Swift action urged vs. erring PMMA commandant

A past president of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Association (PMMAAA) appealed to Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) chairperson Prospero de Vera to act swiftly in the administrative case filed against the superintendent of the country’s premiere maritime institution.

In an interview, Capt. Reynaldo Casareo said that the administrative case filed by complainant Gracelyn Gimang Bondoc against PMMA superintendent Joel Abutal, was allegedly not acted upon by De Vera’s office for a year now.

Gracelyn is the mother of the victim Jonash Bondoc, who died in alleged fatal punches from another cadet last July 2021, whom the complainant believed was a case of hazing allegedly being “covered up” by Abutal and his chief of staff, Ensign Chuck Dela Cruz.

“The complaint was received in CHEd on 18 May 2023. It’s been a year now but sadly, Commandant Abutal still reigns at the PMMA. The ‘hazing case’ was a disgrace to our esteemed organization and several batch members were indeed humiliated on the matter,” said Casareo, a member of PMMA Class 67.

He also alleged that Abutal is being backed by the PMMA Board of Trustees, as he was favored to extend his post as commandant, despite the administrative complaint filed against him, and even if there’s a member of the board contradicted his application for extension.

“His tenure could have ended last year but he reapplied for an extension. A lone member of the board already thumbed down. Based on the rules, the board’s vote should be unanimous, hence, he prevailed in extending his post,” Casareo said.

The complaint of Bondoc, which was obtained by DAILY TRIBUNE, accused Abutal and Dela Cruz of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of public service under the 2017 Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service.

Bondoc narrated that she received the bad news last 6 July 2021 that her son Jonash was dead.

“After receiving the sad news, we went to PMMA to see my son. However, I was only allowed to see him 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 because of the health circumstances.

She said on 7 July 2021, a certain Jomel Gloria was charged with the crime of homicide after executing an Extra Judicial Confession admitting his participation in the crime.

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

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

Even Bondoc is not convinced that his son died just because of the two blows at his chest and secured a copy of a medico-legal report from the Zambales Provincial Crime Laboratory Office.

She found out that his son suffered multiple contusions and hematomas in his neck and head.

“We arrive at the conclusion that the above injuries of my son 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 twice in the chest,” according to Bondoc.

She added that what boggled them was that the respondents being the highest official of PMMA did not investigate the possibility of a hazing incident, as “it is no longer a secret that there is hazing in PMMA, but because of the purported extra judicial-confession, the authorities including the respondents zero-in the suspect of the crime to the person of accused Jomel, leaving others scot-free and maintaining their position in PMMA without anomaly whatsoever.”