Civilian help eyed to stop cadet hazing

MANILA, Philippines — A civilian touch may be needed to reform the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), particularly ridding the institution of hazing.

The Armed Forces chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Noel Clement, said they were considering tapping the civilian sector.

“What needs to be changed is not only how we train our cadets but probably even how the officers that are assigned there perform their respective duties as far as training the cadets [is] concerned,” Clement said after his first flag-raising rites as military chief.

“Probably we’ll get members [of] the academe and even former graduates [of the PMA] so that they know what is actually going on at the PMA,” he said.