Five women are in the Top 10 of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) “Masidtalak” Class 2023 composed of 208 cadets who are set to graduate on Friday.
These are Jail Cadet Mary Louise Moyano (Rank 3); Police Cadet Claire Gean Pambid (Rank 5); Police Cadet Gezelle Sadian (Rank 6); Fire Cadet Gillian Torlao (Rank 7) and Police Cadet Kimberly Cruz (Rank 10).
Moyano, who will join the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), will receive the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Kampilan Award and the BJMP Kampilan Award. She will also be the recipient of the Servant Leadership Kampilan Award.
Meanwhile, Torlao will receive the Best in Forensic Science and Best in Laws and Jurisprudence awards.
This year’s class valedictorian is 25-year-old Police Cadet Francis Geneta of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
Geneta said poverty inspired him to give all his best despite graduating magna cum laude in his Bachelor of Science in Education Major in Mathematics at the Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology-Main Campus.
“He was raised by a single parent. His mother, Sanny de Leon Geneta, is a seamstress by profession,” PNPA spokesperson Lt. Col. Louie Gonzaga said in an interview.
Geneta will receive the Presidential Kampilan Award and the Chief, PNP Kampilan Award.
Other cadets in the Top 10 are Police Cadet John Rafael Desiderio from Cubao, Quezon City (Rank 2); Fire Cadet Eden Jhun Santos from San Jose, Occidental Mindoro (Rank 4); Police Cadet Jefferson Mamauag from Cauayan City, Isabela (Rank 8); and Police Cadet Patrick John Alabado from (Rank 9).
Desiderio will receive the Vice President Kampilan Award, Best in Police Administration and Best Thesis award.
Santos, meanwhile, will be awarded with the Chief, Bureau of Fire Protection Kampilan for being the top cadet who chose the BFP.
In an interview on Tuesday, PNPA director Maj. Gen. Eric Noble said the PNPA “Masidtalak” Class 2023 consists of 174 males and 34 females.
Of this number, 186 will be joining the PNP upon graduation while 11 will be serving the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and another 11 will be augmenting the ranks of the BJMP.
The PNPA Class 2023 was the batch undergoing its second year of training when the Covid-19 pandemic started in 2020.
Despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, Noble said this class soldiered on and managed to complete their training. Adjustments were made to ensure that these cadets got all the necessary education and training despite the pandemic.
“Amid the grim struggle of winning supremacy over oneself, they have displayed paramount competence and excellence both in tactics and in the field of academics,” the PNPA posted in its Facebook page.
“These soon-to-be officers of the nation epitomize utmost determination, perseverance, and tenacity in performing their duties and responsibilities as cadets,” it added.
