We can directly ask the cadet if he was hazed or maltreated.

From admission to graduation, the government invests a good P3 million per cadet in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), which will remain as the country’s top military school, despite its reputation being sullied by the death of Cadet Fourth Class Darwin Dormitorio due to torture from his upperclassmen.

And the amount increases every year to sustain government effort to produce quality officers and gentlemen for the various branches of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Newly-appointed AFP Chief-of-Staff Noel Clement defended the P3 million allotment per cadet, saying the government must put premium on future leaders of the military and the country.

In an interview, Clement was asked for his position on the comparison of the cost per student between the University of the Philippines (UP) and a PMA cadet.

Government spends an average of P507,000 for a UP student to complete a four-year course, clearly indicating that the PMA cadets are on the top tier of the government’s scholarship program.

Clement, however, explained that there are differences in the training of students admitted in the PMA and those enrolled in state universities, like UP.

“You develop different (skills) in (the) PMA. You are developing future leaders for the Armed Forces. In our state universities, once they graduate, they are on their own. They are not required to serve our country,” Clement told Daily Tribune.

“So, we have to put more premium to those who will really serve our country. That’s why the expenses of the PMA are huge because you are training future leaders of your armed forces,” he added. “So, it cannot be compared to our students in state universities. They are entirely different programs.”

The AFP chief said the government covers all expenses from a cadet’s admission until his graduation from the military academy.

“The program is from the time they pass the exams. They have to undergo medical tests and everything. There are expenses from then, until such time they graduate. And every year they have a different costing,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the new AFP chief reiterated that the death of Dormitorio due to alleged torture was an isolated case. He stressed the PMA is instigating measures to prevent the recurrence of deaths due to maltreatment.

“The guarantee we want to present to the public right now is that we are putting a measure to ensure that it will not happen again. So, we are encouraging those who passed the exams to still continue (pursuing) their dream because this is an isolated case,” Clement said.

“It’s not something that is institutionalized in the PMA. That should not be part of their concern. We are addressing the issue. So hopefully, this will not happen again in the future,” he added.

Clement has tapped Rear Admiral Allan Cusi and Brig. Gen. Romeo Brawner as PMA superintendent and commandant of cadets vice Lt. Gen. Ronnie Evangelista and Brig. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro, respectively, who resigned in the aftermath of Dormitorio’s death.

He said among the measures being implemented is the reorientation of PMA cadets.

“We just have to give them reorientation first and foremost as to what will be their roles while they are undergoing training in PMA. Because they are future leaders and they are admitted to PMA to be trained. So (that is) an entirely different environment (from) what they will be expecting from the outside. They have to have the right mindset on what they should be doing while they are undergoing training,” Clement added.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto condemned the death of Dormitorio as he compared the budget per student of PMA and UP.

“It is six times more expensive to produce one commissioned officer out of The Long Gray Line in Baguio than to produce one scientist out of the picket lines of Diliman,” Sotto said.

“As such, PMA cadets are ‘the people’s investments’ to whom the defense of the republic will later be entrusted. Each of them is important. If they will have to drop out, then it must be on their own steam, and not on a stretcher out of a hospital or morgue,” the lawmaker said.

Meanwhile, PMA Assistant Superintendent Nestor Florente Rayos reminded the cadets of the honor system, which states that plebes “will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate who do.”

Rayos said the PMA cadets can now be asked directly if they were maltreated once they were observed having physical trauma.

“We can directly ask the cadet if he was hazed or maltreated. That’s the only change,” he said.

Clement further explained that the honor system is connected with the direct queries as PMA cadets should tell the truth to the authorities.

Relatedly, Baguio City Police Office director Col. Allen Rae Co yesterday said investigation on the death of Dormitorio, the son of retired Army Col. William Dormitorio who is a member of the PMA Class of 1974, is about 95 percent complete.

“Safe to say it’s 95 percent finished because we don’t stop investigating,” Co told Daily Tribune.

“So, upon receipt of new information, we incorporate it to the ongoing investigation,” he added.

So far, seven upperclassmen have been implicated in the death of Dormitorio.

Co said the filing of formal charges against the suspects could happen anytime this week. Cases of murder and violation of the Anti-Hazing Law are being prepared against them.

He also said they are ready to file charges against Capt. Flor Apostol, the attending physician when Dormitorio was taken to the PMA Station Hospital where he was diagnosed as suffering from urinary tract infection.

“Most probably, we’ll be able to do it within this week as we’re adjusting to the convenience of the family,” Co said.

“Seven cadets plus medical personnel, we’re still finalizing but surely Capt. Apostol and possibly more,” he disclosed.

The Baguio police chief said he is also not discounting the possibility that other suspects could be included in the charge sheet.

Co said that they are also looking at the possibility of filing violations of the Anti-Torture Act against the suspects.

“Again, we’re still finalizing and looking at our evidence,” he said.