Two of the Philippine Military Academy’s (PMA) swimming instructors were fired after their negligence allegedly led to the drowning death of Cadet Mario Telan Jr., the academy announced today.
Read: Foul play ruled out in military academy cadet’s drowning
Faculty member Robert Bete and contract employee Antonio Catalan, the teachers in charge of the school’s swimming fundamentals class, were sacked by the PMA after having committed gross neglect of duty, said academy spokeswoman Cheryl Tindog. Because of Telan’s death, Bete stands to lose his retirement benefits, be prohibited from taking the civil service examinations, and possibly be perpetually barred from seeking public office, The Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.
However, Bete’s dismissal and punishment will still depend on the approval of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), an agency that oversees the hiring and firing of government employees.
“The PMA can only recommend at most,” Tindog told GMA News. “The CSC has authority over regular civilian employees.”
On the other hand, Catalan was immediately terminated by the PMA following Telan’s death earlier this month. The PMA recommended to the CSC that he should be prohibited from ever working for the government, and that he be barred from ever seeking public office, according to the Manila Bulletin.
The PMA has insisted that Telan’s death was accidental based on the CCTV footage from the swimming pool area showing that Telan jumped into the 15-foot-deep pool while his classmates were busy undergoing an examination. Following his death, all swimming classes at the PMA have been suspended while safety measures are being installed at the pool.
Meanwhile, the PMA is still discussing the sanctions it would impose on Telan’s two classmates who were responsible for monitoring the entire class during their swimming lessons. The chief of the PMA Sports and Physical Development Unit could also be punished.
Telan died almost two months after another PMA cadet, Darwin Dormitorio, passed away allegedly due to a hazing incident. Dormitorio’s family has pressed charges against his schoolmates, who were allegedly responsible for his death, as well as PMA officers who have been accused of dereliction of duty.
Dormitorio’s death has prompted several groups to stage protests, and forced the resignation of two top academy officials, Lt. Gen. Ronnie Evangelista, the PMA chief, and Bartolome Bacarro, the school’s commandant of cadets.
The PMA was also embroiled in another controversy when two videos went viral late last month appearing to show several cadets physically assaulting their classmates in the school’s dorms.
