‘There’s room for PMA honor code improvement’

MANILA, Philippines—There’s room for improvement in the Philippine Military Academy’s enforcement of its Honor Code but cadet Aldrin Jeff Cudia is not completely blameless for his failure to graduate—as a Commission on Human Rights (CHR) report has made out—according to Magdalo party-list Rep. Francisco Ashley Acedillo.

Acedillo, a former Philippine Air Force pilot and a PMA graduate himself, said the academy’s way of enforcing the Honor Code—which is handled by the cadets—may have its low points at times and could stand to be strengthened.

For instance, he said, it would be good to have someone with a legal background oversee procedures, since these have been challenged in the courts.

“Probably it’s time for that. Recourse to our courts has been more frequently pursued this time,” Acedillo said in a phone interview.

In the case of Cudia, however, the cadet himself was not completely blameless, he said.

The PMA refused to let Cudia graduate after the honor committee found him guilty of lying about the reason for his tardiness for a class, an offense that constituted a violation of the Honor Code.

Cudia, who had questioned the honor committee’s ruling in the Supreme Court and the CHR, had claimed that he was late for a class because the instructor of the previous class had asked him and some classmates to stay behind. But it later came out that there had been no such directive from the teacher and Cudia may have been the one who had asked to see the teacher after class.

The CHR, in its report, said Cudia was not guilty of the offense ascribed to him and he did not intend to mislead his peers. It also said that he should be awarded his diploma.

Acedillo, however, did not completely accept the CHR report.

“For the CHR’s assertions to hold water, it would have to disregard a lot of facts,” he said in a phone interview.

He noted that prior to being accused of lying over his tardiness, Cudia had also been reported for other Honor Code violations.

He said that at the time Cudia came late to class, there were three other cadets who were tardy as well. These cadets admitted responsibility for their actions, but Cudia made excuses, Acedillo said.

For the CHR’s assertions to be correct, he said, there would have had to have been a total and complete conspiracy among the tactical officer, the instructor, the honor committee and the PMA authorities against Cudia, he said, adding that this was highly unlikely.

Acedillo said the PMA’s Honor Code may be seen as harsh by some, but anyone entering the academy knows that he or she has to abide by it.

The PMA’s Honor Code goes: “We, the cadets, do not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate among us those who do so.”