AFP mulls honor code for soldiers, like PMA’s

FORT DEL PILAR, Philippines—The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will impose an honor code on soldiers modeled after the system enforced by the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) on its cadets, an official of the military school said on Monday.

Col. Monico Batle, PMA assistant commandant of cadets, said the Defense Planning Guidance mechanism that is facilitating an AFP Transformation Plan has considered applying a military honor system on enlisted personnel, including soldiers who did not undergo PMA leadership training.

The PMA website said cadets, through the honor system, bind themselves to the Honor Code, which states: “We, the cadets, do not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate among us those who do so.”

Batle said it would not be an easy task to require the average soldier to follow a code that frowns upon lying, and which requires him to report anyone he suspects of having lied or who has stolen from the government.

“But it is not impossible,” he said.

Batle said AFP planning officers were looking for the best way to enforce an honor code, which is followed not just by the PMA, but by other military training facilities in the country.

He said that while other schools had their own honor systems, PMA cadets have been stricter about enforcing the academy’s Honor Code.

A PMA cadet who violates the Honor Code is required to undergo a trial by his peers, in this case, a cadet honor committee representing all cadet levels.

Like courts, the honor committee will determine the facts and rule on the guilt or innocence of a fellow cadet.

The academy’s honor system was criticized early this year on social networking sites, owing to the suspension and separation of senior cadet Aldrin Jeff Cudia, who challenged his conviction in the Supreme Court.

In February, a cadet honor committee found Cudia guilty of lying about the reason for his two-minute tardiness in a class, which prevented him from graduating with the PMA Siklab Diwa Class of 2014.

Cudia’s supporters criticized his dismissal for lying, which, they said, was a minor infraction compared to cases of corruption allegedly committed by PMA graduates who held top military posts.–Vincent Cabreza