PMA alumni homecoming not free from politics

FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City, Philippines – Politics cannot be avoided.

The homecoming of the Philippine Military Academy alumni still showed vestiges of politics yesterday.

Even without the usual streamers and posters that accompany candidates on their campaign, two famous graduates of PMA Class 1971 – Sen. Gregorio Honasan and former senator Panfilo Lacson – showed up to march with their “mistahs” in the annual homecoming ceremonies here.

Honasan is the vice presidential candidate of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) of Vice President Jejomar Binay while Lacson is running for the Senate.

Former presidential daughter Luli Arroyo also showed up with the graduates of PMA Class 1991, this year’s Silver Jubilarians.

Dressed in the dark gray suit that is the uniform of the class, Luli was all smiles as she joined her “mistahs” to receive their medallions from the PMA Alumni Association.  

Luli’s class donated P500,000 for the PMA endowment fund and professorial chair fund.

“It is an exemption,” PMA spokesman Lt. Col. Reynaldo Balido Jr. said. “It’s because they are silver jubilarians.”

Balido said the PMA had been successful in preventing politics from entering the military institution.

He said that it has been a long-held guideline that the homecoming should be free from any political activity like overt campaigning.