For second straight year, female cadet tops PMA class

FOR the second straight year, a female cadet has topped the graduating class of the Philippine Military Academy’s (PMA).

Cdt. 1st Class Gemalyn Sug u i , from Echague,

Isabela, is the valedictorian of the 196-member “Masidlawin” Class of 2020.

The 25-year-old Sugui said she would be joining the Philippine Army.

Last year, Dionne Mae Apolog Umalla, from Alilem, Ilocos Sur, topped her class.

Four other female PMA cadets hold that distinction: Arlene dela Cruz in 1999, Tara Velasco in 2003, Andrelee Mojica in 2007 and Rovi Mariel Martinez in 2017.

Placing second behind Suqui is Cdt. 1st Class Jade Villanueva from Tacloban City. Th e third placer is 25-yearold Cdt. 1st Class Jefferson Salazar of Zamboanga City.

Rounding up the class’ top 10 are Cadets 1st Class Rojes Gaile Jam andre, Jeb Bay-An, Catabay Ladyong, Vanelyn Angel Tabao, June Giel Anne Factor, Rubenson Abgao and Dencel Aina Bayaca.

Aside from the Presidential Saber, Sugui also received the Achievement Award for Academic Excellence, Jusmag Award, Philippine Army Saber, Spanish Armed Forces Award, Social Sciences Plaque, Management Plaque and the Rule of Law Award.

In a video interview provided by PMA’s Public Affairs Office, Sugui said seeing someone in a military uniform

inspired her to be a soldier herself.

Entering the PMA was challenging, but for her, quitting was never an option.

“When I entered college [in my first school and degree], it was challenging but I managed to finish it. What more now, entering as a cadet; so, despite the challenging times — and military rules were somehow new to me — I managed to finish it and not once thinking to quit,” Sugui said in Filipino.

Before she joins the Army, she plans to spend as much time as possible with her family, which she only visited during school breaks.

“I would really go home [every break] so I can maximize my time with my family,” she said, adding that the decision to do away with the PMA graduation from their parents saddened her.

For the first time in the academy’s history, the public, including the graduates’ parents, was not allowed to attend the graduation rites on Friday because of quarantine restrictions on public gatherings.

The plan to livestream the ceremony on the PMA’s official Facebook page was also scrapped, after the academy’s officials decided to hold a “simple and private program.”

VAdm. Allan Ferdinand Cusi, PMA superintendent, said the decision was made in consultation with health authorities and the military’s higher headquarters.

“I believe this is a necessary decision in order to safeguard the health and general well-being of the CCAFP (Cadet Corps of the Armed Forces of the Philippines) and the whole PMA community,” he said in a statement.

“As a parent, I know how heartbreaking and disappointing that decision is, but we have to do what is best for all,” he added. “Safety and health are paramount at all times.”

To make it up to the cadets’ parents, Cusi said he personally wrote each parent of the graduating class a congratulatory message and informing them about the decision to close the ceremonies to the public.

The Masidlawin, literally Vigilant Eagle, started with 395 plebes in 2016. Ten of the original members are training abroad.