military Academy graduates, majority of whom will be serving under the Philippine Army, that their “true battles will now begin” amid the country’s changing security situation.
PMA “Madasigon” Class of 2023 will now be deployed to serve under the Armed Forces of the Philippines, with 158 joining the PA, 77 with the Philippine Navy, and 75 in the Philippine Air Force.
Of the graduating class, 72 are females and the majority or 238 are males.
The 310 PMA graduates were conferred with degrees in Bachelor of Science in National Security Management. Marcos noted they have "braved the rigors of physical and mental training for which the PMA is world-renown."
Marcos, as the country's commander-in-chief, told the new troops that they will now be serving the nation amid changing times.
“Existing realities and the rapidly evolving security environment impel us to be always prepared for any and all threats that our country may face,” Marcos said in his speech during the commencement exercises.
“Purveyors of criminality, insurgency, and terrorism are the great interlopers in our peaceful aspirations that undermine our peace and our stability and our march to prosperity in our sovereign domain and its environment.”
Marcos added that the country is “relentlessly” pursuing the modernization of its armed forces—with the chief executive inking a law that extended the retirement age of officers and terms for tenure as well as the government looking into improving social protection accorded to military personnel.
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Meanwhile, Class valedictorian Warren Leonor paying tribute to two fallen mistahs or batchmates who died in their freshmen year—Darwin Dormitorio, who was a victim of hazing, and Mario Telan Jr., who drowned, in 2019. Their deaths were just two months apart.
“You will forever be a cherished part of the Madasigon Class of 2023,” Leonor said.
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