One of the proudest moment in my life was when my daughter Cheska passed the written entrance exam for the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), one of 800 applicants who passed (out of 5,000) who took the exam at Philippine Normal University. The PMA began accepting female cadets just 15 years ago, in 1993. She didn’t push through with this, though, opting instead to enter the University of Sto. Tomas and take up Medical Technology. It begs the question “What makes this school attractive to so many applicants and different to other schools?” Well for one, the life of a PMA cadet revolves around strict adherence to the Cadet Honor Code (“We, the cadets do not lie, cheat, steal nor tolerate among us those who do among us”). It is a must for all cadets, not only to know the code, but also to practice and make it a way of life. Second, its rigid and unique, 4-year curriculum and training regimen is challenging; good for the tough, well motivated and gifted individual; bringing out the best to those who successfully hurdle it.
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| Fort Del Pilar Gate |
I have been to Baguio City countless number of times but not once have I visited this academy located some 10 kms. from downtown Baguio. That is, until lately. My past visits to the Summer Capital of the Philippines have been by family car or public transportation. This time I brought my own Toyota Revo, traveling with my son Jandy and United Tourist Promotions (UTP) friends Mr. Bernard Gonzales and Mr. Rodel “Pogs” Rivas who were on assignment at Baguio. Too bad Cheska couldn’t join us. We stayed at the Albergo de Ferroca Hotel, near Wright Park and the Mansion House.From the hotel, the PMA is just a 5-km. drive to its entrance. Past it is the equestrian statue of Gen. Gregorio del Pilar, the “Hero of Tirad Pass,” after whom the fort is named.
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| Shaku, the PMA’s landmark |
This training school for future officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines traces its history back to the Academia Militar which was established by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and Antonio Luna on October 25, 1898 at Malolos in Bulacan. Most of its faculty members were former members of the Spanish Guardia Civil and its first superintendent was mestizo Capt. Manuel B. Sityar. In February 1899, the academy was forced to close down upon the outbreak of the Philippine-American War.
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| Melchor Hall |
On February 17, 1905, during the American regime, an Officer’s School of the Philippine Constabulary was established at Sta. Lucia Barracks, within Manila’s Intramuros walls. On September 1,1908, this school was relocated to Baguio, on the site known as Constabulary Hill, later renamed Camp Henry T. Allen in honor of the first chief of the Philippine Constabulary. On September 8, 1926, the school was renamed the Philippine Constabulary Academy, by virtue of Philippine Legislature Act No. 3496 and, later, the Philippine Military Academy in 1936. In June that same year, the academy was transferred to Teachers Camp where it remained until World War II broke out. After the war, on May 5, 1947, the academy was reopened at Camp Henry T. Allen but, due to its increasing need for wider grounds, it was soon moved to its present location at Fort Del Pilar in Loakan.
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