Jonash Bondoc, a Philippine Merchant Marine Academy cadet, died from alleged fatal punches in a fistfight with a schoolmate in July 2021.

His mother, however, believes Jonash did not die due to a fistfight, but was a victim of hazing.

Gracelyn Gimang Bondoc, the mother of the victim, is now seeking the intervention of the Commission on Higher Education to issue a preventive suspension against the president of the PMMA, Commodore Joel Abutal and his chief of staff, Ensign Chuck de la Cruz.

She also sought the filing of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of public service pursuant to the 2017 rule on administrative cases in civil service.

In a 6-page administrative complaint received at the Commission on Higher Education or CHEd office last 18 May, obtained by the Daily Tribune, Bondoc narrated that she received the bad news last 6 July 2021 that her son Jonash died.

“After receiving the sad news, we went to PMMA to see my son. However, I was only allowed to see his remains on 8 July 2021, wherein we only saw his face and were not allowed to go near him since he allegedly had Covid-19,” she narrated, adding that Jonash was immediately cremated due to his health circumstances.

Fall guy?

She said on 7 July, a certain Jomel Gloria was charged with homicide after executing an Extra Judicial Confession admitting his culpability for the crime to support the scenario that Jonash’s death was the result of a fistfight.

On 8 December 2022, the Regional Trial Court Branch 71 of Iba, Zambales promulgated its decision finding Gloria guilty of homicide, due to his admission that he punched the victim Jonash twice in the chest, causing his instant death.

After his conviction, Gloria was released through provisional liberty pending his appeal or any remedy available to him after posting an additional bond of P60,000.

But as Bondoc doubted the reason given for his son’s death, the mother secured a copy of a medico-legal report from the Zambales Provincial Crime Laboratory Office, and she found out that his son suffered multiple contusions and hematomas in his neck and head.

After his conviction, Gloria was released through provisional liberty pending his appeal or any remedy available to him after posting an additional bond of P60,000.

“Thus, we arrived at the conclusion that the injuries my son suffered are not commensurate with the attack made and as narrated by the accused Jomel and we believe that the same is not committed by one person by merely punching Jonash twice in the chest,” according to Bondoc.

Mystery from top

Another mystery is that the respondents being the highest official of PMMA did not investigate the possibility of a hazing incident, as it was not “a secret that there is hazing in PMMA.” Because of the purported extra judicial confession, the authorities including the respondents zeroed in as a suspect of the crime, the person of accused Jomel, leaving others scot-free and maintaining their position in PMMA without any worry whatsoever.”

“Obviously, the foregoing showed that the act of respondents constitutes an obstruction of justice or violation of Presidential Decree 1829, which is tantamount to grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the public service,” the letter of Bondoc to the CHEd said.

In an interview with the Daily Tribune, the lawyer of Bondoc, Atty. Banjo Lucman said they want CHEd commissioner Prospero de Vera III to “act swiftly on their request” to put Commodore Abutal under preventive suspension for his command responsibility, as well as for CHEd to reinvestigate the alleged whitewash that resulted in the demise of a PMMA cadet.