Root cause of most of the country’s woes can be traced to the lack of discipline. Just look at EDSA. Look everywhere, and it all points to the same thing.

The culture that binds mistahs together in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) is probably the very same culture that’s putting this country in a mess.

The Mafia-like brotherhood reared its ugly head once again in the most recent hazing death in the country’s premier military school.

It has happened countless times in the past. It is happening now. Nobody wants to talk.

The code of Omerta, that southern Italian code of silence and code of honor that places importance on silence in the face of questioning by authorities, is like a deadweight to any investigation of liabilities.

Just look at the ongoing Senate hearing on the case of the so-called “ninja cops” and the alleged intervention of Philippine National Police chief General Oscar Albayalde.

It smacks of a grand cover-up, the way the respondents are fumbling their way in answering the rigid questioning of our senators. If not probably for former Criminal Investigation and Detection group now Baguio City Mayor Gen. Benjamin Magalong’s damning revelations, the hearing would have gone nowhere.

Is this the way the game of the generals is played?

We could probably go back to their beloved PMA and its culture — endless marches on Borromeo Field, square meals and the honor code — which eventually bonds mistahs well even after they leave the confines of the academy.

As one analyst puts it, they got each other’s back. They offer financial assistance to mistahs in need and help one another when one gets into trouble. They respected each other.

This decades-old brotherhood has also made their jobs easier. They push for each other in the course of their careers.

That’s the good side of it. There are occasions however when competition can rear its ugly head. Stories abound how mistahs pull each other down with allegations of illegal activities as they wrestled for top posts in the PNP.

How long do we have to put up with this seemingly insane code of silence that sad to say is eroding the image of the PMA?

The useless death of Cadet Fourth Class Darwin Dormitorio from hazing-related injuries by his upperclassmen should be an eye-opener. As if other cases before him haven’t been.

Dormitorio’s death triggered the resignation of the PMA chief who has been subsequently replaced. But will that be enough to placate the anguish of the victim’s family?

Newly-installed Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Lt. Gen. Noel Clement hit the nail right on the head when he said that more than a change in leadership, a change in habits and culture is also needed to prevent incidences of maltreatment in the institution.

Possible reforms, Clement asserted, could be implemented not just in how the PMA trains its cadets but also in the manner of how officers and instructors see them.

Outside of the academy, discipline, we believe, should guide us all in nation-building. But it should all come from within.

That is why, we strongly agree with the decision of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to launch a national campaign to instill a “culture of discipline” among Filipinos.

Indeed, the root cause of most of the country’s woes can be traced to the lack of discipline. Just look at EDSA. Look everywhere, and it all points to the same thing.

The DILG expects the full cooperation of all stakeholders in the campaign on discipline that will be launched next month. But the government cannot do it all alone. Every teeny-weeny bit of cooperation from the citizenry is needed to guarantee its success.

Indeed, there are many ways of instilling discipline. But physical harm to the point of maltreating underclassmen, should not be one of them.