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Halt of PMA recruitment to affect officers’ turnover: Clement
FILE: IMPACT ON TURNOVER. AFP Chief-of-Staff, Lt. Gen. Noel Clement, says on Friday (Oct.
25, 2019) that the suspension of the recruitment of new cadets for the Philippine Military Academy would greatly affect the replacement of retiring officers and troops who become casualties in the line of duty. The call was made following the death of Cadet 4th Class Darwin Dormitorio and the hospitalization of several others due to alleged maltreatment. (PNA file photo)
MANILA — The suspension of the recruitment of new cadets for the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), following the maltreatment issues, would greatly affect the replacement of retiring officers and troops who become casualties in the line of duty, the chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Friday.
“If we stop the recruitment of cadets for the PMA, it’s going to affect the profile of the armed forces in as far as all our officers are concerned. PMA produces the biggest bulk of the junior officers that we have. If we stop the recruitment at PMA, our future projections, and our replacement for those who retire and for our casualties, will be affected,” Lt. Gen. Noel Clement said in a message sent to reporters.
Clement was reacting to AKO BICOL Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr.’s call to suspend PMA’s recruitment for a year after it was reported that at least 27 more cases of alleged maltreatment are being investigated at the military academy.
Garbin noted that these alleged maltreatment cases are clear proof that “systemic, grave, and moral flaws” exist in the institution.
“Halting the recruitment of PMA is a very drastic move.
We have to sit down and think about all of these measures before we even consider implementing them,” Clement said.
He said he has instructed PMA Supt. Rear Adm. Allan Cusi to consider a third party — from the academe or former graduates of the PMA — for an outsider’s perspective and to determine how to resolve the maltreatment issue.
“What we are trying to do right now is to put in short-term measures, as well as institutionalize long-term measures to prevent all of these from happening again,” Clement said.
He noted that maltreatment incidents, like any other violation in the PMA, are being addressed.
“Every time there are violations, they are being addressed, and the appropriate punishments are being undertaken,” he said.
The PMA made it into the headlines last September 18 after the maltreatment death of Cadet 4th Class Darwin Dormitorio and the hospitalization of several others.
The incident caused the voluntary resignation of two of PMA’s highest-ranking officers and the charging of several tactical officers and cadets believed to be behind the maltreatment.
