AP Photo/Aaron Favila
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Military Academy (PMA) cadet who asked President Marcos for his watch at the graduation rites in May has been reprimanded, the spokesperson for the Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Tuesday.
Col. Francel Margareth Padilla clarified at a press briefing that the President was not required to give his/her watch to a member of the graduating class.
“This is not a tradition of the PMA. We’ve been there, we graduated there and through the years, this is not a tradition we uphold,” Padilla, who graduated from the academy in 2000, told reporters.
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Isolated incident
“This is an isolated incident, and it has already been dealt with. He was already reprimanded; in our case, it’s already a closed book,” she said.
The cadet, according to her, had long been given a reprimand even before Vice President Sara Duterte claimed in a press conference on Oct. 17 that Marcos had refused to give up his watch as a graduation gift.
Duterte said the incident left her so angry that she imagined herself decapitating the President.
According to Padilla, the cadet “was already admonished,” while the case “has already been dealt with according to the regulations of the AFP and the PMA.”
She clarified that the cadet was merely “called out” for his behavior and was now serving in the military.
In 2019, then-President Rodrigo Duterte gave his watch to PMA cadet officer Alberto Julaquit during the commencement exercises held in Baguio City.