Banners of Integrity, Loyalty and Courage

LT. GEN. Ronnie Evangelista tendered his resignation as PMA Superintendent, citing command responsibility over the death of Cadet 4th Class Darwin Dormitorio. Alongside Commandant of Cadets Brigadier General Bartolome Vicente Bacarro, he held high the banners of integrity, courage and loyalty, the core values of the academy. Dormitorio’s death reportedly was caused by a hazing incident allegedly ordered by Upper Classmen of the deceased over a missing combat booths entrusted to Dormitorio but which the latter could no longer locate. The incident became viral and has caught national attention and earned the ire not only of the grieving parents and relatives of the deceased but also of the general public. As of this writing, the father of Dormitorio who himself is a graduate of the PMA, has vowed to file charges against those responsible for the hazing under the provisions of the Anti-Hazing Law. It was also reported that all those responsible for the hazing have already been dismissed from the PMA. The swift action of the leadership of the PMA over the unfortunate incident is indeed commendable and it is our hope that the students-ensign who volunteered to testify against their upper classmen will continue to find courage to bring out the truth. The PMA is the premiere school in the country for men and women aspiring to serve the AFP and hopefully the incident will cleanse the school from scalawags. Hopefully, hazing will no longer be practised/tolerated at the PMA.

TRIVIA: This coming October 1 and 2, the City Government of Naga and the Naga City People’s Council will hold a two-day “Strategic Planning Workshop for Localizing the 2030 Agenda in Naga City that will serve as project launch for what is dubbed as “Localizing the 2030 Agenda through a Sustainable Urban Resource Management (SURM).” The event will be held at the Villa Caceres Hotel starting 8:45am. This writer has received an invitation from Mayor Nelson Legacion to attend the planning session in his capacity as the incumbent Commander of the Knights of Rizal.

Greetings to Ms. Linda Acantalicio of USI high school batch ‘55 who will be celebrating her birth anniversary this coming September 30. She has invited her USI batch mates for a luncheon-fellowship at their residence in Baao, Camarines Sur. She is a batchmate of my spouse Minda.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK: “NO NATION CAN ENDURE UNLESS IT IS BASED ON A SOUND MANHOOD AND SOLID CITIZENSHIP.” RAFAEL PALMA

FOR OUR WORD OF LIFE: “MY SON WHEN YOU COME TO SERVE THE LORD PREPARE YOURSELF FOR TRIAL.” SIRACH 2:1