PNP sets raps vs 4 in cadet’s death; PMA chief replaced

By Liza T. Agoot and Dionisio Dennis Jr.

 BAGUIO CITY— The Baguio City Police Office is set to file criminal cases against three Philippine Military Academy cadets and a physician, in connection with cadet Darwin Dormitorio’s death, an official said on Wednesday.

Some 20 cadets are also being eyed to face charges.

PMA Superintendent Lt. Gen. Ronnie Evangelista on Tuesday earlier said he was quitting his post after the hazing death of Cadet 4th Class Darwin Dormitorio.

Lt. Gen. Noel Clement,

 Armed Forces chief said Thursday Rear Adm. Allan Ferdinand Cusi and Brig. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. were named as PMA superintendent and commandant of the Cadet Corps., respectively. Cusi replaced Lt. Gen. Ronnie Evangelista, while Brawner succeeded Brig. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro; both resigned because of the hazing death of Dormitorio.

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Nerio Zabala was named officer in charge of the PMA Station Hospital.

AFP Inspector General Lt. Gen. Antonio Ramon Lim reportedly had started his own investigation on the maltreatment cases at the academy.

Brig. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro, who has resigned as commandant of cadets, on Tuesday said Imperial and Lumbag were dismissed from the Cadet Corps of the Armed Forces of the Philippines for their direct participation what academy officials refer to as the “maltreatment” of Dormitorio while Sanupao was also dismissed from the academy for encouraging the brutalities inflicted on the fourthclassman.

“We will be filing it [case] with the prosecutor’s office,” said Police Col. Allen Rae Co, city police director said in a telephone interview.

Charges for violation of the Anti Hazing law will be filed against Cadet First Class Axl Rey Sanupao, Cadet Third Class Shalimar Imperial and Cadet Third Class Felix Lumbag.

The three PMA cadets were found to have directly participated in the acts, which led to the death of Dormitorio on Sept. 18.

A separate case for criminal negligence will be filed against a physician, Capt. Flor Apple Apostol, who diagnosed Dormitorio as suffering from urinary tract infection (UTI) on Sept. 17 when he was brought to the hospital.

Dormitorio was brought to the hospital around 9:30 a.m. on September 17, around two hours after the alleged maltreatment.

He was discharged from the hospital at 4:30 p.m.

 Co said they prepared the affidavit of 11 cadets and two soldiers who will serve as witnesses.

 ”We have taken the statement of witness cadets and they have sworn to the content of the same before the prosecutor,” Co said, adding that authorities have established the culpability of the three cadets.

Dormitorio was laid to rest in his hometown of Cagayan de Oro on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Co said they could file a supplemental affidavit, adding more people to the initial charges but they are not discounting the possibility that there will be more cases against other people that may be charged as the investigation continues.

He said there could be physical injuries cases that may be filed.

 ”There could be other cases but what is with certainty is the anti-hazing law against the three [cadets],” Co said.

 He said they are looking if there are others who certified that Dormitorio was suffering from UTI for the stomachache that he initially complained of when he was brought to the hospital.

Co said the maltreatment against Dormitorio, a fourth class PMA, was a result of missing combat boots.

Based on the police investigation, the incident on Sept. 17 started at around 7 a.m. when Sanupao looked for his combat shoes that were in the custody of Dormitorio.

Co said Sanupao was looking for his combat shoes and when he could not find them, he ordered Lumbag and Imperial to physically punish Dormitorio. 

Dormitorio died at 5:15 a.m. that Wednesday, more than an hour after he was rushed to the PMA station hospital after complaining of stomach ache and continuous vomiting.

The PMA reported Dormitorio’s death to the BCPO Wednesday afternoon.

A police report said the academy’s physician declared that Dormitorio died of cardiac arrest due to trauma.

The postmortem autopsy conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory, however, showed a different cause.

 ”Dormitorio’s cause of death was trauma caused by blunt force that led to the untimely demise of the cadet,” Co said.

 He added that “there was already a maltreatment based on the medico-legal result released last night (Thursday).”

 The medico-legal report said there were visible signs of trauma surrounding the navel of the cadet.

 Co thanked the PMA administration for allowing the investigators full access to facilities and to the cadets.

Police Regional Office Cordillera Director, Brig. Gen. Israel Ephraim Dickson, assured Dormitorio’s family of a fair, objective and transparent investigation.

 ”We believe that justice will be served to the victim and his family,” he said.

The PMA management has lifted its fingers on the case and has shifted the task of investigating to the police and the National Bureau of Investigation to achieve an impartial result. 

The PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.

 Major Reynan Afan, acting chief of PMA’s Public Affairs Office, said in a statement the PNP and and NBI have been invited to look into the case to “ensure fair, objective and transparent investigation”.

 According to the police report, at around 1 a.m. Wednesday, the cadet was complaining of stomach ache and started vomiting inside their barracks.

He was brought to the PMA station hospital and was pronounced dead by the attending physician at 5:15 a.m. 

The two cadets are now at the PMA holding area under stockade confinement, separate from the first three suspects, Dickson said.

Dickson said the suspects will be transferred to police custody upon the court’s issuance of a warrant of arrest.

 Meanwhile, he said a tactical flashlight with a taser, which might have been used to inflict injuries, has also been turned over by the PMA authorities to the investigating team.

 He suspected that the gadget, which was surrenderedd to police, might have been used on Dormitorio when he was left alone after his discharge from the hospital on September 17.

 Dickson said while they are near in closing the Dormitorio case probe, the possibility of more persons being charged remains high.

Malacañang, meanwhile, said on Monday that President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed outrage over the death of the PMA underclassman.

Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, on the other hand, said he condemns the act of hazing, noting that the lives of all Filipinos, including the cadets, must be protected since they are the future leaders of the country.

“He’s angry with what happened,” said presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo. “You know the President. He’s one man who is always outraged by any kind of oppression, and hazing is an oppressive act because someone was hurt intentionally. Actually, it’s murder because someone died. Of course, he doesn’t want that to happen.”

This, as another PMA cadet was admitted in a hospital, showing signs of maltreatment, the (AFP said on Tuesday.

The unidentified cadet had marks on his stomach and had been complaining of stomach pains, according to Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, Armed Forces spokesman.

The cadet was admitted to the V. Luna Medical Center in Quezon City on Monday, Arevalo said.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had ordered physical examinations for fourth class cadets or freshmen of the PMA.

               The two other cadets who were reported to have been maltreated were now in stable condition and have been responding to medication. — PNA.