Duterte to new PMA graduates: You are among next future leaders to end ills of the country

President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday called the new graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) as among the next future leaders responsible to protect the people’s rights in responding to the challenges faced by the country.

Addressing the 214 graduates of PMA “Bagsik Diwa” Class of 2022 for the last time before his term ends, Duterte said they will be among those who will fight the country’s problems including corruption, crimes, and illegal drugs.

“My administration was constrained to adopt extreme legal measures to fight society’s ills at the start of my term. Sad to admit, after six years, these ills hound us still though to some lesser degree of intensity,” Duterte said during his speech at the PMA commencement exercises at Fort General Gregorio del Pilar in Baguio City.

“Corruption, red tape, and illegal drugs, and crime and criminalities are the wrongs that we need to correct,” he said.

“I guess it is in the hands of the next generation of Filipino leaders and movers where our salvation rests. You, the Bagsik Diwa Class of 2022 belong to that generation,” the President added.

Duterte also congratulated the graduates and their parents for accomplishing their years in the PMA.

He then urged the graduates to uphold and protect the people’s rights, noting that they were trained to be “courageous, competitive, and disciplined" as they marched the halls of the PMA.

“[The] fact that you march here today on historic and mystical grounds is a testament to that truth. You are the best that the youth of this land can offer,” he said.

“In every country’s history, every generation of Filipino leaders and movers lies where our salvation and rests. You, the Bagsik Diwa Class of 2022 belong to that generation,” he added. —KG, GMA News