Cudia’s family mulls bringing cadet’s case to SC anew

(Updated 7:11 p.m.) The family of dismissed Philippine Military Academy (PMA) cadet Aldrin Jeff Cudia is planning to appeal his case before the Supreme Court to clear his name.

The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) is set to file a Motion to Intervene on the behalf of Mrs. Cudia before the Supreme Court Tuesday, said PAO lawyer Howard Areza in a press conference. The motion will challenge the PMA’s decision to dismiss Aldrin last February.

Earlier this month, Aldrin asked the high court to step in and order the PMA to allow him to graduate and be commissioned into the Philippine Navy.

The Supreme Court, however, did not issue a temporary restraining order that would have allowed Aldrin to join other members of the Siklab Diwa Class of 2014 during the PMA graduation rites on March 16. Instead, it ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the PMA to explain the dismissal.

The PMA dismissed Aldrin for allegedly violating the institution's Honor Code.

The AFP has formed a special investigation board that will look into the case.

Renato Cudia, the cadet’s father, told reporters that his family decided to face the media because his son’s case has yet to be resolved more than a week after President Benigno Aquino III met with them in Baguio City.

The Cudia family met with Aquino and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on the eve of the PMA graduation on March 16 to discuss the issues surrounding the cadet’s dismissal from the academy.

Last February, the PMA's Honor Committee found Aldrin guilty of lying about his reason for being late for a class, a violation that led to his dismissal from the academy. His family, however, claimed that there were irregularities in how the committee voted on his case, and asked Aquino to overturn the decision.

‘Honor Committee abused its power’

Cudia’s mother, Filipina, said her family continues to appeal her son's dismissal from the academy because they are convinced of his innocence.

She said that while her family respects the PMA Honor Code, they believe the Honor Committee abused its power when it decided to dismiss Aldrin without due process.

“Ang mga kadeteng ito na nasa likod ng Honor System ang gumawa ng sarili nilang Honor Code… Nang dahil lamang sa pagmamalabis sa kapangyarihan ay nagagawan nila ng paraan na maalis ang gusto nilang paalisin kahit [siya] ay di nararapat na umalis,” Filipina Cudia said.

Aldrin’s father maintained his son never attempted to cheat, steal or lie from the time he set foot inside the PMA in 2010. Proof of this, he said, was the consistently high scores Aldrin received from all of his Conduct courses.

Aldrin’s grades in the 11 Conduct courses he took throughout his stay in the academy ranged between 97 to 100, based on his transcript of records.

Diploma

The cadet’s family has asked the PMA to release Aldrin's diploma and to grant him an honorable dismiss from the academy so he can start anew as a civilian.

But although the Cudia family no longer wants their son to join the AFP, his sister, Avee, said they are determined to appeal his dismissal because they want to clear his name.

“Aldrin believes wala siyang maling nagawa. Sinunod lang niya ang instruction ng kanyang professor kaya siya na-late. Masakit para sa aming tanggapin ang inaakusa sa kanya dahil alam naming hindi naman ‘yon totoo. He wants his name to be cleared. He wants [to prove] he is not a liar,” she said.

Aldrin’s case was made public after Avee narrated her brother’s ordeal in a Facebook post last February.

Avee said their family sought the help of the Commission on Human Rights when they learned that a listening device had been attached to a wall in a room adjacent to where her brother was staying inside the academy.

CHR's recommendations

The CHR had earlier asked the President to allow Aldrin to graduate because the Honor Committee violated his right to due process in rendering its decision to dismiss him.

Among the recommendations of the CHR are:
 

• For the PMA Honor Committee to uphold the results of the original 8-1 voting on Cudia's case
• For the PMA to declare Cudia “not guilty” of violation of the Honor Code
• For the reconstitution of Cudia's benefits as a student of the PMA and allow him to attend the graduation rite on March 16
• And for the PMA to cooperate with CHR's further investigation into Cudia's case.

The CHR said its recommendations were based on a fact-finding investigation conducted on Cudia's case, including interviews with about 20 PMA cadets, especially those who were involved in the voting on Cudia's dismissal case. —RSJ/KBK/JDS, GMA News