A Baguio court has found two Philippine Military Academy cadets guilty of physical injuries sustained during the deadly hazing of Darwin Dormitorio in 2019.
On Friday, the Baguio Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branch 1 convicted PMA cadets Julius Tadena and Christian Zacarias of "slight physical injuries" and sentenced them to 30 days in jail, as well as P100,000 in damages and P50,000 in legal fees.
Tadena and Zacarias, along with another cadet, will continue to face hazing allegations.
Meanwhile, the same court acquitted two PMA doctors and one PMA hospital ranking officer of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.
Doctors Flor Apple Apostol and Maria Ofelia Beloy, as well as PMA hospital commanding officer Ceasar Calendaria, were previously charged with murder for their "gross failure to provide adequate medical care to Dormitorio '' when he sought medical attention following hazing injuries.
Felix Lumbag Jr. and Shalimar Imperial Jr., both third-class cadets in military detention, are both facing murder and hazing accusations in connection with Dormitorio's death.
Dormitorio, 20, died in 2019 barely two months after beginning his education at the PMA, allegedly as a result of the hazing rituals he suffered from more senior cadets.
He was forced to conduct physically abusive workouts in his room a day before he died by Lumbag, Imperial, and another cadet, who allegedly punched him in the ribcage "many times," according to a statement Dormitorio submitted to authorities when he reported the incident.
Dormitorio was afterward taken to the hospital but was freed after only four hours and given a prescription for a urinary tract infection; the next day, he was found comatose and proclaimed dead on arrival after being transported to the hospital.
Authorities later discovered that Dormitorio and other PMA plebes had been subjected to taser electrocution and physical harassment by their upperclassmen for at least a month before his death.

In his statement during the commencement exercises of the PMA Madasigon Class&mdash;the batch Dormitorio was a part of when he entered the PMA&mdash;the top graduate of the PMA class of 2023 paid respect to Dormitorio.

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2 PMA cadets found guilty of 'slight physical injuries' in Dormitorio hazing case