Women make up 1/4 of PMA plebes

MANILA, Philippines – More women are choosing careers in the military service, as shown by the number of applicants who have successfully qualified for the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

Women made up a fourth, or 298, of the total 1,195 applicants who passed the PMA entrance examinations given on Aug. 29.

The PMA said the successful applicants represented only 15 percent of the 8,007 who took the exams in 35 testing centers nationwide.

Baguio City accounted for the biggest number of applicants who passed the exams, with 161.

Asked to explain the low number of successful examinees, Armed Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos said, “There is time pressure… Others might have failed to follow the instructions. Some are not time conscious.”

Burgos said the exams were precisely conducted under time limit to reveal the applicant’s ability to function under pressure.

Burgos said the successful examinees will be notified by mail and will be asked to report to one of the testing centers to undergo complete physical examination.

The examination center in Luzon is at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center in V. Luna, Quezon City.

Successful applicants in the Visayas region should proceed to the Central Command Headquarters in Lahug, Cebu while those in Mindanao can take the test at the Army’s 4th Infantry Division headquarters in Cagayan de Oro City.

The successful applicants will be competing to be one of 350 cadets who will comprise PMA class 2015. The successful examinees will formally enter the PMA on April 1, 2011.

Once admitted in the PMA, qualified applicants will enjoy a full scholarship, monthly pay and allowances, a commission in the AFP as a lieutenant or ensign and a chance to undergo a holistic training program. The complete list of passers may be viewed at www.pma.ph.