A new hazing scandal is hounding the Philippine National Police (PNP) Academy again.

This time, at least 22 4th Class cadets have reportedly sustained injuries caused by three of their underclassmen, who are 3rd Class cadets.

The PNP said on Friday, April 10, that the incident happened on April 3 inside the police academy. 

Based on medico-legal findings, the PNP said the victims’ injuries may take around 14 days to heal. Apart from the 22 victims, the PNP said its health service unit also discovered additional cadets with minor injuries.

Three suspects — whom the PNP did not name — are now under the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group after their arrest. They have already undergone inquest proceedings, which is an expedited type of preliminary investigation, and are now facing a case for alleged violation of Republic Act (RA) No. 11053 or Anti-Hazing Act of 2018.

Items related to the incident, meanwhile, will be subjected to forensic examination. 

Probe

“As an immediate directive, all cadet activities at the PNPA were suspended effective immediately to give way to the ongoing investigation, ensure preservation of evidence, and safeguard the welfare of cadets,” the PNP said on Friday. 

“Let this serve as a clear and unequivocal position: the PNP will not protect, tolerate, or excuse any act of hazing or abuse. Those found responsible will face full legal accountability, administrative sanctions, and the loss of the privilege to serve in the institution. There will be no cover-up and no leniency,” the national police added.

National Police Commission (Napolcom) vice chairperson and executive officer Rafael Vicente Calinisan said the Napolcom is expressing its “strongest condemnation” of the incident, noting that hazing is a “blatant violation of the law, a direct affront to human dignity, and absolutely intolerable.”

Calinisan said the Napolcom will immediately form a task force to conduct a separate probe into the incident. The Napolcom chief said those who will be found to have direct and indirect participation will be administratively liable, apart from the appropriate criminal complaints that will be filed against them.

“Equally, those vested with authority and responsibility to enforce discipline, protect cadet welfare, and secure the academy environment – yet failed in their duty, whether through negligence, tolerance, or deliberate inaction – shall be investigated and held accountable. Silence, concealment, or indifference is complicity,” Calinisan said.

Not the first time

The PNP Academy is supposedly implementing a strict no hazing policy, but history shows otherwise.

It was not the first time that a hazing incident happened within the supposedly safe walls of the police academy. There have been a list of incidents in the past where cadets suffered violence at the hands of their fellow cadets.

In 2018, six police academy graduates were beaten by their underclassmen inside the PNPA. The victims – who belong to the PNPA Maragtas Class of 2018 – had contusions and open wounds due to mauling.

The suspects allegedly beat the victims with paddles and stones, with personal grudges as the possible motive behind the incident. Then PNP chief and now Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa had admitted that the beatings inside the academy had become a “tradition.”

In 2021, 21-year-old Cadet 3rd Class Karl Magsayo died after being punched by his upperclassman, Cadet 2nd Class Steve Cesar Maingat. The PNPA said the suspect punched the victim five times in the stomach. Magsayo later lost his consciousness and died.

Maingat was held under police custody and was said to have been charged over the incident. 

Hazing suspects inside the police academy may face two types of penalties: administrative and criminal. In administrative cases, the suspects, if found guilty, may face suspension or dismissal.

The criminal aspect of the violation, meanwhile, may fall under the country’s amended Anti-Hazing Law. 

Under RA No. 11053 signed in 2018, hazing is completely prohibited.

The law also imposes harsher penalties on organizers and participants of such acts. If the hazing results in death, rape, sodomy, or mutilation, those found guilty could suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua (up to 40 years jail time) and a P3-million fine. — Rappler.com