Recognition Day of Anton

September 13-14, 2014

Beneath the heavy fog of the city, the Academy radiates a strong aura that simply shows its power to hone ordinary men and women to be extraordinary leaders and followers.


Echo company - Cl '18 (Anton's the tallest one!)

With the relatives!

Moira wearing a V-neck dress from Maldita,
boots from Palladium & bag from XOXO

Me wearing a blue sleeveless blouse from an online shop,
orange blazer from Unica Hija, necklace from Apostrophe,
pants from Esprit, flats from Grendha, bag from R+J

Anton with his room mates :)

Recognition rites



The Octagon

Plebes giving their respects to their upper class

A candid shot of Margarita ❥ Moira



Dinner @ Happy Tummy, Ketchup Community



Caffeine fix @ Starbucks
Doughnuts from J.Co

Lunch @ Gerry's Grill, SM Baguio

Whole body shot of the Three Musketeers
Margarita's OOTD:
sheer galaxy long sleeves from Folded&Hung,
strapless romper from Forever 21, boots from Dr. Martens
Moira's OOTD:
plaid shirt from Folded&Hung,
pants from Aeropostale, boots from Palladium

{Incredible 5}
Having their last caffeine bonding for the month of September!

Because of our final defense and semi-final examination on Friday morning and afternoon, after fetching Papa from the airport, it was that night that we journeyed through the heavy traffic of EDSA to make our way to the summer capital of the Philippines. We arrived in Baguio City at around 2 am of Saturday.

Regardless of the lack of sleep, our family, alongside our relatives, still got ourselves prepared at 6 in the morning for us to be able to be at the open-house of all plebes at the Philippine Military Academy. Due to the big number of plebes in the Echo company, Anton currently resides in the Mayo Hall Annex, with 7 of his squadmates. As we went inside their room, we weren't surprised to see the normal stuff of a PMA cadet: different uniforms for different occasions/events, toiletries, well-made beds, thick books, and shiny pairs of hop shoes. If at the Incorporation Day last May, we were brought to tears, this time, we weren't. It's because we are now used to being away from each other and Anton has already adopted the lifestyle in the well-known Academy. Taking of pictures was obviously not forgotten. Anton told us different stories about how he was going with his studies, physical fitness tests and drill trainings. He even shared us how he got several of his uniforms burned or stained. Mama and Papa were somewhat disappointed with the way his uniforms turned out but Anton reassured them that they're only for display and that he's using new ones. After visiting my 6-footer younger brother, we headed to the stadium to witness the main event that would be held at the Borromeo Field.

We waited for 20-30 minutes for the program to start as we settled ourselves on the chairs reserved for the family of the Echo company plebes. Actually, the seats were only for the parents but Papa insisted that the rest of our relatives should be able to sit at the stadium to watch Anton from a comfortable and great height. We watched the plebes, along with the other selected 2Cl cadets, entered the field in squads that identified what company they were in. Knowing Anton's in Echo, it was not hard for us to find him. Why? It's because he was the tallest in their batch. Using the lens lent by my cousin, I captured far-fetched photos of my brother. I looked at my family's faces and the pride in their eyes was unnoticeable. This moment was remarkable unforgettable for all of us ㅡ Anton surely made us even more proud for what he has achieved. 

The plebes and cadets followed the Brigade Commander (who happened to be the son of Papa's mistah)'s commands quite well and we clapped our hands to boost their confidence even more. As the cadets marched out the field, leaving the plebes to perform their trained drills, we all got more excited of what's about to happen (even though we already know because Papa already has an experience). The speaker for the said occasion was Gen. Pio P. Catapang, Chief of Staff, AFP, PMA Class '81. Honestly, I fell asleep during his speech because I haven't had enough sleep (LOL! External locus of control, eh?). But before the speech ended, I woke up only to find out that it was already drizzling. We got worried and thought it's gonna rain right there and then but God is so good that He didn't let it rain. Marching to form the Octagon, we found ourselves looking for the last man because Anton earlier said that he's gonna be the last man during the performance because he's the tallest one in their batch. We cheered for him though he was too far away to hear our yells. As the Octagon was formed, the upperclass men went on the field to show us the traditional recognition rites in the Academy ㅡ the bridge-until-he-says-carry-on part ㅡ wherein the plebes would bend their bodies backward to show respect to their upperclass and would recite the necessary information needed by the upperclass who would place in front of them. We were glad that only few upperclass went in front of Anton, unlike other plebes who looked already spent and wasted because of too much bending.

After somewhat 15 minutes, the rites were finally done. We were also laughing because we saw that Anton had his picture taken by the cadet officer assigned for documentation (I think) while being 'carried on' by his upperclass. My brother was now being dubbed to be a model. (Hahahaha!) Back to the story, the upperclass men were ordered to leave the field. Finally, Class 2018 men were formally called cadets and not anymore plebes. They marched to perform their pass-in-review in front of the guest speaker and audience. We then were informed to head to the Lopez Hall for the picnic session (lunch with family). Being recognized as a cadet now, a privilege of 11 hours at most was given to Anton.

We went to our staying place and took a rest. Anton just ate a lot of Don Benito's pichi-pichi and slept afterwards. At dinner, we went to Happy Tummy, a Thai resto at the Ketchup Community, somewhere near Mines View Park and met the foster sisters of Papa. The crab rice there was superb and I wouldn't order anything else but that. My tummy was bloated after and yes, my tummy is really happy because of Happy Tummy. (pun intended, mehehe) We headed back to our place for our relatives to rest and our family decided to pass by Starbucks and J.Co to have our caffeine bonding and to buy Anton his favorite doughnuts. We stayed there for a couple of minutes with the thought of 9:30 as the end of Anton's privilege. But we were proven wrong when Anton was informed by their company hall's guard that end of privilege was really 11:00. He was disappointed because we thought our time was cut short but it actually wasn't. So, we just spent the remaining hour and a half inside the car. The sibs, Moira, Anton and I, watched several videos in my iPad to pass by time. Honestly, we were by then contented of what we were doing because in that simple activity, the laughter we shared was one memorable thing already. At 10:30, Papa decided to send off Anton to his room so he could rest. The night was capped off with sweet 'see you tomorrow's hoping and silently praying that tomorrow would be a better day to spend our togetherness.

The next day went so fast: we fetched Anton from the Academy; his privilege started at 9:30 in the morning. Then, we had lunch at Gerry's Grill, SM Baguio. The parentals did an additional grocery shopping for Anton's needs: a white polo shirt, flat iron, a box of Pancit Canton, etc. Before finally sending him off, we stopped by Starbucks again to have our caffeine fix and talked about random stuff and anything under the drizzly and foggy weather. Goodbyes weren't uttered but rather our 'see you soon's.

Thank You, Lord, for always taking care of my brother. He has made and is still making us, his ever-supportive family, the proudest. Time and distance may separate us but they will only give us more stories to be told and laughter to be shared. Never forget to pray there, brother! We love you always, in all ways. ❤