THE Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Alumni Association Incorporated denied Tuesday, March 27, the reported "bawian" tradition that allows underclassmen at the police academy to beat up their newly graduated upperclassmen.
"In light of the recent incident involving cadets and new graduates of PNPA, the PNPAAAI condemns the act of violence. Such act has no place in the Academy more so in a civilized society," Chief Superintendent William Macavinta, president of the PNPA alumni group, said following a meeting Monday evening with the board of trustees regarding the mauling incident.
"There is no tradition of hurting fellow cadets or any person for that matter. What happened was an isolated case and we do not condone such demeanor," he added.
Macavinta said the alumni board of trustees fully supports the ongoing investigation and that those who will be found liable should be punished as they are not in any way above the law.
Six new graduates of the PNPA were beaten up by 41 underclassmen as they returned to their barracks right after their graduation on Wednesday, March 21.
The 41 cadets have been confined to the academy and placed under investigation. Nine of them could face criminal charges on top of the administrative charges that would also be slapped against the other cadets.
Based on initial investigation, the underclassmen wanted to get back at their upperclassmen for the strict rules they imposed against them.
They used arnis sticks and stones against the victims who obtained bruises, lacerations and head injuries.
Asked for reaction about the matter, PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa said Monday that such act is an "on and off tradition" at the PNPA.
“My reaction is that (this) kind of tradition is not good. It's sad to say, it promotes cycle of violence dahil kung hindi na-stop yang tradition na yan every year na yan mangyayari, ‘yung tinatawag nila na bawian,” he said.
He also said that he spoke with the parents of the victims and urged them to allow the academy to deal with the matter first and delay the filing of charges against the involved cadets. (SunStar Philippines)