It’s a tradition that is both nasty and out of this world.
Rather than being the ones to take to task their underclassmen for whatever breach of discipline, six fresh graduates of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) were attacked by their own underclassmen in the academy.
What sparked the incident is still being investigated, although Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald M. dela Rosa called it an “on and off” practice in the police academy, which, he wanted to be stopped.
“My reaction is that kind of tradition is not good. It’s sad to say, it promotes cycle of violence. If that tradition will not stop, [it may occur every year. It will happen,” dela Rosa said at a news briefing on Monday.
“I would like to make this clear, I am not a part of the PNPA. It is not under me, it is directly under the PPSC [Philippine Public Safety College]. So my course of action was I talked to…Gen. [Joseph] Adnol, the PNPA director, that this practice should be stopped, this tradition should be stopped because it is not good,” he added.
The six PNPA graduates were reportedly packing up their personal belongings at the barracks of the PNPA in Silang, Cavite, after their graduation when they were attacked by their underclassmen, prompting them to be sent to the hospital due to injuries.
It was the first time that such an incident between the graduates and the members of their underclass was reported to the public in the police academy, although such a tradition was recurring or an on and off practice, according to dela Rosa.
The incident is already being investigated by the police and even by the leadership of the PNPA, which according to the PNP chief, should file charges against the suspects if needed.
Adnol has offered to resign his post, but dela Rosa prodded him to stay on, but must ensure that the incident would not be repeated.
Dela Rosa said former graduates of the academy have told him that the practice irregularly occurs.
“I have talked to several alumni, they told me, sir, that is absent during our time, it disappeared. Others said, sir, that is present during our [term at the academy, but it [had] stopped,” he said.
“I talked to several members of the PNPA alumni association and they are all for the stoppage of this kind of tradition,” dela Rosa added. The PNP chief’s son, Rock, is a cadet at the PNPA.
The PNP chief said he had talked to the parents of four of the six injured graduates and “advised” them to allow the PNPA to handle the problem as it is an internal matter.
“But then again, we cannot stop the complainants from filing criminal charges against the suspects if they really want to do that because that is their right,” dela Rosa said.