Photo by Julliane Love de Jesus/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines–Taking inspiration from the Special Action Force men killed in Mamasapano, a number of Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) cadets graduating this year wants to join the elite commando unit of the PNP.
Few weeks before their graduation on March 26, prime cadets, awardees and top 10 members, of the PNPA Lakandula Class of 2015 faced the media in Camp Crame on Thursday.
In a press briefing, Cadet First Class Alexis Aberion, the class baron, or the corps commander of the PNPA ruling class, said a number of graduating cadets have expressed their desire to join the beleaguered unit of the PNP.
As the PNP’s specialized force for counterinsurgency and counterterrorism, members of the SAF are highly-trained and well-equipped.
Seven of the 44 policemen who died were graduates of the PNPA, including the class baron of batch 2009.
Aberion said the death of their upperclassmen motivated them to join the SAF.
“Personally, I was motivated by that event because it’s my passion to serve in public safety service, particularly in the operations section,” he added.
Of the 247 cadets, 226 will join the PNP, 11 will be assigned to the Bureau of Fire Protection, and 10 will serve at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
Cadet First Class Dennis Yuson, the class president and valedictorian, said that the morale of the Lakandula Class was low during the Mamasapano tragedy. But this did not discourage them from pursuing careers in law enforcement.
“We felt low morale on the onset but we realized that our upperclassmen served as our inspiration, as well as our heroes worth emulating,” said Yuson, who is a son of a police officer in Sultan Kudarat.
According to Chief Inspector Ritchie Yatar, spokesperson of the PNPA, officials talked to the cadets and asked them not to be disconcerted amid the controversy that involved the 150,000-strong organization they will soon be joining.
“Sinabi ko sa kanila na natural bilang tao na may emosyon tayo ngunit ‘wag mauna emosyon at damdamin natin sa tungkulin natin na kung saan maapektuhan tayo,” Yatar, a graduate of the PNPA batch 2002 and a former SAF trooper, said.
He said cadets were affected by the Mamasapano debacle as some of them met and trained with officers from batches 2010 and 2011.
Although they are still reeling from the incident, the class president assured that the Lakandula–Lahing Kayumanggi na Handang Ialay sa Bayan ang Dugo at Lakas–class will be the “new breed” of law enforcers.
“As future graduates of the academy who will be joining the public safety services, we assure you that the Lakandula class will be the new breed of public safety officers who will of course regain the trust and confidence of the people,” Yuson said.
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