Pay it forward

EVERY graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) has that innate desire to pay the PMA forward for all that the academy has brought to their lives. Be it quality but free education, extensive leadership training, character building, physical development, or the many opportunities the school has opened to them. Since more than half of those cadets joining the PMA are of humble beginnings, they could not have enjoyed these priceless benefits had they not opted to join the "long gray line." And the best way to pay it forward is for them to serve the nation with selfless devotion and dedication to their sworn duty to protect and defend their fellow Filipinos with their lives.

But among PMA classes (graduation batches) wanting to pay it forward, the PMA "Magiting" Class of 1970 stands out as achieving a major contribution that would benefit not only the PMA and the Cadet Corps Armed Forces of the Philippines. They envisage putting up an edifice that will rise not on the grounds of Fort Gregorio del Pilar, which hosts the PMA, but on the grounds of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City. The class ambitiously envisions providing a new hospital building aptly called the "Magiting '70 Veterans Wing" to be launched in 2020 to mark their Golden Jubilee Year since they graduated from PMA in 1970.