Martinez, in full military uniform, expressed gratitude for the warm welcome of her fellow Cabanatuenos and willingly posed for photographs.
Her visit at city hall followed the recognition rites given her by the House of Representatives the previous Monday (March 13) based on a resolution sponsored by Rep. Rosanna Vergara, of Nueva Ecija’s 3rd congressional district.
The House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring and commending Martinez, the soldier from Barangay Bangad here, for graduating valedictorian of the PMA recently.
House Resolution 858 noted that Martinez, whose father was a “frustrated soldier” graduated with “several outstanding distinctions as conferred by the academy” on top of being valedictorian of 2017 Class Salaknib.
The PMA, Vergara noted in the resolution, is the “premiere military school in the Philippines which prides itself of producing only the finest Filipino men and women for military service in the mold of its ideals of courage, integrity and loyalty. Its graduates are widely recognized as skilled leaders who excel in their respective fields,” the measure reads.
Tracing the PMA’s “ illustrious history” in 1898 with the establishment of the Academia Militar by virtue of a decree issued by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, Vergara noted that the academy opened its doors to its first female cadet, which eventually opened the opportunity to Martinez and other women, pursuant to Republict Act No. 7192, and had its first female graduates in 1997.
Of the 167 graduates of the 2017 PMA Class Salaknib (Sanggalang ay Lakas at Buhay na Alay Para sa Kalayaan ng Inang Bayan), 63 are women – the highest number since it began admitting female cadets, and a record of eight women are at the top of the class, the resolution submitted on March 7 reads.
Martinez, Vergara noted, was also honored with the Presidential Saber, Philippine Navy Saber, the Academic Group Award, plaques for Social Sciences and Navy Professional Courses, the Joint United States Military Assistance Group Award, the Association of Generals and Flag Officers Award, and special awards from the Spanish Armed Forces and the Australian Defense Force.
The achievements of Martinez who, as the top Navy graduate, will attend the United States Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, “inspire several other Filipino women to pursue a career in military service and excel in this traditionally male dominated field, as well as to equally serve the country with excellence” Vergara said in the resolution.
The adoption of the resolution, she added, was also in line with the celebration of the National Women’s month.
