The Sinagtala Class of 1986(English: light from above, [1] lit. Starlight [2] ) was the first to graduate from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) [3] [4] [5] after the 1986 People Power revolution, [6] and the first batch of new military officers to serve the administration of the late President Corazon Aquino. [7] [8] [9]
In 1982, 357 cadets entered the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio; only 128 [lower-alpha 1] managed to graduate in 1986. [10] The class valedictorian (ranking first in the class) was Gilbert Gapay, the class baron (immediate assistant of the commandant) and ranking second was Rozzano Briguez, and the class goat (lowest ranking in the class) was Arthur Biyo. [10] [11]
During their time in the academy, the country was undergoing massive political change. For most of their training, the commander-in-chief was the authoritarian President Ferdinand Marcos. However, in February 1986, the People Power Revolution overthrew Marcos and installed Corazon Aquino as the new President and commander-in-chief. The Sinagtala class became the first PMA class to graduate after the restoration of democracy in the Philippines. [1] [10]
As of February 2016, 21 alumni of the class have died while 41 have become generals: 26 in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and 15 in the Philippine National Police. [1]
| Rank | Name | Career | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 General | Gilbert Gapay | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (August 3, 2020–February 4, 2021) Chief of the Army (2019 – August 3, 2020) Class valedictorian | [12] | |
 Lieutenant General | Rozzano Briguez | Commanding General of the Philippine Air Force (2018–2020) Class Baron and salutatorian | [13] | |
 Vice Admiral | Allan Ferdinand V. Cusi | Superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy (2019–2020) | ||
 Police Director General | Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa | Senator of the Philippines (2019–present) Director-General of the Bureau of Corrections (2018) Chief of the Philippine National Police (2016–2018) | ||
| Police General | Oscar Albayalde | Chief of the Philippine National Police (2018–2019) | ||
| Police General | Archie Gamboa | Chief of the Philippine National Police (2019–2020) | ||
| Police General | Camilo Cascolan | Chief of the Philippine National Police (2020) | Undersecretary of the Department of Health | |
| General | Felimon Santos Jr. | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (2020) | ||
 Lieutenant General | Ronnie Evangelista | Municipal Mayor, Rodriguez, Rizal (June 30, 2022–present) Commander Civil Relation Service Commander Special Operations Command (Socom) Superintendent Philippine Military Academy (2018–2019) | ||
| Lieutenant General | Macairog Alberto | Philippine Ambassador to the Israel (2020-present) Commanding General of the Philippine Army (2018–2019) | ||
| Vice Admiral | Robert Empedrad | Administrator of the Maritime Industry Authority (March 2, 2020–present) Flag Officer-in-Command of the Philippine Navy (2017–2020) |
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The National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) is an educational, training, and research agency of the Philippine government located inside Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City. It is responsible for providing continued and intensive studies of the diverse problems relating to national defense and security. It is under the Department of National Defense.
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The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (CSAFP) is the highest-ranking military officer and the head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), including all service branches under its command. The position is usually held by a four-star rank of General or Admiral. Its direct equivalent in the US Armed Forces is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Unlike its US counterpart, which is merely supervisory, the Chief of Staff has complete operational control within the military hierarchy and is responsible for the overall operations of the AFP.
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'SINAGTALA' is a Filipino word for starlight