Cudia won't march Sunday

FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City - Embattled Cadet First Class Aldrin Jeff Cudia won't be able to march in Sunday's graduation rites at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) even if President Aquino reverses the academy's decision to dismiss him.

PMA Cadet Commandant Col. Rozzano Briguez said in the event that the president reverses the decision of the Cadet Review and Appeals Board (CRAB), Aldrin cannot graduate because he has yet to finish his on-the-job-training (OJT).

"This year no. Categorically he cannot graduate," Briguez told reporters when asked if Aldrin can still join his classmates in the graduation rites.

"He also failed to satisfy all requirements for the prescribed course of study, Bachelor of Science. He did not participate in the on-the-job training, which was done last Feb. 20 to March 2 for the Navy cadets at the PMMA

(Philippine Merchant Marine Academy) in Zambales."

Briguez said the CRAB denied Friday night Aldrin's appeal to overturn his dismissal from PMA.

"The CRAB denied the motion for a review, a reinvestigation of the case and the (PMA) Superintendent recommended for the original recommendation which is to uphold the class-1 or the administrative separation punishment for Cadet Cudia, for violation of the honor code," he said.

The recommendation has been forwarded to President Aquino for his approval.

Briguez said Cudia could still graduate in 2015 if the president decides not to dismiss him and if he completes the OJT requirement.

"He must satisfy again all the requirements for the prescribed course of study, Bachelor of Science, and he must complete his on-the-job training, and he can complete it next year," Briguez said.

Still hopeful

Aldrin's family, however, remains unfazed, and remains hopeful that the president will grant them a favorable decision.

"Dear president, we urge you, we ask for your mercy and we hope you will grant justice to my son. He did not do anything wrong, The Honor Committee composed of his fellow cadets was the one that erred in issuing that verdict against our son" Aldrin's mother Filipina Cudia told reporters in a chance interview.

Despite her son's failure to undertake the OJT, Filipina wants Aldrin to join other members of the 'Siklab Diwa' Class of 2014 in the graduation rites.

"It is very important. He (Aldrin) worked hard in the last four years just to graduate," she said.

Public Attorneys Office chief Persida Acosta, who has been providing help to the Cuidas, said Aldrin should not be barred from graduating because his failure to complete the OJT was beyond his control.

She noted that Aldrin has been restricted to a holding room since Feb. 20.

"While his room was not locked, the door that serves as the building's exit was locked so he could not leave without being fetched by officials or cadets," Acosta said.

"He should not be punished for not undertaking the OJT because he was not in control of the situation."

Guilty

Earlier, the Honor Committee composed of cadets from different classes found Cudia guilty of violating the Honor Code, a military tradition that emphasizes that cadets do not cheat, steal or lie or tolerate any of these.

The committee recommended Aldrin's dismissal after he entered a class two minutes late and for allegedly lying to justify it.

Aldrin's case landed on the news after members of his family turned to social networking sites to seek public and government support.

The online posts sparked emotional debates with critics claiming that the PMA Honor Code is already outdated. Military officers who are PMA alumni subtly expressed support to the code by making their cadet photos their profile pictures in their social media accounts.

Cudia's camp has asked the PMA administration and military officials to reverse his dismissal, saying the Honor Committee had committed "grave abuse of discretion."

Aldrin said the committee had forced a member to issue a guilty verdict, confined that member to a chamber and failed to get the statement of a teacher who allegedly released him late from a class.

The CRAB, however, did not find merit in his arguments and decided to uphold the committee's decision.

A native of Arayat Pampanga, Cudia could have been the top Navy cadet and the second ranking student in the 207-member class 2014.