System failure: Why PMA needs reform

February marks the time for the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Alumni Homecoming. It is a time for celebration of traditions and reconnecting with old classmates, but perhaps it is also a time to discuss effective and lasting change within the institution.

The death of Cadet 4th Class Darwin Dormitorio by the hands of his upperclassmen last September is one of the biggest scandals the Academy has faced. ‘Abuse’ and ‘maltreatment’ (commonly mistaken as hazing) have been associated with the institution recently and perhaps until things change.

You will hear time and time again that, “Maltreatment is not a part of the Academy’s curriculum.” Yet, it has become somewhat of tradition among the cadets of the institution used as a tool to “train” fourth-class cadets to comply.

If the PMA is serious about removing this abusive and destructive behavior, the Academy officials and the Department of National Defense (DND) should conduct researches and create reforms that will address its root cause: The Fourth-Class-System.

Brigadier General Ferdinand Jose Rivera, Dean of the Corp of Professors of the Armed Forces of the Philippines explained how the PMA and its traditions are a replica of the US Military Academy, West Point.

The PMA Cadet's Honor Code: "We, the cadets, do not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate among us those who do so."

“All the systems of PMA have been patterned after West Point—the uniforms, the practices and traditions, the Fourth-Class System, and even the honor code, when PMA was founded in 1935 by virtue of the National Defense Act,” he said in an interview.

The danger of simply copying an entire system and implementing it to another society with a different culture is that it is not contextualized. There is no perfect system, but there can be better versions if they are studied and modified carefully before being implemented.

Rivera further explained that in the Fourth-Class System, upperclassmen are given the opportunity to abuse their power because ‘training’ is focused on the fourth-class cadets.

“If you’re going to look at it, the second-year cadets have just undergone training. Can you say that they are qualified to train their underclass cadets? No, they are all under training. It will take them four years to complete the program of PMA,” he stated.

From the way the Fourth-Class System was described, it looks more like a Two-Class System where the division is between the fourth-class cadets and all the upperclassmen.

It is ironic to note that West Point itself has already replaced the Fourth-Class System with the Four-Class System after conducting researches about why maltreatment occurred in the institution in the 1900s. Yet the PMA continues to practice the old and possibly outdated system.

In the Four-Class System, no class has power over the other. While upperclassmen are still respected in terms of rank, they have no power to punish or “train” their underclassmen. All cadets are considered under training of their authorized officers.

After the death of Dormitorio, the new PMA Commandant, Brigadier General Romeo S. Brawner Jr., implemented a new arrangement in the barracks or dorm of the cadets, in hopes of curbing maltreatment cases.

According to Major Mark Serapion L. Lagud Jr., an operations officer of the Tactics Group in PMA, the old setup of the barracks had four cadets of the same class in one room, while the new setup has four classes in one room.

“Since my roommates were my classmates, I wouldn’t care if I would bring a junior into my room and maltreat him,” Lagud explained, comparing the mindset in the old setup to the new.

“But now, I cannot do that since there are other classes and some seniors present.”

Lagud then stated that the new setup has decreased the cases of maltreatment: “Significantly, from the data we’ve gathered, maltreatment cases have lowered. But we can’t deny that maltreatment still happens. But it’s unlike before.”

Although the rearrangement of rooms has significantly decreased maltreatment cases, it is only a “quick fix” to a bigger problem: The Fourth-Class System.

The DND and the PMA should conduct researches and analyze the failures of the current system, as well as institutionalize rules and regulations that will not give an opportunity for maltreatment to occur during the cadets’ training.

Since the practice of maltreatment seems traditional, as it is not a part of the Academy’s curriculum, then the Academy’s officials should also focus on teaching leadership and attitude development for the cadets.

If the conditions of the Academy depend on the orders given by commandant in charge, maltreatment will always find its way back. There must be a well-researched, well-understood, and well-contextualized system that will be institutionalized in the Academy.

By: Jovel Rivera