PMA now requires 85% general average

BAGUIO CITY — Starting this year, the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) will accept applicants with a minimum high school general average of 85 percent.

The requirement is up from the 80 percent it has been requiring from would-be cadets since 2002.

Maj. Gen. Cristolito Balaoing, PMA superintendent, said this is one of the initiatives the academy is pursuing to increase the number of graduates.

In recent years, only an average of 35 percent of PMA cadets have finished their four-year training, largely due to poor academic performance, Balaoing said.

He said they want to increase the survival or retention rate to at least 75 percent, which is reportedly the acceptable rate in US academies.

Other admission requirements remain. Applicants must be natural-born Filipino citizens; of good moral character; single and have never been married; have never sired (for males) nor given birth (for females); stand five feet, four inches (males) or five feet, two inches (females); not a day older than 22 years old and not a day younger than 17 years old on April 1; and are able to pass the minimum requirements for the physical fitness test.

The PMA is holding its entrance examinations on Aug. 28.