(UPDATE) INTERIOR Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Monday said the hazing incident inside the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) was by far the “worst” he has ever seen in terms of torture during hazing rites.
Remulla said the victims were coated with a mixture of concentrated sodium hydroxide (drain cleaner) and muriatic acid, resulting in third-degree burns on their backs, buttocks and scrotums.
“This is unacceptable,” Remulla told reporters in a briefing at Camp Crame.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said 24 cadets were involved in the incident, wherein three were suspects and 21 were the underclassmen seeking membership in the academy’s fraternity.
Nartatez said the suspects have been arrested and are facing charges for violation of the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018 (RA 11053). Several more personalities are being investigated for possible direct or indirect involvement in the hazing rites.
Nartatez has ordered the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDG) to do a full investigation of the incident.
About seven cadets will be charged in court as perpetrators, he said.
Nine PNP officials with oversight functions over the cadets involved are also likely to face administrative and criminal charges, Nartatez said.
A reshuffle in the PNP now looms because two-star and one-star officers are subject to investigation.
Remulla said the officers, having full operational authority on all grounds of the PNPA, could have inspected the barracks to check on the cadets, preventing such an incident.
The hazing rites, which happened on April 3, were reported to PNP chief on April 7 via email, which carried no further details, casting suspicions on academy authorities, Remulla said.
He called the act of exposing neophytes to such brutality “barbaric.”
“I don’t know what’s on their mind, but the act speaks for itself. What they did was brutal,” Remulla said.
No one died from the hazing, and the victims are receiving medical and psychological help.
Remulla reiterated that the culture of physical initiations has to stop, especially those performing such brutal acts.
“Hazing does not make you a better police officer. Hazing does not make you more loyal to the PNP. Hazing is a function of ego. They think they are tough by inflicting injury on those who can’t fight back,” he said.
The National Police Commission (Napolcom), meanwhile, has condemned the incident and ordered reforms within the PNPA.
“Hazing will stop under our watch,” Napolcom Vice Chairman and Executive Officer Rafael Vicente Calinisan said in a statement Monday.
With the Philippine News Agency
