Top PMA female grad killed in road mishap

BALANGA CITY – A Philippine Military Academy (PMA) alumna, who was one of two summa cum laude graduates in the history of the military school, was killed in a collision along the Roman Superhighway in the upland village of Lucanin in Mariveles, Bataan on Tuesday night.

Senior Superintendent Manuel Gaerlan, Bataan police director, said the victim, Navy officer Lt. Senior Grade Arlene de la Cruz, assigned at the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP) in Mariveles, was cruising the highway on board a Toyota Corolla when her vehicle smashed into the rear of a 10-wheeler cargo truck parked on the roadside at around 8:30 p.m.

The truck driver, Fer­nando Balmocena of Baliuag, Bulacan, fled after the incident.

Gaerlan said De la Cruz was rushed to the Department of Defense hospital in Barangay Lamao, Limay town, but was pronounced dead on arrival by Dr. Maria Theresa Orriquia, a rural health officer.

De la Cruz, topnotcher of PMA Class 1999, was only assigned at the MAAP a few months ago.