Dormitorio’s family wants hazing in institutions to stop

October 7, 2019 Community Billboard

BAGUIO CITY – The family of cadet fourth class Darwin Dormitorio who died due to alleged hazing at Philippine Military Academy (PMA) also wants to stop any form of maltreatment and hazing not only at the academy but also in any institution in the country.
“Gusto namin maserve yung hustisya para sa kapatid ko but at the same time, we also want to prevent hazing from happening altogether in any institution in any organization… Gusto namin na for my brother and at the same time for future kids na gustong pumasok sa academy, future kids na gustong sumali in any organization, we want to protect them as well so sana matigil na itong lahat,” Darwin’s brother, Dexter said on Thursday.
(We want to get justice for my brother but at the same time, we also want to prevent hazing from happening in any institution or in any organization…. What we want is for my brother and for the children who will join the academy in the future as well as in organizations to be protected, we hope that this would stop.)
He said their family also wants to help repair the reputation of PMA which has been tarnished by the death of his brother.
“My father loves his alma mater and also the values na naturo doon sa academy (and the values taught in the academy), that’s what he used to raise us his children,” he said but noted that “violence isn’t the way to teach discipline.”
Airtight case Dexter said they have hired a private lawyer to help in assuring that the case which will be filed against the suspects behind his brother’s death will be airtight.
“We have to finalize the paperwork, as much as possible we want it to be very complete. Hindi kami magpapasa ng hindi pulido na kaso (We will not file a case that is not well-polished), [it should be] as airtight as possible,” Dexter said.
Lawyer Jose Adrian Bonifacio, private counsel for the Dormitorios, said they are meeting with the police to make sure that documents and other pieces of evidence are well taken into account in the case.
“The purpose of this meeting is to consolidate everything to make sure that all pieces of evidence are at hand and that the proper charges will be well defined. We do not want to file a case that will just be dismissed. It’s a very complicated case so we really need to piece together all of the angles in this case,” Bonifacio said.
He, however, said while they are consolidating the documents, what is definite is the filing of more than one case. The actual case that will be filed before the court will be at the discretion of the prosecutor’s office, he added. Baguio City Police Office director, Col. Allen Rae Co said they engaged Bonifacio to ensure that everything the police are doing is done with the direction of the family.
“We are all assuring that justice will be served,” Co said. He said there will be seven cadets and two medical officers who will be charged with the testimony of 16 cadets as among the pieces of evidence of the prosecution. But he is not discounting the possibility of coming out with additional suspects, he said.
Painful death
Meanwhile, Dexter said they are hoping his brother will survive the training when he entered the PMA. “Para sa kapatid ko (For my brother), slow and painful death. Something that he did not really deserve. Hindi rin namin akalain na mangyayari sa kanya yun. Not in a million chance kasi buo yung kumpyansa namin na pag pumasok siya masusurvive niya yung training (we did not expect that to happen, not in a million chance because we had confidence that he will survive the training when he entered),” he said.
Based on the timeline presented by the BCPO, Dormitorio’s ordeal in the hands of his tormentors started as early as August 19. He was punched, kicked, and electrocuted by several persons.
On September 18, Darwin was found inside his room at the PMA unconscious by fellow cadets and was brought to the hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Liza T. Agoot and Dionisio Dennis Jr./ PNA