BAGUIO CITY (PIA) — Four Cordillerans are among the top performing cadets of the Philippine Military Academy graduating cadets of 2024.
PMA Superintendent Lt Gen. Rowen Tolentino presented the top performing cadets, including the four Cordillerans, of the PMA Bagong Sinag or the Bagong Henerasyong Gagampanan ang Tama: Serbisyo, Integridad, at Nasyonalismo ang aming Gabay Class of 2024 recently.
The four Cordilleran cadets are Cadet First Class Samuel Alduos Gloria of Baguio City who will receive the Chief Justice Saber, Cadet First Class Jake Matiw of Bontoc, Mountain Province who is the Athletic Saber male awardee, Cadet First Class Ronald It-itan of Sabangan, Mountain Province who will graduate as a cum laude, and Cadet First Class Zita Dewi Nirvana Messakaraeng of Tabuk City, Kalinga as this year’s awardee of the Humanities Plaque.
Gloria, 24, said he was inspired to enter PMA by the foster sons and daughters of their family. He eventually learned the deeper meaning of being a cadet and building nationalism and patriotism. He will be joining the Philippine Army.
From 2008 until today, Gloria’s family has been welcoming foster sons and daughters from the PMA. He said he will continue this tradition of proving cadets a home and a family in Baguio while they pursue their dreams of becoming military officers.
Matiw, 25, excelled in physical education and athleticism during his stay at the Academy. He represented the PMA in various events including the Spartan races where he competed and won medals in 10 and 21 kilometer runs and triathlon events.
He said that entering the PMA was an opportunity for him to help his family after seeing the benefits and privileges of being a cadet and being a soldier. As a son of a farmer and a medical technologist, he said that entering the academy will provide his family a chance of a better life. The Bontoc native will be joining the Philippine Army.
Just like Cadet Matiw, It-itan, 22, saw PMA as a stepping stone for a better life for him and his family. Coming from a poor family in the mountains of Sabangan, he said that joining the PMA and eventually becoming a military officer will provide better opportunities for him and his five siblings.
The Kankana-ey native said that he chose to join the Philippine Air Force to encourage more youth from the Cordillera to join the PMA, and the Air Force branch of the service which is not a popular choice among cadets from the Cordillera region.
Messakaraeng, 21, joined the PMA through the encouragement of her mother after several of their townmates in Tinglayan, Kalinga have passed and graduated from the military institution.
Named after the popular band by her father, Nirvana is musically inclined even when she was young. At the PMA, she is a vocalist of the Cadet Combo.
The four are among the 29 cadets from the Cordillera Region who will graduate from the premiere military institution on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
They will be receiving their diplomas from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. who will serve as the guest of honor and speaker during the ceremony. **JDP/RMC- PIA CAR
