NBI probes death of ‘electrocuted’ Coast Guard trainee

MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will begin its probe into the supposedly “accidental death” of a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) trainee in September.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima endorsed the case of 23-year-old Dharryll Mojica to the NBI-Death Investigation Division after the boy’s family wrote her, suspecting foul play in his supposed electrocution onboard the BRP San Juan.

As part of its probe, the NBI will do an ocular inspection of the BRP San Juan once it returns from Palawan. It would also look into the autopsy report by the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Mojica was on the last stage of his training as coast guard man onboard the ship, and would have been among the graduates from PCG Class 32 Bravo Company in October.

However, according to the  “Justice for Dharryll Rodriguez Mojica” Facebook group created by user Erminia Mojica Ersando, the family doubted the PCG’s version of the incident.

In an October 16 post, Ersando said that on September 25, his family received a call from the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) informing them that Mojica was brought to the emergency room. It was a day after Mojica visited his family and relatives in Cavite and was worried that he would be punished for reaching the ship late.

Separate PCG probe

The PCG claims that the victim was electrocuted while taking a bath in the ship’s shower room. However, the Department of Justice said, a PGH doctor told Mojica’s family that the cadet “had died twice and that two liters of water were extracted from his lungs.” 

The family also said that scratches, wounds, and injuries were also found on Mojica’s body.

“Posible nalunod o nilunod pa nga daw, fractured ang leeg, at puro pasa ang binti, isang mahabang lapnos sa likuran, at hung ano-anong marka ng sugat,” Ersando wrote on Facebook. (It was said that he may have drowned or was drowned. His neck was fractured, his calf full of contusions, one long blister on his back, and various wounds.)

The victim had also mentioned surviving a certain “Hell Night,” where he was allegedly “subjected to physical violence, such as paddling, and what appears to be simultaneous electrocution and waterboarding,” added the DOJ.

The PCG has conducted a separate probe into the incident. “The internal investigation would show if Mojica’s death was accidental or intentional,” PCG spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo said on September 30.

PCG’s initial findings showed that Mojica and 3 other trainees experienced electrocution aboard the ship. One of the witness-trainees even heard Mojica warning them that the wall was grounded.

While taking a shower, Mojica was said to have accidentally leaned on an electrical outlet near the entrance of the shower room.

One of the trainees attempted to pull Mojica away from the outlet, but he also ended up being electrocuted. It was another trainee who managed to pull them away from it. 

The PCG said it asked Mojica’s family to give them a copy of the autopsy report that the family supposedly obtained from the PNP, but they had not heard from the Mojicas since. – Michael Bueza/Rappler.com

Image of ship from Wikimedia Commons