PMA cadet earns medal for jeepney holdup heroics

PROUD PARENTS Bemedalled Cadet First Class Alfonso Aviles gets a kiss from mother, Vangie, and a big smile from his father, Rodolfo, a retired Marine sergeant. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

His combat medal came quite early, earned in an urban battle he never really trained for.

The Philippine Military Academy (PMA) cadet who was shot and seriously wounded when he tried to thwart a jeepney robbery recently in Quezon City earned the Bronze Cross Medal from the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Wednesday for what a general described as “a rare feat among young people.”

Giving snappy salutes while still in hospital clothes, Cadet First Class Alfonso Aviles, 23, received the honors two months after coming out of a coma and with the police yet to identify the man who nearly killed him after taking his PMA ring.

“Despite great threat in the presence of a robber armed with a .45-cal. pistol, Cadet Aviles demonstrated extraordinary courage and bravery by attempting to disarm the robber, disregarding his personal safety for that of others,” according to the citation read during the simple awarding rites held at AFP Medical Center in Quezon City.

Aviles, a native of Pangasinan province, went into a coma after sustaining gunshot wounds in the face and chest.

He tried to tackle the jeepney robber at the corner of Regalado Street and Commonwealth Avenue on the night of August 25.

To a lady’s rescue

The son of a retired Marine came to the aid of a female copassenger who was being robbed and engaged the robber in a scuffle. The robber then shot him twice and managed to take his ring before running off.

The cadet was in Manila that day as he was scheduled to serve as a proctor for the PMA entrance examination.

“To those who prayed for me, thank you so much,” Aviles simply said after receiving the medal from PMA superintendent Major General Alfredo Peralta Jr. The Bronze Cross Medal is given to civilian or military personnel of the AFP who have risked their lives or shown great heroism in situations outside an armed conflict.

“He showed great courage and bravery despite great threat, and for that he brought pride and honor not only to himself and the PMA but also to the whole Armed Forces,” Peralta said.

“He did an extraordinary feat, which is rare among young people like him,” said PMA commandant of cadets Gen. Carlos Quita, who gave Aviles his new ring as member of Pudhang-Kalis Class of 2013, replacing the one that was stolen.

According to the cadet’s father, retired Marine Master Sergeant Rodolfo Aviles, his son was still having difficulty speaking and concentrating but that his overall condition had sharply improved since the incident.

“When he regained consciousness, he immediately asked us what happened to him because he could not remember anything,” said the older Aviles.

Peralta added: “We are still waiting for him to regain his perfect physical condition before we can decide to send him back to the PMA, but we are really hoping that his condition will improve in the next months.”

Captain Medardo Joseph Millares, head of the medical team that attended to Aviles, said the patient also suffered post-traumatic amnesia. “What is important is that he is stable and undergoing recuperation. He is also regaining strength and his long-term memory is intact,” he explained.

A bullet that was lodged in his chest was not removed to avoid further risks. Aviles is also scheduled to undergo an operation next week that would place titanium plates near his fractured jaw, said one of the doctors, Capt. Grace Naomi Galvan-Bravo.