TRAMPLING THE DEVIL

During the annual Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the rituals observed by Muslims is the stoning of three pillars, the Jamarat (singular = Jamrah). The pillars symbolize the Devil, each of which refers to the temptation faced by Ibrahim when he had to sacrifice Ismail to Allah. (In the Hebrew bible, Isaac, and not Ishmael, was the son who was nearly sacrificed by Abraham.)

Thus, through the centuries, the physical presence of the pillars (these are now walls because of the large number of pilgrims) and the act of pelting them with a specified number of pebbles keep alive a religious lesson for the faithful of Islam. The ritual is referred to as the “stoning of the devil”.

PROPOSAL #1

In the present case of dishonor to the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), we need to have a physical object to symbolize our condemnation of acts inimical to our collective honor. Such symbol should be a constant reminder of the intolerable perfidy committed by PMA graduates which we collectively condemn.

A proposed object is a dark-colored concrete panel etched with the names of the dishonorable PMA graduates who are publicly convicted for the crime of treason and/or corruption. The concrete panel may be titled: THE SLAB OF SHAME.

It should be laid at the entrance to the PMA parade ground, where it is trampled by marching cadets at half-step, an automatic symbolic ritual of contempt for the individuals whose names are engraved thereon. The meaning of this “monument to infamy” should be part of the Plebe Knowledge. An appropriate explanation may be crafted to make it part of cadet consciousness.

Its constant presence will serve to remind all cadets, regardless of rank, their fate if ever they deviate from the tenets of and dishonor the Academy.

The rationale for the proposal is to give physical form to the displeasure and condemnation we graduates of the Academy feel. To write and lecture about the evils of corruption may put on record such feelings, but the slab of dishonor presents a concrete monument for all, not only PMA graduates and cadets, to see and feel (and even smell).

PROPOSAL #2

One other proposal is to institute a degradation ceremony, “a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility” as an ultimate disciplinary measure imposed on military officers of high rank. A disciplinary measure that is not even implemented is to “ask” the wrongdoer resign from the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association (PMAAAI). The Association does not even consider automatically expelling the person who brings dishonor to the Academy and the organization. It seems we do not have the courage to chastise and punish a dishonorable person.

As described in the Dreyfus degradation ceremony in France, the rite involves “the destruction of symbols of status, epaulettes ripped off shoulders, badges and insignia stripped, swords broken, caps knocked away, and medals torn out and dashed upon the ground.” In the present proposal, the stripping off of symbols of rank and status should be done not by another high ranking officer, but by a selected enlistedman, in order to highlight the degradation.