PMA cadet who died of hazing experienced 24 hours of ‘hell’

PMA cadet who died of hazing experienced 24 hours of 'hell'
The mother grieves over the coffin of his sone, the PMA cadet who died of hazing on September 18. (Image from Inquirer.net)

It was a 24-hour experience of hell for The PMA cadet who died of hazing, Cadet 4th Class Darwin Dormitorio at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in Baguio City.

“It was hell for him,” Baguio City Police Director Colonel Allen Rae Co described the victim’s experience after they got the testimonies of the 16 witnesses to the crime.

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According to Co, despite being physically fit and robust, Dormitorio’s body gave up due to the severe beating he suffered.

“Actually kasi ima­gine nyo lang po kayo ba pagrereportin pa dumudugo na yung sa loob ninyo (internal organ) ano yung pain na yan ikaw ay expected pa to do your duties. Akyat baba ka dun sa barracks and then ‘yun na ‘yung pain na nararamdaman mo ay you will still able to hold your own na nakatayo ka at nakakapag-usap ka. So napakalakas po ng batang ito dun sa dibdib at sa pangangatawan. Kung yung iba po siguro ay wala na nakahiga na po yun sa nararamdaman niya,” the official said.

(Can you imagine you are required to report while you have internal bleeding, you are expected to do your duties despite your pain. You have to go up and down the barracks, and you have to stand still and talk even if you are in pain. So this kid has a firm chest and body. If that happened to others, they would have just lay in bed.)

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It was learned that a 2nd Class Cadet pulled out Dormitorio and kicked him in the head and other parts of his body while he was in severe stomach pain.

PMA cadet who died of hazing maltreated because of missing boots

PMA cadet officials first exposed that Dormitorio lost 1st Class Cadet Axl Sanupao’s boots. Sanupao then tasked Cadet 3rd Class Shalimar Imperial and Felix Lumbag to punish Dormitorio.

The names of three other cadets who appeared to be involved in the hazing will be released once they have filed the case.

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The identified suspects include a 1st Class Cadet, a 2nd Class, and four 3rd Class Cadets.

The two PMA doctors were considered as an accessory to the crime due to negligence. The doctors’ diagnosis of Dormitorio was urinary tract infection when he was first rushed to the hospital the day before he died.