OFFICERS IN TRAINING Philippine Military Academy cadets undergo an intensive four-year academic and combat training at Fort del Pilar in Baguio City to prepare them for leadership roles in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. —EV ESPIRITU
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — A classmate of hazing victim Darwin Dormitorio was also maltreated on the eve of the plebe’s death on Sept. 18, prompting the Baguio police to consider filing a second hazing case against their upperclassmen at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).
The fourth class cadet was tasered by one of seven cadets now considered suspects in the death of Dormitorio.
Dormitorio suffered injuries as far back as August, according to records of the PMA Hospital. But he was diagnosed and treated for urinary tract infection on Sept. 17, so police said they were considering charging two doctors with criminal negligence.
Dormitorio was hurt by prime suspects, Cadets Third Class Felix Lumbag and Shalimar Imperial, based on accounts pieced together from hospital records and testimonies of 16 cadets who witnessed the plebe’s maltreatment.
The two cadets “punched and kicked” Dormitorio for 20 minutes, for which he was treated for eight days at the hospital. He suffered from “multiple soft tissue hematoma [in the] abdomen and back” and some bruises on the left shoulder, according to a police investigation report.
Malingering?
Dormitorio, a member of PMA Class of 2023, was beaten up allegedly for his mediocre performance and for “malingering,” a cadet term for play-acting to appear sluggish or ill.
But on Sept. 17, Dormitorio’s classmate was tasered by one of the suspects, identified only as Third Class Cadet Tadena, apparently using a flashlight with a built-in stun device that was surrendered to the police last week.
A taser discharges bursts of electricity to incapacitate a person. It is not an approved device at the military school.
The suspect allegedly mocked the two plebes for screaming like girls and called them “faggots.”
Police said the classmate was one of the witnesses who would testify against Lumbag, Imperial, Tadena and Cadet First Class Axl Rey Sanupao.
“There is a concerted effort on their part [to harm Dormitorio]. It was consistent — they had been harassing Dormitorio until his death,” said Col. Allen Rae Co, Baguio police chief.
Police said Sanupao was implicated for allegedly coercing Lumbag and Imperial into hurting Dormitorio on Sept. 17. He also required the plebe to perform physical exercises, “ignoring the extreme pain and discomfort exhibited by the 20-year-old cadet,” police said.
3 more suspects
Lumbag, Imperial and Sanupao, who were angered when Dormitorio misplaced Sanupao’s boots, were expelled by Lt. Gen. Ronnie Evangelista, the former PMA superintendent, on Sept. 24.
Three more cadets were included in the police list of suspects. One of them was identified only as Cadet Third Class Manalo, who allegedly helped suffocate Dormitorio on the night of Sept. 14, police said.
Manalo held down the plebe when Lumbag and Imperial pressed the plastic cover of a cadet dress cap or head gear on Dormitorio, Co said.
A senior cadet peered into the room from the ledge of the barracks because Dormitorio had been screaming, and ordered the three upperclassmen to stop.
BEAST BARRACKS Members of the PMA Class of 2023 start their first day in the academy by going through the traditional “beast barracks,” a process which tests their physical and mental strength. —VINCENT CABREZA
A certain Cadet Second Class Zacarias, one of the squad leaders, was also listed as a prime suspect after first being considered as witness. Zacarias kicked Dormitorio several times in the abdomen when he found him sleeping in his bunk on the morning of Sept. 17.
A certain Cadet Third Class Volante became a suspect when witnesses saw him kick Dormitorio on Sept. 17, for being sluggish, unaware doctors had placed the plebe under a “sick in quarters” status.
At 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 17, Lumbag and Imperial circulated a video to portray Dormitorio as a “malingerer.” When the plebe vomited minutes later, Imperial warned the plebe that he could be reported to senior cadets for “deceiving” them into believing he was ill, according to a witness.
Dormitorio and his classmate were allegedly tasered by Tadena at 10:40 p.m., after which Dormitorio complained that he could no longer lie down and was hurting.
After vomiting profusely at dawn on Sept. 18, Dormitorio was found unresponsive and was taken to the hospital where he was declared dead at 5:15 a.m.
Best example
Evangelista resigned along with Brig. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro, the commandant of cadets, saying they assumed command responsibility for the plebe’s death.
Evangelista was replaced by Rear Adm. Allan Cusi in turnover ceremonies on Tuesday led by Armed Forces chief of staff, Gen. Noel Clement.
In his speech, Cusi said he received lots of advice from fellow Armed Forces of the Philippines officials and other friends as to how to approach the leadershio of the PMA.
But what resonated with him, he said, was his mother’s advice: “Set the best example to our cadets, Allan. Make your mama proud. Please, please take care of our cadets but don’t pamper them.”
Cusi said: “Declaring an all-out war against hazing is not enough. Totally eradicating hazing is a burden that must be carried by all PMA alumni and all officers in the AFP,” he said. —With a report from Jeannette I. Andrade