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FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City, Philippines—Cadet First Class Angelo Parras of Apalit, Pampanga, will lead the 196 graduates of the Philippine Military Academy this year, academy officials announced on Monday.

Parras, 21, who will join the Philippine Navy, will receive the Presidential Saber from President Aquino on March 6 for topping the Laon Alab Class of 2011.

Cadets First Class John Gregor Guiang of Zamboanga del Norte and Jason Luna of Cagayan, ranked second and third, respectively.

Vice Admiral Leonardo Calderon Jr., PMA superintendent, said the graduating class is the youngest in the last five years, with the median age of the graduates at between 20 and 22.

PMA officials said the class has at least 10 members who will graduate while they are 20 years old and will need a waiver to serve as officers in the military because the Armed Forces of the Philippines requires its personnel to be at least 21.

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BY MARIA ELENA GONZALES
FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City – Vice Adm. Leonardo Calderon, outgoing superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy, is asking people to lay off his cadets amid allegations of corruption in the Armed Forces.

Calderon said the graduating class, LaonAlab (Lakas, Tipon, Alagad ng Bayan) is one of the youngest classes. He said the class has 20- to 22-year-olds. He said five of the 196 members have to get waivers before being commissioned.

Cadet Angelo Edward Buan Parras leads the class in graduation rites on March 6.

The 21-year-old Parras will receive the Presidential Saber and JUSMAG award in the rites to be presided by President Aquino. He will join the Navy. Parras is from Pampanga. His father Apolinario is a store supervisor and mother Elma a housewife.

Cadet John Rigor Guiang, second in the class, will join the Army. He will receive the Vice Presidential and Chief of Staff sabers. He is from Zamboanga del Norte.

Cadet Jayson Cortez Luna will receive the Secretary of National Defense Saber for finishing third in his class.

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APALIT -- The Municipal Government here is preparing a testimonial dinner to commend Cadet First Class Angelo Edward Parras, an Apaliteño, for graduating valedictorian in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

Mayor Jun Tetangco said his town has many PMA graduates, but Parras's case is special because this is the first time an Apaliteño bested 196 other graduating cadets.

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By Vincent Cabreza, Christine O. Avendaño
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 13:26:00 03/06/2011

Filed Under: Benigno Aquino III, Military, Graft & Corruption
FORT DEL PILAR, BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – President Aquino urged graduates of the Philippine Military Academy this year to remain steadfast against corruption in the military and government.

As a way of encouraging the new graduates, Aquino told the new soldiers he believed in their capacity to follow the right path even when confronted by temptations, corruption, injustice and poverty.

“Nandito kayo hindi para magpayaman. Kaharap ko kayo ngayon dahil pinili ninyong magmalasakit sa bayan. Kaya naman umaasa ako na kapag may nagbagsak ng isang trak ng salapi sa inyong harapan, kaya ninyo itong tanggihan dahil mas namamayani pa rin ang prinsipyong ipinunla sa inyo ng PMA (You are here not because you want to enrich yourselves. You stand before me because you chose to serve the country. So I hope that when someone dumps a truckload of money infront of you, you can easily resist the temptation of taking it
because the principles that the PMA had instilled in you would prevail),” the President told the 196 members of the Laon Alab Class of 2011 during the PMA graduation rites here on Sunday.

Mr. Aquino said conscience would be the only weapon that the newly commissioned officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines would carry in fighting off wrongdoing.