PMMA president wants ex-cadet arrested, charged

MANILA, Philippines - The president of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy in Zambales urged the police to arrest and charge the PMMA ex-cadet for allegedly trying to free an arrested drug suspect in Caloocan City by passing himself off as a Navy officer.

Vice Admiral Fidel Dinoso, president of PMMA in San Narciso, Zambales, said former cadet Aries Giganto, who was “kicked out” from the academy on Dec. 2 last year after he failed two subjects, must be held liable for his actions.

Giganto “was suspended during his second year in the academy. Terminated or not, we don’t condone this kind of behavior and he must be held accountable for this,” Dinoso told The STAR in a telephone interview.

On Friday afternoon, Dinoso sent his chief security officer Raymundo Cruz Jr. to The STAR office in Manila to clarify Giganto’s status at the PMMA in Zambales.

“He is no longer connected with the academy and I would personally coordinate with the Northern Police District (NPD) on this particular case,” Cruz said.

The NPD anti-illegal drugs operatives, led by SPO1 Jonathan Taguba, arrested Ernesto Bautista, alias “Gain,” in a drug bust along Bisig ng Nayon street in Barangay 4, Caloocan City at around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.

A few minutes after Bautista’s arrest, Giganto appeared at the police station and introduced himself as a Navy officer, telling the arresting policemen to free Bautista.

Bautista was charged Wednesday before the office of Caloocan City prosecutor Isabelito Sicat with no bail recommended.

Chief Inspector Jay Agcaoili, NPD anti-illegal drugs division chief, said yesterday they were preparing to file charges against the 22-year-old Giganto, who reportedly is a lover of Bautista’s 39-year-old sister.  – Pete Laude