Lorenzana stresses PMA grads command responsibility

FORT DEL PILAR, BAGUIO CITY (May 14, 2022)— Defense chief Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, speaking before the 214-strong graduating class of the Philippine Military Academy and the rest of the Corps of Cadets of the Armed Forces stresses being responsible to each other, especially in the field.

Lorenzana, as a guest of honor and speaker during the awarding ceremony of the outstanding cadets and CCAFP units at the Borromeo Field Saturday, said it is proper to go back to the objective of the premier military officer training institution which is —to construct, train and develop cadets.   This is to prepare and equip them in pursuing progressive military careers.

He said that garnering awards in PMA is not an easy task.   He stressed that it is not an inborn talent of being good at anything but is a result of learning and training.

Lorenzana reiterated the importance of command responsibility in the institution which is— being responsible in command.   He said this was seen during the incident in PMA way back in 2019 where upperclassmen inflicted physical abuse on a lower classman which turned into a tragic death.

Because of what happened, Lorenzana relieved people in the Academy, especially from the top to the bottom.   He said they should answer for what happened as they failed to do their duties. He stressed, “this is command responsibility”.

He also reminded the youth who are interested in becoming cadets not to take the entrance exams by chance.  He said they have to persevere in studying to meet the academic requirements of the institution.

President Rodrigo Duterte will lead the commencement exercises for the PMA Bagsik Diwa Class 2022 on Sunday, his last before bowing out from the presidency on June 30.

In 2020 and 2021,  Pres. Duterte virtually presided over the PMA graduation ceremonies.

Artemio A. Dumlao