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PMA tightens barracks control, welfare system to stamp out hazing
Philippines
National
PMA tightens barracks control, welfare system to stamp out hazing
PMA tightens barracks control, welfare system to stamp out hazing
Published Feb 11, 2026 12:01 pm
Brig. Gen. Nelson Aluad (right), Commandant of Cadets of the Philippine Military Academy, speaks during a forum on the current state of hazing in the Philippines as Mrs. Gerarda H. Villa, president and founder of Crusade Against Violence, listens intently at the Manila Prince Hotel in Ermita, Manila on February 11, 2026. (John Louie Abrina / MANILA BULLETIN)
The Philippine Military Academy (PMA) has intensified supervision inside its barracks and strengthened its welfare system as part of a firm stand against maltreatment or hazing.
Brig. Gen. Nelson Aluad, PMA Commandant of Cadets, said the academy maintains a “zero tolerance policy” on maltreatment and hazing, stressing that such acts have no place in the country’s premier military school.
“The PMA upholds the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) core value of professionalism and respect for human rights. In this context, we are very clear that maltreatment and hazing have no place in the academy. This is inconsistent and incompatible with the principle of modern and professional armed forces,” Aluad said during a forum at the Manila Prince Hotel on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
He added that the academy’s training regimen does not use abuse to instill discipline.
“This training regimen is actually anchored on professionalism, accountability and command responsibility. The training regimen does not include hazing and maltreatment as a tool to discipline,” the officer shared.
The PMA has installed several reforms after the 2019 death of Cadet Fourth Class Darwin Dormitorio due to hazing.
Dormitorio, 20, died at the PMA Station Hospital in Baguio City on September 18, 2019. While his death was initially attributed to cardiac arrest secondary to internal hemorrhage, a subsequent medico-legal examination revealed that he died from blunt force trauma.
The investigation uncovered that Dormitorio had suffered a month-long ordeal of systematic physical abuse at the hands of several upperclassmen. The “trigger” for the final round of maltreatment was reportedly a missing pair of combat boots.
After the tragic incident, the PMA said it began implementing changes as directed by the Department of National Defense (DND), including barracks segregation scheme, creation of a Cadet Welfare Office, and introduction of values-driven formations for second to fourth-year class cadets, among others.
“One of the changes is the barracks segregation scheme where newly admitted cadets are separated so that their training is not fully handled by fellow cadets. Instead, they are supervised by responsible and trained tactical officers who serve full-time,” Aluad said.
“The non-commissioned officers are also trained on how to properly handle and train the new cadets,” he shared.
The PMA also created a Cadet Welfare Office composed of psychologists and counselors, which provides counseling to cadets across all year levels.
Aluad said the academy also introduced progressive and values-driven formations from second year to fourth year cadets including seminars on stress management and anger management, while upperclass cadets also attend sessions on how to deal with the new generation or “Gen Z” cadets.
“This is to ensure they would be more mature in dealing with the Gen Zs, and they understand the full characteristics of the Gen Zs,” he said.
Preventing hazing
The discussion was held in observance of the National Hazing Prevention Week. The annual event is marked every second week of February under Proclamation No. 907 and in line with Republic Act No. 8049 (Anti-Hazing Act of 1995) as amended by Republic Act No. 11053 or the “Anti-Hazing Act of 2018.”
Crusade Against Violence founder and president Mrs. Gerarda H. Villa, whose son Lenny died due to hazing in 1991, urged parents to take an active role in preventing the occurrence of hazing.
Leonardo “Lenny” Villa, a first-year law student at the Ateneo de Manila University, died in February 1991 after undergoing initiation rites of the Aquila Legis Juris Fraternity, a law-based fraternity on campus.
The 22-year-old Villa, along with several other law freshmen, participated in the fraternity’s traditional initiation activities which involved repeated beatings and other forms of physical punishment. After enduring the weekend-long initiation, Villa was rushed to the hospital on February 10, 1991 but died later from multiple injuries sustained during the hazing.
Villa’s death sparked the passage of the Anti-Hazing Act of 1995.
Mrs. Gerarda H. Villa, president and founder of Crusade Against Violence, speaks during a forum on the current state of hazing in the Philippines at the Manila Prince Hotel in Ermita, Manila on February 11, 2026. She was joined by (from left to right): Manila Bulletin columnist and former Senator Joey Lina; Ms. Imelda “Imee” Livioco, Secretary General of the Crusade Against Violence; Brig. Gen. Nelson Aluad, Commandant of Cadets of the Philippine Military Academy; Director Corinna Frances Cabanilla, of the Office of Student Development and Services, Commission on Higher Education (CHED); and Manila Bulletin Publisher and former Presidential Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma. (John Louie Abrina / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Looking back at what happened, it is still painful, especially as a parent. That is why we should also raise awareness among parents and encourage them to guide their children and remind them not to allow themselves to be subjected to this kind of violence,” the Villa matriarch said.
She recalled how the painful memories came back when the hazing death of University of Santo Tomas (UST) law student Horacio "Atio" Castillo III erupted in 2017.
Castillo, a 22-year-old freshman, died on September 17, 2017, after undergoing initiation rites at the Aegis Juris fraternity’s library in Manila.
“Every time you see someone the same age as your child, the pain pierces your heart. It is so incredibly painful for a parent to lose a child,” Villa said.
‘Hazing is a national concern’
For the PMA, hazing is a national concern that cuts across institutions.
“This is actually a national concern for all of us. Maltreatment cuts across everything—it is present in schools, institutions, fraternities, and other organizations,” Aluad said.
This is the very reason why the PMA officer said everybody should work together to curb the menace of hazing and maltreatment.
“It’s not only the problem of one sector but rather a problem of all of us that we should be working hand in hand to solve,” he said.