The Baguio City Court found three former cadets of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) guilty of murder for the death of their underclassman, Darwin Dormitorio, in 2019.
Baguio City RTC Branch 5 Presiding Judge Maria-Ligaya Itliong-Rivera sentenced Shalimar Imperial Jr. and Felix Lumbag Jr. to reclusion perpetua, or 40 years in prison, for murder.
Also meted out the same sentence was Julius Carlo Tadena for violating Republic Act 11053, or the Anti-Hazing Law.
Imperial and Lumbag were ordered to pay a fine of P3 million for hazing, and to jointly and solidarily pay Dormitorio’s heirs P75,000 in civil indemnity, P75,000 in moral damages, P25,000 in temperate damages, and P100,000 in attorney’s fees.
On the other hand, Tadena was fined P2 million.
Jasmin, the mother of Dormitorio, told reporters that she is thankful for the court ruling. “I am happy, I am contented with the decision. But of course, the life of my son cannot be taken back,” Jasmin said.
She also recalled the words of her late husband William, a PMA graduate, that they should leave the matter to God because their son died for a purpose.
“Maybe it will lessen hazing in the academy, because my husband has a heart for the PMA,” she said, adding she also feels for those convicted and their parents.
Dormitorio’s uncle Joselito Dormitorio, hailed the decision. “Rest well, William and Darwin, there is justice for our family,” Joselito said.
The 20-year-old cadet died after complaining of stomach pain on 18 September 2019. He was confined at the PMA Hospital twice and had bruises on his stomach consistent with hazing.
The cause of death was found to be cardiopulmonary arrest secondary to blunt thoracoabdominal injury.
In 2023, a Baguio municipal trial court found Tadena and Christian Zacarias guilty of slight physical injuries in a separate case. The two were sentenced to 30 days in prison and ordered to pay P100,000 in damages and P50,000 in legal fees.
The country’s premier military training institution and other law schools have been plagued with hazing incidents and frat-related violence resulted to deaths.