By Mortz C. Ortigoza
Members of the Triple A or the Philippine
Military Alumni Association, Inc. who called each other “cavalier” conducted
recently a pep talk with the members of the “Long Gray Line” at Fort del
Pilar, Baguio City after the brutal death of Cadet Fourth
Class Darwin Dormitorio at the hands of his upper classmen.
The two day meetings primordially to foil the evil of hazing and maltreatment ensued lately in the PMA compound where the PMAAA met separately the military and medical officials of the PMA, the upperclassmen composed of the yearlings (second year), cows (third year), and firsties (fourth year), and the brunt of the maltreatment the vulnerable plebes (first year).
The two day meetings primordially to foil the evil of hazing and maltreatment ensued lately in the PMA compound where the PMAAA met separately the military and medical officials of the PMA, the upperclassmen composed of the yearlings (second year), cows (third year), and firsties (fourth year), and the brunt of the maltreatment the vulnerable plebes (first year).
“Let’s shout to the whole
world so our voice can be heard that we never tolerated hazing. Marinig ng
ating Chief of Staff, ng Secretary of National Defense, ng ating Presidente.
Hip hip hooray,” former police two-star general and incumbent Lingayen Mayor Leopoldo Bataoil (PMA Class 1976) ended his rabble rousing speech,
probably minted by his nine years as congressman, with his signature cheers of
several “hip hips” that the upperclassmen enthusiastically responded with their
“hooray” inside the hall where they converged.
Bataoil, elected this year as mayor of Capital
Town Lingayen, Pangasinan, told this writer that he was accompanied in that
trumpet call by former congressmen Romeo Acop (PMA Class 1970), Samuel Pagdilao
(PMA Class 1979) and Gary Alejano (PMA Class 1995) and a young Army Captain
Ferdinand Quicho (PMA Class 2011) who was the Cadet Captain of his class.
When asked by this writer if the plebes
who dialogue with them were still stiffed, reticent, vacillated, and
muffled afraid they would be branded as “squealer” a mortal sin because it’s a
sign of weakness and betrayal before the eyes of the upperclassmen, Bataoil
said that in that Saturday’s afternoon to dusk meeting these Fourth Class
Cadets were told by their commandant, a star ranked now, and the cadets’ baron
to speak freely with the Triple A members.
“Talagang sinabi namin na
noon pa not to waste our time to find a solution to this problem even the problem
of hazing which stained our beloved alma mater,” the former general told this writer.
He affirmed, when I told him, that he could relate with the Corps of Cadets of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, or what they called CCAFP in brevity, because he was once a Senior Tactical Officer in 1989 when I was still a young struggling clerk of the same office’s Tactics Group under the leadership of that brawny Air Force and pilot Lieutenant Colonel Castro (geez, forgot his first name) and a dapper, er, snappy tall mestizo Army Colonel Victor Garcia whose ironed razor sharp creases uniform and his shiny black shoes impresses soldiers and cadets there.
“Maka relate kayo dahil tactical officer
kayo. Sila General Pagdilao baka hindi pa iyon naging tactical officer,” I
told him.
“Oo pero baron siya. He
was Batch 1979 kaya ang ganda ng mixing namin. Doon sa Class of 2011 si Army
Captain Ferdie Quicho baron din siya,” Bataoil, who still
wear almost everyday that PMA class gold bullring, retorted.
The mayor said that he and his group wanted to
eradicate maltreatment by the upper-class especially the yearlings, those
second year who want to inflict what the previous year upper class had done to
them, to the plebes because he was a victim of hazing too and was dismissed at
the PMA when two second years manhandled a plebe.
“I was also very strict
because there is a desire to maintain a level of perfection. A level of
professionalism which has to be observed and complied by the plebe, by the
underclassmen. When I became a second class man that was still my attitude
my underclassmen to follow a high standard of performance. I was very strict”.
He said he had a nightmarish experience that
shattered his dream and that of his family in Barangay Libsong, Lingayen.
“That’s what I got
dismiss. I was already in my third year when two of my yearlings were involved
in hazing and having been involved in hazing as the squad leader for the so
called command responsibility I have to be dismissed”.
He graduated as member of Class 1976 and joined as second lieutenant the Philippine Constabulary -- the precursor of the present Philippine National Police.
Bataoil, who originally belonged to PMA Class 1975, strive to be reinstated and the leadership of the Academy acquiesced to his and those two yearlings desire.
“Luckily, we were
reinstated. I became a proponent and advocate to hazing movement. Kadete pa
lang ako noon advocate na ako ng No To Hazing Movement because I
went to it, shattered dreams. Kung hinde ako nakabalik hinde na ako PMAer. Pati
parents ko…”.
“Baka teacher na
kayo ngayon sir doon sa Pangasinan National High School or engineer,” I cut him with a chuckle.
“Engineer ako. So I went through the
experienced. I saved many upperclassmen to almost committing hazing. Sabi ko sa
kanila ako na ang sasalo diyan. Baka ma-dismiss din kayo katulad ko. So pini
pep-talk ko iyong mga upperclassmen, pini pep - talk ko ang mga plebes. I
finally graduated,” he continued.
When I asked him if he saw plebes being
manhandled by their seniors when he was a senior tactical officer, he said he
surreptitiously and randomly checked the cadets at their buildings by listening
if there were whimpers, agonies of pain, and whatchamacallit in their rooms.
“Kung meron
humahalinghing diyan kako. “Sir, iba iyong halinghing, dumadaing” sabi nila.
Sorry wrong choice of words kako. Tawanan iyong mga kadete. Anyway, that was
what I did”.
He said being a senior tactical officer
training cadets he had sleepless nights because he was anxious that a plebe
would be hurt by the upperclassmen.
“Bago ako matulog
tinatawagan ko ang Corps Commander tinatanong ko if the Corp was okay”.
During his more than a year stint at the PMA
he said no plebe died.
The still ramrod “PMAer” was optimistic that
hazing and other form of maltreatment would be expunged in his alma mater.
“We believed the cadets
are ready to transfer and accept changes on the eradication of hazing as they
manifested all together when we were there,” he
emphatically told this writer who was born and lived before with his military
father on that one of Asia’s premier military schools located at Barangay Kias,
Baguio City.
Isa na namang 4th Class Cadet o Plebo sa PMA ang namatay today (November 8) nalunod sa swimming pool.
Naalalala ko tuloy: ONE OF MY FAVORITE SCRIPTS AT THE U.S MILITARY WHODUNIT (MYSTERY) MOVIE'S GENERAL'S DAUGHTER DIRECTED BY SIMON ("CON AIR") WEST.
Naalalala ko tuloy: ONE OF MY FAVORITE SCRIPTS AT THE U.S MILITARY WHODUNIT (MYSTERY) MOVIE'S GENERAL'S DAUGHTER DIRECTED BY SIMON ("CON AIR") WEST.
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