The molding seat of leaders

I witnessed the three-day event of the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Homecoming held recently in Baguio City. The Magilas of Class '76 was the senior host of this year's homecoming. I was amazed at how PMA graduates are giving so much emphasis and importance in the Alumni Homecoming - an occasion being looked forward to with such expectations through the years, not only by the graduates but by other people, as well.

According to Camp Crame Police Community Relations Group Director Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, this kind of activity rekindles the camaraderie and strengthens the bond of brotherhood amongst the graduates (old and new) of the PMA.

A nostalgic feeling is one of the reasons why Luciano "Lou" Gaboy can't resist from coming back to his alma mater. "I like coming home to make me feel like a cadet again. It also feels good showing my children around PMA"

Retired Col. Gaboy is now the security consultant of Bayantel, who also published a joke book entitled "Gabby Goes Everywhere." Gaboy added that, professionally, it is a chance to bond among the members of the long gray line who have been assigned to the different corners of the Philippine archipelago, as well as around the globe, after they stepped out of the portals of the academy. It is a chance to keep the bond strong and reinforce the memory that each of them is a product of an institution that contributes to the development of the country.

Emil Lucero, who opted to have an early retirement and has moved to the United States with his wife Chilla and their children, also shared his insight that It's not everyday that he gets the chance to be with his mistahs, to see their mentors and tormentors in one place, to see their underclassmen in person again, and see how far they have gone. The mistahs have one way or another been instrumental in their formation, having molded them to become the leaders of our nation.

They remember the sights and sounds of the ever welcoming grounds they call Fort Del Pilar, including all the off-limit areas where only the brave cadets dare to go.

In short, it is the only event wherein they can experience the virtual web and bonds that hold all alumni as one great and solid family.

With a union like this, no wonder they cannot resist from coming back year after year to an institution they have called their second home, where they spent four grueling years of rigid military training and developed an endless comradeship with their mistahs, upperclassmen and underclassmen.

It is a line of work that is risky - serving their countrymen, a life deprived of being with their loved ones, an income that cannot compensate for the hard work and will never afford a luxurious life that most people dream to have. With their great minds, they can be in any profession they desire. However, they have found fulfillment in this kind of a career.

They possess the qualities that make them sought-after and admired; a kind of distinction that makes them the great leaders of our nation.

Kudos! To the thirteen Cebuanos who graduated along with the 312 cadets of The Mandala class of 2006, the biggest class ever to graduate in the 108-year history of the premier military training institution in the country and in Asia - the Philippine Military Academy.