Calls to abolish PMA mount

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Calls for the abolition of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) are mounting even as the institution gets ready to celebrate its foundation day over the weekend here.

Reviving a call by Surigao del Sur Rep. Philip Pichay last November to divide the military institution into major command academies, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño is calling for a review of Asia’s premier military academy.

On the heels of controversy surrounding the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Casiño said that abolition of the PMA should be considered.

The PMA is preparing for the alumni homecoming from Friday to Sunday where Marcelo Navarro Jr. of Class ’72 will receive an award for public administration; Cornelio de la Cruz, Class ’78, for Special Affairs; Restituto Aguilar, Class ’78, for Alumni Affairs; Alexander Fama, Class ’79, for Command and Administration; Alex Pura, Class ’89, for Army Operations; Nicole Dris, Class ’89, for Naval Operations; Leo Francisco, Class ’92, for Police Operations; and Justino Ramolete, Class ’99, for Air Force Operations.

PMA class of 1961, the host of this year’s homecoming, is also celebrating its golden anniversary.

Also celebrating their jubilees are members of class 1986 (silver) ; class 2006 for their first five years, class 2001 for 10 years, and class 1991 for 20 years.

Casiño said the core of the PMA should be reviewed, as top men in the force are graduates of the academy. This comes in the wake of revelations linking some of its graduates to plunder and misuse of funds in the AFP.

“There is something wrong with the values system, training as we see in the graduates that we have now,” Casiño said.

Casiño said the PMA spends more money for cadets than the country does for state scholars, “This is not a good investment.”

The PMA spends over P2 million for every cadet.

Casiño said major reforms should be set in place in the PMA.

PMA Superintendent Leonardo Calderon said moves to abolish the academy are farfetched, insisting that military adventurism was being addressed by instilling in cadets a love for the Constitution and country through the PMA roadmap, crafted to fine-tune existing guidelines in the academy.