Sinas: No hazing inside police training center in Cebu

Close to 300 recruits of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) perform a dance number as part of the organizational visit program of Police Brigadier General Debold Sinas, director of PRO-7 on Tuesday morning, October 8, 2019 in Sitio Laray, Barangay Jugan, Consolacion, Cebu.  CDND PHOTO / Alven Marie A. Timtim

CEBU CITY, Philippines — In the midst of issues on violence surrounding the Philippine Military Academy, Police Brigadier General Debold Sinas assured the public that hazing and any forms of abuse are not tolerated inside the Regional Training Center in Central Visayas (RTC-7).

Sinas said constant visits to the training center prevent hazing and other forms of abuse because they are able to gather information which includes the problems and issues faced by recruits while undergoing training.

During his scheduled organizational visit on Tuesday, October 8, Sinas brought media representatives inside the RTC-7 in Sitio Laray, Barangay Jugan, Consolacion town, around 14.6  kilometers from Cebu City.

Sinas said the 300 recruits, who started their training last August 2019, are between 20 and 26 years old.

He assured that while the recruits undergo a rigorous training program, they are not subjected to physical, mental or emotional abuse.

Sinas said the training center follows the strict implementation of the rule that prohibits physical contact between trainers and recruits.

Instead, Sinas said they resort to intense physical exercises to instill discipline.

To prevent complacency and to steer trainers away from familiarity, Sinas said he instructed Police Lieutenant Colonel Mario Cortes, head of RTC-7, to change the course details once the whole training program ends.

At the beginning of the training, Cortes said recruits are assured of their rights in the document that they sign prior to the commencement of the training program.

He said the trainers are immediately held liable in cases when the recruits feel that their rights are violated during the duration of the training.

Cortes disclosed that instead of physical contact punishments, the recruits are given delinquency report forms with limited numbers of allowed demerits.

Cortes said recruits will not be allowed to graduate from the training program when they consume all the demerits or exceed the number of demerits allowed.

Boholano James Alacida, 25, assured the media there is no hazing inside the training center.

Alacida, a native of Loay town, said he wants to become a police officer so he can serve his community.

To survive the physically demanding training program, Alacida said it is important to be healthy in all aspects.

“You need to do well, exercise well and obey your officers,” he said.

Of the 300 recruits, Cortes said three resigned from the training program including a woman who was found with a health condition.

Currently, there are 297 recruits undergoing training for two months. / celr