DHSUD SECRETARY EDUARDO DEL ROSARIO

It was a simple Philippine Military Academy (PMA) shirt that ultimately started to inspire Eduardo “Ed” Drueco Del Rosario to try his luck at entering the country’s most prestigious school for Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) aspirants. Del Rosario’s brother-in-law had traveled with his sister to Baguio City and
gifted him with it when he was in fifth or sixth grade. That gesture lit a fire in Del Rosario.

“Because of that, joining the military organization became a dream,” the now-retired major general tells LEAGUE. “I was enticed to think that if ever I’d join a military organization and experience the hardships of training, I would rather go straight to the Philippine Military Academy.”

Years passed since that fateful day and del Rosario had all but forgotten about his dream—that was until a seatmate in one of his classes at the Adamson University in Manila (where he was taking up mechanical engineering) came to class with an application form for a PMA cadetship.

The young del Rosario applied and successfully hurdled the school’s physical and medical examinations.

“The Academy calls for one’s determination,” says del Rosario. The member of the PMA Mapitagan Class of 1980 adds, “If you are not determined, it’s not for you. [It’s the] key to cadetship.”

FRIEND OF THE LUMADS
After graduation, Del Rosario served in the military for 37 years. His career began as a member of the Special Forces Regiment in his hometown of Nueva Ecija ........