Dismissed PMA cadet's sister: My brother was forced to resign

The sister of Aldrin Jeff Cudia, the dismissed Philippine Military Academy (PMA) cadet, has accused the military leadership of forcing her brother to resign after he was found guilty of violating the Honor Code.

“Hindi po siya nag-resign, hindi rin siya nag-apply for indefinite leave. Kayo po nagbigay n'on. Tapos pinipilit niyo siyang mag-resign,” Cudia's sister Avee said in a Facebook post.

She was refuting the claim of Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, the public affairs office chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, that Cudia resigned after he was found guilty of lying.

The processing of Cudia's supposed resignation was put on hold following the order of AFP chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista for a review of the case.

Bautista ordered the review after Avee's earlier Facebook post complaining about her brother's dismissal went viral. The post, which put the PMA in bad light, was shared more than 17,000 times before it was taken down.

Avee said the guilty verdict handed down to her brother could cause him his graduation from the country's premier military school.

"Inanunsyo na ng kanilang Commandant na dismissed na siya. At ito ay dahil lamang nahuli siya ng 2 minuto sa klase," she wrote.

According to Avee, her brother received 11 demerits and 13 hours of touring as a consequence of being tardy.

Cudia has appealed the sanctions, noting that his tardiness was not his fault. He explained that their previous professor had dismissed them late, which is why he was not able to arrive at his next class on time.

Cudia's appeal was heard by PMA's Honor Committee, which later tagged the cadet's statement as a lie since he was not technically dismissed late but was made to wait after class to receive a document from his professor. — Amanda Fernandez/KBK, GMA News