Mary Grace Pango Baloyo (October 30, 1973 – March 26, 2001) was a Filipino flight officer in the

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) ( tgl, Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas, , Army of the Air of the Philippines) ( es, Ejército Aérea del Filipinas, , Ejército de la Aérea de la Filipinas) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forc ...

who posthumously became the first female member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to receive the Medal of Valor.

Early life

Mary Grace P. Baloyo was born in

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidenta ...

, Negros Occidental to Rommie Baloyo and Annie Pango, who were meat vendors at the city's Libertad Market. Baloyo took up her primary and secondary education in her hometown, and graduated from the St. Scholastica's Academy in 1991. She then entered

Cebu Institute of Technology – University The Cebu Institute of Technology – University (CIT-University, or less often CIT-U, and colloquially CIT) is a private non-sectarian academic institution in Cebu City, Philippines. The university provides basic and higher education with a foun ...

and took up Bachelor’s Science degree in Airline Management. Upon earning her bachelors degree, she applied and passed for the

Flying School (PAFFS) at

Basilio Fernando Air Base Basilio Fernando Air Base, or simply Fernando Air Base (formerly known as Lipa Air Base) is the site of the Philippine Air Force's (PAF) pilot training and education facilities located in the city of Lipa, Batangas, Philippines. It is named afte ...

Lipa City Lipa (), officially the City of Lipa ( fil, Lungsod ng Lipa), is a 1st class component city in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 372,931 people. It is the first city charter in the pro ...

, Batangas, taking up her wings on

Cessna T-41 Mescalero The Cessna T-41 Mescalero is a military version of the popular Cessna 172, operated by the United States Air Force and Army, as well as the armed forces of various other countries as a pilot-training aircraft. Design and development In 1964, ...

and

SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 The SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 (now Leonardo SF-260) is an Italian light aircraft which has been commonly marketed as a military trainer and aerobatics aircraft. The SF.260 was designed by Italian aircraft designer Stelio Frati, while production wo ...

. She completed her flight qualifications and finished with the PAFFS Class of 1997.

Military career

Upon graduation from PAFFS, Lt. Baloyo was assigned to the

15th Strike Wing 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious n ...

Danilo Atienza Air Base Danilo Atienza Air Base is a military base used by the Philippine Air Force, located on the northern end of the Cavite Peninsula in Manila Bay, Luzon Island, Philippines. It is adjacent to Cavite City, in Cavite Province. History On 1 Septemb ...

, Sangley Point, Cavite City, where she was one of 36 flight officers of the unit, and one of 6 combat rated female pilots of the PAF on OV-10 Bronco. On 26 March 2001, Lt. Baloyo flew with Capt. Ben Nasayao on a proficiency flight from Danilo Atienza Airbase to

Clark Air Base Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located west of Angeles City, about northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U.S. Air Forc ...

. While in the vicinity of Mabalacat, Pampanga, approaching Clark's Runway 20 at 1,000 ft above ground level the aircraft's engine failed and thus rapidly descended into a heavily populated area. Capt. Nasayao ejected at 300 ft above ground level sustaining injuries, while Lt. Baloyo remained on board and diverted the aircraft in an open field of Fil-Homes Subdivision, Barangay Mabiga. Lt. Baloyo was instantly killed by the crash. She was posthumously promoted to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Honors

To date, Lt. Baloyo is one of only four recipients of the Medal of Valor from the Philippine Air Force, and the only female officer.

External links

Biography

References

Philippine Air Force personnel 1973 births 2001 deaths People from Bacolod Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the Philippines Filipino female military personnel Recipients of the Philippine Medal of Valor Filipino military aviators {{Philippines-bio-stub