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Saturday, October 23, 2004
Military cadets shed West Point-inspired uniforms (7:45 p.m.)
BAGUIO -- Cadets at the elite Philippine Military Academy (PMA) are switching away from formal uniforms patterned after those of the US West Point academy to ones used by indigenous revolutionaries, an official said Saturday.
The new uniforms, known as "Rayadillo", are cheaper, more comfortable and will better reflect the history of the Philippines' fight for independence from Spain in the late-1800s, said cadets commandant Brigadier General Cardoso Luna.
So far only one battalion of about 60 cadets has adopted the new uniform but by next year, all 1,100 cadets in the Philippine equivalent of West Point or Sandhurst will hopefully have the new outfit, said Luna.
The old uniforms, patterned after those of West Point, were made of tight-fitting, expensive wool and topped off by a tall hat with a plume.
The Rayadillo is of lighter, looser-fitting cotton and has a simpler military cap. Luna said those cadets who have used it find it far more comfortable than the old uniform in the tropical country.
The Rayadillo design was originally requested in 1898, during the Philippine fight for independence from Spain by then revolutionary secretary of war General Antonio Luna, a distant relative of the new cadet commandant.
It was used by the first regular army of the Philippines, first in the fight against the Spanish and then against American forces who took over the islands after Spain surrendered them to the United States at the end of the Spanish-American war.
Luna said it was a time for Filipino cadets to have their own uniform rather than copying those of the US forces who eventually took over the Philippines after a bloody guerrilla war.
As an added benefit to the cash-strapped government, the new uniform will cost about 7,000 pesos (124 dollars), about half the price of the old uniform, Luna said. (AFP) |
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