'Closed book': Cadet who asked for Marcos' watch scolded months ago

MANILA, Philippines — The cadet who asked for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s watch as a gift during the Philippine Military Academy's graduation ceremony earlier this year has already been reprimanded, the Armed Forces of the Philippines confirmed on Tuesday, October 22. 

Tagging the situation as an "isolated incident," AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the PMA has no tradition of cadets asking for public officials' watches during commencement exercises.

"In our case, it's already a closed book," Padilla said.

"He was admonished for his actions, and that occurred since May [during the graduation.] So it was already dealt with according to regulations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Military Academy," she added.

Padilla also confirmed that the cadet was reprimanded "way back," long before Vice President Sara Duterte called attention to the incident in a press conference last week.

Last Friday, Duterte said that she realized her relations with Marcos had become "toxic" after she felt deeply frustrated with his response to a graduate's request to have his wristwatch during a graduation ceremony they both attended "months back."

She did not specify that it was the PMA's commencement exercises but hinted that the school's graduates were expected to defend the country.

Duterte said Marcos' response to the cadet — which was "humiliating" — triggered her to imagine herself "cutting off his [Marcos] head" in anger. She noted the request itself was "inappropriate" but said Marcos should have responded kindly to teach the "child" a lesson. 

The vice president's statement was later shared on social media alongside video clips of former President Rodrigo Duterte giving his wristwatch to a PMA graduate in 2019.

Padilla said she is not aware of the details behind the cadet's request for the elder Duterte's wristwatch.

"We do not know the details of that, if the cadet asked for it or anything to that. So let's not correlate the same issues together," Padilla said.

She added: "This is not a tradition of the Philippine Military Academy. We have graduated there over the years, and this is not a tradition that we uphold."

When asked if the reprimanded cadet was the only one to ask for a president's watch, Padilla said: "As far as we know, with the reports we got, yes, he's the only one."