MANILA, Philippines — Chief public attorney Persida Acosta fainted on Thursday during a press conference where she defended anew disgraced Philippine Military Academy cadet Jeff Aldrin Cudia.
Acosta said her client, who was dismissed from military school after being accused of violating the honor code through lying, is appealing anew the case before the Supreme Court to ask for humanitarian considerations.
Acosta was decrying the academy's refusal to release documents for Cudia to pursue a degree in law at the University of the Philippines when she began to shed tears.
The head of the Public Attorney's Office fell unconscious for a little more than 10 minutes before she was able to recover, reports said.
ICYMI: PAO chief @persidaacosta fainted during the presscon defending dismissed PMA cadet Cudia | via E. Gumban pic.twitter.com/hMLCbfxnA1
— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) September 10, 2015
In a resolution in April, the Supreme Court upheld the PMA's case against Cudia with finality, citing the institution's academic freedom in deciding to terminate his enrollment.
Cudia, who was supposed to graduate as second top student of his class in 2013, was provisionally qualified to enter the University of the Philippines College of Law. — Camille Diola with reports from the STAR, Edu Punay