Brawner bares tools in PMA war vs hazing: Mental healthcare, honor code

Rambo Talabong

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Brawner bares tools in PMA war vs hazing: Mental healthcare, honor code
Brigadier General Romeo Brawner, the new PMA Commandant of Cadets, bares his battle plan for his so-called war against hazing

BAGUIO, Philippines – The Philippine Military Academy new Commandant of Cadets Brigadier General Romeo Brawner Jr  on Saturday, September 28, bared his solutions to hazing in the PMA following the death of another cadet.

“I immediately declared a war against hazing. I told all cadets that I expect every one of them to tow the line, so we should all declare a war against hazing,” Brawner told reporters in an ambush interview at Fort del Pilar

According to Brawner, this so-called war on the culture of violence would be stopped with the help of a renewed honor code, trusted seniors, and better mental health. Brawner is a member of the PMA Class of 1988.

Empowering trusted seniors: Brawner said he wil first “empower” first class cadets (4th year cadets) to facilitate the regimented life of their younger counterparts. He said that this means the cadets would have more control more than tactical officers – graduates who handle cadet companies.

“We will empower the first-class men so that they themselves are the ones administrering and  taking care of the corps,” Brawner said.

Asked whether he was sure that none of these first classmen were complicit in hazing, he said none of them have been proven to be a part of any maltreatment or hazing, even in the  case of cadet Darwin Dormitorio.

Mental healthcare: Brawner said that he wants to improve their counseling office so that cadets would remain “mentally fit.”

The counseling, he said, would also help cadets who have been “traumatized” by hazing so that they would not carry violent tendencies inside and outside the academy.

The PMA cadets are set to undergo a physical examination after Dormitorio’s death. If anyone is found to have been injured, Brawner said inquiries would follow immediately.

Remembering the honor code: Lastly, Brawner said the PMA’s honor code must be drilled into the mind of every aspiring soldier. 

He noted that throughout the years, teachings about the PMA’s honor code have varied per class and company.

“We will make it uniform and we will make sure to [follow] that one,” he added. – Rappler.com

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Rambo Talabong

Rambo Talabong covers the House of Representatives and local governments for Rappler. Prior to this, he covered security and crime. He was named Jaime V. Ongpin Fellow in 2019 for his reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. In 2021, he was selected as a journalism fellow by the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics.