SC says Cudia case ‘closed’; junks plea to release school records

THE Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Cadet Aldrin Jeff Cudia for humanitarian consideration to release his school records.

Cudia’s mother Filipina filed the third motion to the Supreme Court asking the high tribunal to allow the release of her son’s diploma or certificate of completion of academic subject requirements, transcript of records, certificate of good moral character and honorable dismissal and certificate of discharge.

Cudia wants his academic documents released so he can enroll in the University of the Philippines College of Law after passing the Law Aptitude Examination. The high court, however, last April, denied his petition.

Acosta said Cudia’s family could no longer afford to re-enroll their son in college due to financial constraints.

She said what happened to their son took a toll on Cudia’s father, Renato, who suffered a brain stroke and half paralyzing him.

But the high court, through its Information Chief Atty. Theodore Te, stressed that Cudia could no longer appeal his case as the SC has deemed it “closed and terminated.”

“The Court, acting on the Motion of Reconsideration of petitioner [Cudia] through his relator, denied with finality the motion (it being his third) and considered the case closed and terminated,” Te said.

Cudia was found guilty of lying about his reason for being late in a class and was not able to join his classmates of the Siklab Diwa class during their graduation rites in March last year.

He filed an appeal but it was dismissed by the PMA and the Cadet Review and Appeals Board (CRAB) while a meeting with the President last year also did not bear fruit as the latter only directed then AFP Chief of Staff Emmanuel Bautista to conduct a review of the case.

Cudia then filed a petition with the SC but the high court did not issue a status quo ante order or a temporary restraining order that would have allowed him to graduate.

The dismissed PMA cadet insisted that his right to due process has been violated as he appealed to the SC to take a second look at the facts of the case.

He said that the PMA, the Honor Committee and the Cadet Review and Appeals Board, failed to satisfy even the minimum standards of due process as enunciated in several court cases.

In its ruling, the high court, through Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta said the PMA did not violate petitioner’s [Cudia] due process and rights when it enforced it’s the rules on discipline, consisting of its Honor Code for lying.

Cudia has filed a motion for reconsideration but was thrown out by the SC during its summer session in Baguio City last April.