During plebehood, cadets will traverse the most difficult of
times. Military training will render them inadequate and will cleanse them of
the privileges and frivolities of civilian life. Being alone and far from their
families, they will often seek comfort usually through prayers and embedded ideals
that will motivate them to survive the hardship of training. Even more fortunate
are those who have someone to journey with them in these grueling tests of
their young career as police and soldiers.
Out of these dire circumstances, both the PMA and PNPA resolved
to challenge their community to be a “parent” to these younglings. Both
academies knew the importance of mentoring and knew how it could nurture and
foster the family values of among the cadets although far-away from their real
kins. Thus the “Foster Parent” program was formed.
In retrospect, the “foster parent” program or at least the collective
experience by former cadets who firsthand experienced the love and care of
foster parents was the impetus for the CORPS Movement to launch its two main
program “Bless Our Cops” and “My Brother’s Keeper”.
In Bless Our Cops, the church is given an opportunity to
journey and have a deep relationship with the officers and men in their locales.
They will care like parents to the sometimes unruly police with a non-discriminating
heart yet with strict fatherly admonition.
The My Brother’s Keeper program was also patterned in the
same way as the foster parent program. Only this time an upperclassman (often
graduates) will guide a young cadet. In this accountability and mentoring
program the senior will guide the junior. Alike the foster parent program, the
upperclassmen are challenged to nurture and take care of their younglings.
The likeness of the two programs to the foster parent
program was firsthand witnessed by members of the BOC Movement in a recent trip
to Baguio.
When PSUPT Dionicio “Jun” Borromeo was a
young striving cadet, he was often plagued with bouts of homesickness. Luckily
for him there was Nanay Charing De Guzman who took him and cared for him as
though he was his own son. They were also in prayers when Bro. Jun meet his
most difficult time of his life. God blessed the De Guzman family for their
kindness: two of their children married PMAers and have two of their grandchildren
became cadets themselves in the PMA and the PNPA. They again meet and reunited
during the recent PMA Alumni Homecoming.
Bro Jun also reunited with his foster sons and daughters (Cadet 1Cl Siawen, and Cadet 2Cl Factor and Ramas) who
were also studying at the PMA. He prayed for them and advised on life, the
service and how should Christian maintain a lifestyle that emulate Christ. He
also treated them for lunch and gave them some few gifts for their schooling.
The team also witnessed how Ptr. Vio Muncada has adopted
their local Police in the same love and care as parenting. Ptr. Muncada who is
the BOC coordinator for Baguio has longtime adopted the City Tourist Police
which is situated atop the Burnham Park . PINSP Vio Hidalgo, the tourist police
commander, has been a recipient of the Ptr. Vio’s church blessing which include
a free rice from time to time. Ptr. Vio on the otherhand is given a cup of free Kalinga coffee in return.
The PMACF too under Ptr. Erwin and Sis Amelie Luga is also
encouraging former PMACFers to adopt younger cadets as part of their Brother’s
Keeper program and prodded former members of the fellowship to start breakfast
fellowships in their own assignments under the supervision of the MilMin of
Col. Mike Morales.
All of these efforts are just by-product of a program that invoked
us to be good parents to all obeying Christ’s command to love one another as He
has loved us.
