MANILA, Philippines — While police ruled that the death of a maritime academy cadet was a homicide, his family said that the charge should be graver as they believe that he died due to injuries sustained from hazing.
“We strongly believe that it was really not homicide, kasi (because) it was really murder. And we’re really thinking about hazing din po (too),” Glaiza Bondoc, sister of Philippine Merchant Marine Academy third class cadet Jonash Bondoc, told Philstar.com.
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Glaiza said her family holds this belief because the medico-legal report prepared by the Zambales City Crime Laboratory Office showed that Jonash had several bruises on his head, scalp, nose, face, neck, chest and arms.
“The autopsy report clearly says that my brother was mauled to death,” Glaiza said.
The report, obtained by Philstar.com, showed that Jonash died from a blunt traumatic injury to the head.
Despite these findings, the police only filed a homicide charge against the suspect, PMMA second class cadet Jomel Gloria, who admitted to punching Jonash twice in the chest as a farewell gesture before he headed home.
“Ano ‘yun, parang napadaan lang tapos kinabig mo lang twice, tapos nahimatay na kaagad yung kapatid ko? No. My brother was physically fit,” Glaiza said.
(You just punched him twice and then my brother immediately collapsed? No. My brother was physically fit.)
Gloria has been released on bail, Police Chief Master Sergeant Abraham Esteban told Philstar.com.
Case closed?
The Bondoc family is still studying what their next steps are, but another examination of Jonash’s body is ruled out as he has been cremated after he supposedly tested positive for COVID-19.
Jonash’s family is also casting doubt on this finding, with Glaiza saying that her brother had told his best friend that he tested negative on July 4, clearing him to go back home in Butuan City from the Zambales campus of PMMA.
After just a few days of investigation, the police are considering the case closed.
“Wala naman gaanong kalaking lapses ang institution kasi very cooperative naman sila. Walang tinatago, walang whitewash, malinis ang PMMA,” Police Colonel Romano Cardiño told GMA News.
(There were no huge lapses on the part of the institution because they were very cooperative. They were not hiding anything, there was no whitewash, the PMMA is clean.)
But for the Bondoc family, the investigation should be far from over.
“This is not case closed yet. We want them to dig deeper. We want justice for our brother. So we are really calling out for just help because we can’t just let this be another dead body and just sweep it under the rug,” Glaiza said.