Cadets tour Capitol, watch inmates dance

For Maria Josefa Donadillo, serving her fellow Filipinos meant entering the country’s Armed Forces.

With this in mind, Donadillo enrolled in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) as one of its cadets.

“The PMA was the best venue for me to be able to achieve my dream of serving the country,” she told Cebu Daily News.

The 18-year-old Donadillo is the only Cebuana from among the 12 female cadets who enrolled in the PMA class Siklab-Diwa of 2014, together with 255 male cadets.

A resident of barangay Apas in Cebu City, Donadillo said she was inspired to see several women officers serving the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) where her father also belongs.

“They (women airforce personnel) survived in the military field, so I think I can do it also,” Donadillo said.

However, Donadillo said that she is yet to determine which field she would pursue – military, airforce or navy – when she graduates from the PMA.

Donadillo and the 266 other cadets of the PMA class Siklab-Diwa visited the Cebu Provincial Capitol yesterday morning as part of their Visayas tour.

Cadets are here to visit different military installations in the Visayas, promote the academy and encourage applications for the next school year.

Brig. Gen.Maximo Caro, the cadet commandant, said this was the first time in 20 years that they allowed their cadets to leave camp for a tour.

When at the Capitol, the group was welcomed by Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia who shared with them her effort in instilling discipline among capitol employees and inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC).

Garcia told the PMA cadets of the “headaches” she had to go through..

The lady governor spoke of the sit-down strike and the series of noise barrages the inmates organized while at the old detention facility in barangay Tejero, which was later converted into a museum.

Garcia said she succeeded in moving the inmates to their new detention facility in the mountain barangay of Kalunasan.

With the discipline that she has instilled on inmates, Garcia said they are now known worldwide for their dance routines.

Cadets had their chance to see the inmates dance before proceeding to the Capitol.

Today, cadets would also have their chance to show off their silent drills to the Cebuanos at the Abellana Sports Complex.