PMA hazing victim laid to rest; family welcomes shakeup in military school

The family of PMA cadet 4th class Darwin Dormitorio receives from a military officer the folded flag that was used to drape his coffin throughout the wake. Dormitorio was buried at the Cagayan de Oro Gardens Wednesday morning (Sept. 25). (Jigger J. Jerusalem)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Darwin Dormitorio, the 20-year-old Philippine Military Academy (PMA) plebe who died of hazing is laid to rest here Wednesday morning.

Family, friends and relatives gathered for a prayer service at the Cagayan de Oro Gardens in Barangay Lumbia where Dormitorio was also buried.

In his eulogy, Dexter Dormitorio, Darwin’s older brother, said their family welcomed the recent shakeup in the academy as a result of the incident.

On Tuesday, PMA Superintendent Lt. Gen. Ronnie Evangelista quit his post on account of command responsibility.

Several other officials and upperclass cadets have also been meted sanctions.

Earlier, the Dormitorio family have asked the PMA administration to let Darwin be the last victim of hazing in the country’s premier military school.

Before his casket was lowered to the ground, soldiers from the Army’s 4th Infantry Division gave Dormitorio a 21-gun salute, a final tribute to an aspiring military leader whose life was snuffed out by a tradition of violence and cruelty during plebeian initiation.