By MARTIN A. SADONGDONG
The Philippine Military Academy (PMA) reiterated on Tuesday its appeal to the supposed caretaker of a letter detailing the alleged maltreatment of drowned Cadet Fourth Class Mario Telan Jr. to reveal himself and cooperate with authorities.
Captain Cherryl Tindog, PMA spokesperson, said Jose Larry Hermoso IV has yet to speak to the Academy regarding Telan’s alleged letter, which could be the possible basis of another hazing-related investigation once its authenticity is proven.
“I’m sure nakarating na rin sa kanya ‘yung panawagan natin. We just want everything done under proper procedures and proper forum para maging maayos naman po ang lahat,” Tindog said.
“Open pa rin po tayo for discussions,” she added.
On November 22, Hermoso posted on his social media account cropped pictures of what appears to be a letter allegedly written by Telan himself.
The letter supposedly contained details of maltreatment the 20-year-old cadet experienced in the hands of his upperclassmen inside the premier military training institution.
Hermoso, in his post, claimed Telan underwent hazing for three to four months before he drowned on November 8. His body was found at the bottom of a 15-foot deep pool hours after the cadets’ swimming class.
Hermoso’s social media post has since been deleted or made private.
In a separate post on the following day, which has also been deleted or made private, Hermoso claimed that he has no intentions to destroy the reputation of the academy.
“As for my intentions, I am an outspoken critic of what has happened inside the PMA,” Hermoso said.
He added that he has “no relatives” nor “children” that were hurt or abused inside the Institution.
“So few people are speaking out about their experiences inside the PMA, and I hope that my being outspoken, and by extension those who share and react to my articles, will change that,” Hermoso said.
“With due respect, logically, why would they entrust the letter to the PMA when the incident involves the Institution itself? I’m not trying to insinuate that the letter would only be thrown under the rug, but you cannot stop the apprehension that the owner of the letter feels to ‘fight’ against a giant of an Institution like the PMA,” he explained.
For her part, Tindog said the academy has implemented measures to ensure that maltreatment will no longer occur inside the PMA.
“We continue to remind our cadets about the regulations of the Academy and their responsibilties to abide by those regulations especially the honor code,” she noted.
Telan was the third cadet to have died in the academy in two months, following the hazing death of his batchmate Cadet Fourth Class Darwin Dormitorio on September 18, and Cadet Second Class Cedrick Gadia’s death due to esophageal cancer on October 28.
The PMA earlier punished two civilian swimming instructors who were found “negligent and imprudent” in the conduct of the course “Fundamentals of Swimming” which led to the drowning of Telan.
Two class marchers and the head of the PMA’s Sports and Physical Development Unit were also being investigated for possible lapses.
The Baguio Police had ruled out the possibility of foul play in the incident while the autopsy on Telan’s remains showed he died due to asphyxia by drowning.
