Peasant’s daughter from Surigao City tops 2024 PMA graduates; 7 female on Top 10

FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City — She would have gone to farming as this was her family’s life back in Barangay Tubbungon, Surigao City, but 24-year-old Jeneth Elumba, this year’s topnotcher at the Philippine Military Academy’s graduating class, maneuvered her career to become a Philippine Army officer or perhaps the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff in 25 years or so.

Her father, now a barangay chairman, wanted her to be involved into farming. The PMA, according to her, became her inspiration to enter the military.

Elumba said that her father was a graduate of criminology but was not able to pursue a career in the uniformed service and eventually encouraged her to try the PMA.

Elumba said that there was a difficult time when she was almost got discharged from PMA when she went under the knife for appendicitis and had to shun off from strenuous physical activities for a year during her third year as second class cadet. 

"But I persisted and I was able to cope up with it with the help and encouragement of my family," she said, recognizing her “mistahs” in PMA Bagong Sinag (Bagong Henerasyong Gagampan ang Tama: Serbisyo, Integridad, at Nasyonalismo ang aming Gabay) class of 2024 as well.

 “This is a blessing for me," Elumba said.

Cadet Elumba, Second Lieutenant Elumba will receive the Presidential Saber from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., graduating as Magna cum laude, on May 18. She will also get the Philippine Army Saber, JUSMAG Saber, Australian Defense Best Overall Performance Award (for Army), Tactics Group Award and Army Professional Plaque Award.

Elumba’s feat marks the seventh time that a female cadet topped the graduating class at the PMA.  

Isabela lass, Gemalyn Deocares Sugui, became the sixth female cadet topping the PMA class of 2020, repeating the females’ 2019 feat where an Ilocos Sur lass, Dionne Mae Apolog Umalla (Alilem, Ilocos Sur) who also topped her class where four more females were in the Top 10.

In 1999, the late Navyu Ensign Arlene dela Cruz bested her “mistahs” topping that year’s graduates, Tara Velasco in 2003; Andrelee Mojica in 2007 and Rovi Mariel Martinez in 2017.

Meanwhile, tricycle driver’s son Mark Armuel Boiles,