Cadet First Class Aldrin Jeff Cudia
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — This year’s Top 10 graduating cadets of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) will be presented on Tuesday, but they will be competing for attention with a cadet who may not be joining them for graduation on March 16.
Last week, the family and town mates of Cadet First Class Aldrin Jeff Cudia in Arayat, Pampanga, expressed their support for the cadet who was administratively separated from the PMA weeks before graduation.
Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Emmanuel Bautista has directed the PMA to reopen and study Cudia’s case.
But academy officials have not completed their review of the Honor Code trial conducted by Cudia’s peers, which led to his dismissal, said the PMA spokesperson, Maj. Agnes Lynette Flores.
Retired Vice Adm. Edgar Abogado, a former PMA superintendent, approved Cudia’s dismissal based on the conclusions made by the honor committee that Cudia had lied when he explained a two-minute tardiness for which he was issued demerits.
Lying is a violation of the Honor Code, a statement of the minimum standard of ethics expected of all PMA cadets and alumni.
Cudia’s grades before he was dismissed ranked him as a contender for salutatorian of the PMA’s “Siklab Diwa” Class of 2013, according to Cudia’s sister, Annavee, who revealed her brother’s plight over social media in February.
Last week, the PMA website was hacked and a fake list of graduates was posted, which included Cudia’s name, Flores said. The list was quickly removed, but not before it was passed around social media.
The list of graduates to be presented on Monday is the authentic set of graduates of Siklab Diwa, which stands for Sundalong Ikararangal ng Lahing Bayani sa Diwang Wagas (Soldiers of pure spirit who are honored by a race of heroes), according to Flores.
At a news conference in Mt. Arayat National Park last week, Renato Cudia, the cadet’s father, appealed to the PMA and the AFP leadership to reconsider the ruling issued by his son’s peers, who make up the PMA Corps of Cadets honor committee.
The elder Cudia urged them to allow his son to join the 223 graduating cadets who would be commissioned into the AFP by President Benigno Aquino, the commander in chief, on March 16.
Arayat Vice Mayor Ramon Changcoco, who came together with the barangay captain of San Mateo, Cudia’s home village, read Resolution No. 012 through, which the town council expressed “full support” for Cudia.
The council asked AFP officials to reinvestigate the case and for the President to help Cudia graduate from the PMA.
“It was his dream to be a soldier. He wants to serve our motherland,” said Renato, himself a former soldier like his wife.
They opted to leave the military service and work overseas to raise their four children. Cudia is the third of their kids.
The father said Cudia was correct when he told the committee that he had reported late to a class because the teacher handling a previous class had asked him to stay on.
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