101 PNP CADETS QUIT by Alfred Dalizon , Journal Online, JUNE 12,2013 WITH near manic excitement, the 363 successful applicants for PNPA Class 2017 braced for a “Hunger Games-like” training. Their heart-bursting, soul-breaking exercises began last May 9. Two days later, 101 cadets realized they had been pushed past their limits. They quit. People’s Tonight yesterday learned that 41 of the 101 students voluntarily quit two days after undergoing a pre-cadetship orientation. They also failed to continue the series of tough physical conditioning exercises which include the so-called ‘Army Dozen’ as soon as they entered the academy. “As soon as they wake up, the cadets are required to do the dreaded eight-count push-ups, pull-ups, mountain climbing, jumping jack, bend-and-reach, side straddle, squat trust and jogging non-stop. “The 41 students were among the successful applicants for PNPA Class 2017 who, however, voluntarily tendered their resignation and were honorably discharged from the cadetship program due to ‘loss of interest and/or lack of determinaion’ effective last May 21,” the PNPA General Order No. 13-035 signed by PNPA executive director Senior Supt. Ranulfo I. Demiar said. The rest followed suit in the following days bringing to 262 the remaining members of PNPA Class 2017 composed of 220 males and 42 females. So far, there has been no more addition to the number of resigned cadets. The 262 remaining cadets will have to endure another 24-day training as part of their 45-day initial training program. As a result of their voluntary resignation, the 101 students have been barred from future reappointment and/or readmission as cadet, a memorandum issued by PNPA director Chief Supt. Noel G. Constantino said. A mother of one of the 41, Cadet John Patrick Macaraig Cruz, claims that her son was forced to sign a voluntary resignation paper by his superiors while undergoing treatment for exhaustion following a day-long physical exercise last May 21. Leila Teresita M. Cruz even wrote a letter to Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas praying for the reinstatement of her 17-year-old son whom she claimed was “manipulated” by PNPA personnel to sign a document which he did not know was a resignation paper. However, Constantino told Tonight that Cruz, just like the 100 others who were kicked out of the academy, actually resigned because they could not cope with the physical demands of cadetship training. The official said they interviewed those who resigned on why they can not cope up with the physical rigors of training at the academy. “We asked them how long they prepared themselves physically for cadetship training and most of them said they only prepared for a month or merely two weeks after learning that they had passed the series of examinations,” he said. Constantino said experience will show that IT TAKES SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR TO FULLY PREPARE AN INDIVIDUAL FOR TRAINING AT THE PNPA or the PMA. “THESE STUDENTS APPARENTLY THOUGHT THAT THEY ARE ENROLLING IN AN ORDINARY COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY,” he said. “They resigned in writing and it was done voluntarily. Now they have changed their minds and want to go back. They are also making an issue that they were forced to resign and are negotiating that they be treated instead as ‘turned back,’ meaning they can come back again next year which is not allowed under our regulations,” Constantino said. He said that the 220 cadets have already survived the first three weeks of training and are determined to finish it. “By this time, they have already adjusted to the rigors of cadetship training,” the one-star general said. According to Constantino, the Department of Budget and Management-authorized ceiling for PNPA cadets, from 1st year to 4th year, is 1,050. The total vacancy for the 1st year is only 278. “So with 262 surviving new cadets, the PNPA is just short by only 18 from the DBM-imposed ceiling,” he said. A member of Philippine Military Academy Class 1984, Constantino said they have to stick to their rules. “Resignation is resignation. You can be turned back if you incur physical disability only or for medical reasons of failing the physical fitness test or for have an academic deficiency,” he stressed. Constantino said the successful applicants for PNPA Class 2017 were required to report to the academy located inside Camp General Mariano N. Castañeda in Silang, Cavite, last May 19 for pre-cadetship orientation. The academy produces graduates with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Public Safety who are automatically commissioned as Inspectors (the equivalent of a Lieutenant in the Armed Forces) either in the PNP, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Fire Protection. Constantino was tasked by PNP chief Director General Alan LM Purisima to institute the much-needed reforms in the academy established to provide preparatory education and training of the three uniformed bureaus of the Department of the Interior and Local Government. The PNPA is the PNP’s equivalent of the PMA. Constantino said he is aiming to increase the standards of training and further improve the quality of PNPA graduates. Constantino said he is embarking on a massive program to provide comprehensive education and training programs to transform cadets into God-centered, community-responsive public safety officers trusted and respected by the people. “The Chief PNP asked me to head the country’s premier police training institution and has the highest confidence and hopes that I will be able to institute the much-needed reforms, increase the standards of training and improve the quality of PNPA graduates,” he said.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:52:08 +0000
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