Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (Photo courtesy of PMMA Official Facebook)
MANILA – The chair of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education on Tuesday said they will ensure that the provisions of Republic Act 11053 or the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018 are being implemented.
Baguio Representative Mark Go gave the assurance during the inquiry into the death of Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) Cadet 4th Class Jonash Bondoc on July 6 under questionable circumstances within the school premises in San Narciso, Zambales.
Go said the inquiry aims to introduce the legislative measures that will put an end to the culture of violence, not only in the PMMA but in all other learning and training institutions.
The inquiry was based on House Resolution 1953 authored by Agusan del Norte (1st District) Rep. Lawrence Fortun.
Fortun said that while a purported culprit, Cadet 3rd Class Jomel Gloria, had been identified, arrested, and charged, his incomplete and selective admission turned out to be inconsistent with the autopsy of the Zambales crime laboratory.
The victim’s sister, Glaiza Bondoc, attended the virtual hearing and said they continue to seek justice for her brother who succumbed to blunt traumatic injury to the head, according to the police report.
“He was only 20 years old and died inside the PMMA. He lost his life inside his dream school. The academy was supposed to be a beacon of hope, a place conducive to learning and a safe place for someone who is miles away from home and his loved ones. But instead, it was a place that ended his dreams,” she said.
During the hearing, a screenshot of a message for Glaiza from an anonymous sender, dated July 11, 2021, stated that it was not only Gloria who hit Bondoc.
Some videos previewed at the public online hearing, purposely blurred, showed PMMA cadets striking other cadets in various parts of the body while they were all in uniform.
“Hindi lang gulpi ang inaabot ng mga kadete sa loob ng academy kundi pati na rin incorrigible sleep deprivation na isa ring anyo ng (The cadets were not only beaten up in the academy, but also experienced incorrigible sleep deprivation which is another form of) torture!” Fortun said.
Hazing includes "physical or psychological suffering, harm or injury inflicted on a recruit, member, neophyte, or applicant" as a prerequisite for admission or for continued membership in an organization.
Banned under the law are all forms of hazing in fraternities, sororities or organizations in schools, in communities and businesses, and uniformed service learning institutions.
Fortun described Bondoc as a “promising young man from a loving family who, in all good faith and high hopes, joined the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy to better and prepare himself for the pursuit of a fulfilling career as a world-class mariner”.
“The promising young man who left Butuan to join the academy of his dreams came home in an urn, lifeless, gone forever. This is a painful reality that his family must live with for the rest of their lives,” he said. (PNA)
