SOME 271 cadets of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class of 2020 arrived on Monday, May 7, in Macabalan Port, Cagayan de Oro City, for their one-week Southern Cruise tour.
PMA spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Reynaldo Balido Jr., said Cagayan de Oro is their fourth stop, as they already toured Palawan, Zamboanga, and Davao for this year's annual training program.
Balido said the cadets will be exposed to the daily grind of police and military force in this part of the country to guide them in choosing which branch of the law enforcement unit they want to join after they graduate.
"We want them to visit these different places so that their experience is also diverse. In their visits, they will be briefed about the problems that are confronted in the area so that they will know and be ready," he said.
Balido said the cadets will also visit schools in Cagayan de Oro in an aim to invite aspiring students to enroll at the PMA.
Of the 271 cadets, 18 are from Northern Mindanao with only one female.
First Lieutenant Tere Ingente, spokesperson of the 4th Infantry Division (4ID), said the cadets pay a courtesy visit at 4ID headquarters in Camp Evangelista and at the Police Regional Office-Northern Mindanao in Camp Alagar. They also performed a silent drill yesterday at the Pelaez Sports Center.
Ingente said the cadets will participate in tree planting activities and will get a chance to visit a center for the Marawi Internally Displaced Persons in the Municipality of Initao.