ZAMBALES Police Provincial Office director Col. Romano Cardiño yesterday said they filed a homicide case against a Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) cadet who admitted to have killed a fellow student during a “hazing” ceremony last Tuesday.

Charged with homicide before the Zambales Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Iba municipality was Midshipman 2nd Class Jonel Bago Gloria, who is now under the custody of the San Narciso Municipal Police Station.

Cardiño said that the criminal case stemmed from the death of Midshipman Cadet 3rd Class Jonash Gimang Bondoc, a 19-year- old native of Butuan City who, at around 6:15 a.m. last Tuesday, was found unconscious at the bathroom of the 4th Class Cadet at the PMMA Compound in Bgy. Natividad in San Narcisco municipality.

The victim was rushed to the San Marcelino District Hospital, where an attending physician pronounced him dead upon arrival.

The official said that during an investigation which he personally supervised, the San Marcelino Municipal Police Station led by Maj. Jonathan Bardaje secured the affidavits of all possible witnesses to the incident.

Cardiño said that their investigation showed that early morning Tuesday, the 3rdClass Cadets were preparing their personal belongings and cleaning their barracks since they would finally be given their “liberty” or the authority to go home after a year-long stay at the PMMA training camp.

He said that around 6 a.m. on Tuesday, they heard 3rd Class Cadet Al Edbert Leonor shouting “Now hear this, all 3rd Class from Mindanao, Proceed at the Lobby.”

The official said that they learned that the instruction came from 2nd Class Cadet Gloria, a 21-year- old Butuan City resident.

He said that in compliance with the instruction, 3rd Class Cadets Roger Soloveres, a native of Wao, Lanao del Sur and Bondoc joined Leonor, of General Santos City in going to the lobby, where they were to be “recognized” by their upperclassmen from Mindanao.

Cardiño said that a classmate of the three, who is not from Mindanao, Cadet 3rd Class James Perez followed them as he also wanted to be “recognized” by their direct upperclassmen.

During their meeting, Gloria first “recognized” Soloveres by giving him two punches in the abdomen. As a PMMA tradition, the upperclassman who “recognized” a cadet will have to sign on his/her shirt.

When Soloveres gave his t-shirt and a pentel pen to Gloria, it turned out that the marker was already running out of ink, prompting Soloveres and Perez to leave the room to get another pentel pen. The two were also followed by Perez leaving only Gloria and Bondoc inside the comfort room.

When Soloveres and Perez returned to the area, they were surprised to see Gloria already unconscious and their effort to wake him up proved futile.

Cardiño said that during the investigation, Gloria voluntarily admitted that he was the one responsible for what happened to Bondoc.