Despite low morale, police cadets joining SAF

YUSON: PNPA Lakandula Class valedictorian

Despite the Mamasapano fiasco that claimed the lives of 44 police commandos of the Special Action Force (SAF) on Jan. 25, the elite unit of the Philippine National Police can expect a rush of recruits from the graduating class of its academy.

“After the news (of the Mamasapano) broke out, our morale was really low,” said Cadet 1st Class Dennis Yuson Jr. “But we will not allow that to keep us from serving the people and living up to the ideals of honor and integrity.”

“Fear will not prevail,” said Yuson, 23, who topped the Lakandula Class 2015 of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA).

The name “Lakandula” connotes valor in Philippine literature, but to the police cadets, it stands for “Lahing kayumanggi na handang ialay sa bayan ang dugo at lakas.”

A total of 247 cadets, including 20 females, will hold their graduation ceremony today at the PNPA campus in Camp Mariano Castañeda in Silang, Cavite province, with President Aquino as guest speaker. They will receive a degree of Bachelor of Science in Public Safety and enter as inspectors in their bureaus, according to the PNP public information office.

Of the 226 who will be part of the PNP, “many are still interested in joining the SAF training,” Yuson said. Eleven will go to the Bureau of Fire Protection and the rest to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

SAF came to the fore after 44 of its commandos died in the Jan. 25 operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, to capture Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as “Marwan.” The mission has taken its toll on the PNP leadership as questions on who was responsible arose.

Yuson himself has considered joining the elite unit “an option.” The bravery of the fallen troops, of whom six were PNPA alumni, should be “an inspiration” to incoming police officers, he said.

Being a police officer was something Yuson, the fifth in a brood of seven, had dreamed of since childhood.

His father, Dennis, 52, rose to the rank of inspector and is currently assigned to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Team in Sultan Kudarat. His mother, Adeline, 52, stays at home but has remained active in her church group.

Born and raised in General Santos City, Yuson remembered how he used to try on his father’s police uniform when he was in Grade 5. His first attempt, at 17, into the academy, however, came as a disappointment after failing the dental examination in Taguig City in Metro Manila.

Yuson finished his high school and college at Notre Dame of Dadiangas University in General Santos. He graduated magna cum laude in college in 2011, obtaining a degree in Secondary Education, major in Mathematics, through a scholarship from a Japanese foundation.

At 19, he tried it out again in the PNPA and made it this time.

“In the academy, wits and physical strength are nothing if you don’t have the will,” Yuson said. He added that he survived the rigorous police training through “will and perseverance.”

Yuson said he was willing to be assigned anywhere in the country but would prefer to serve his home province.

He supports “sustainable peace” in Mindanao, though he declines to give his comment on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law which seeks the creation of an autonomous region. The measure has been put in peril after the Mamasapano incident.