PMA Top 10 Includes 8 Women, The Most In PMA History

A few days before March 8, International Women’s Day, the Philippine Military Academy named the Top 10 of its 2017 graduating class. And 8 out of the Top 10 are female cadets, making this the most number of cadets to receive honors in PMA’s history.

PMA 2017 Valedictorian Also A Woman

According to an ABS-CBN report, this year’s Top 10 is led by a female cadet from Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija. Rovi Mairel Valino Martinez will graduate as Valedictorian of Salaknib Class of 2017. “Salaknib” is an Ilocano term for “protection.”

Martinez will also receive 10 other awards for her excellent performance in the academy, including the academic group award and the social sciences plaque.

PMA Is No Longer A Man’s World

Martinez and the seven other female cadets have proven that the PMA is no longer a man’s world. The academy started accepting females in 1993 and since then, only one female graduate made it to the top spot. Women started excelling from 1997 onwards; from then on, female cadets always had a place in the top 10.

With 8 women in the top 10, this is by far the most number of women graduating in the top of their class in PMA history. Martinez is joined other female cadets from Baguio City, Butuan City, Nueva Vizcaya, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Compostela Valley and Zamboanga City. There are only two male cadets, salutatorian Philip Viscaya and top 5 Carlo Canlas.

Salaknib Class of 2017 also has a record number of female cadets graduating, with 63 of the 167 graduates women. Graduation rites will be held on March 12, in Baguio City.

Better Equality Achieved

In a Philippine Star report, PMA Senior Tactical Officer Army Lt. Colonel Lea Lorenzo-Santiago said that all cadets, regardless of gender, were “treated with equal opportunities.” She is the first female Senior Tactical Officer and was part of the 1997 graduating class.

When asked about the nature of graduating female cadets, she described them as “strong-willed and competitive.”