MANILA, Philippines – All is not lost for dismissed Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Cadet Aldrin Jeff Cudia.

In a phone interview with Rappler, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala confirmed that the AFP has formed a “Special Investigation Board” that will probe the case given “new matters” raised by Cudia during his meeting with President Benigno Aquino III.

Zagala said the board was formed following instructions from the President himself.

After their Saturday, March 15 meeting, Aquino tasked Armed Forces Chief of Staff Emmanuel Bautista to handle the re-investigation of Cudia’s case. Aquino also advised Cudia to file a new appeal. As of posting, however, Cudia has yet to file this before the AFP. 

Bautista appointed Major General Crisologo M. Nayve to head the board, which left for Baguio on Tuesday, March 18. “They are now in the PMA and there, they will look into the matters that were raised by ex-Cadet Cudia,” Zagala said. The AFP spokesman added the board has no set deadline to complete the investigation.

Also part of the board are representatives from offices of the Provost Marshall, the Inspector General, the Judge Advocate General, and the Office of Ethical Standards and Public Accountability. Zagala declined to name the other members of the board. 

Cudia said the Honor Committee, composed of PMA cadets, abused its powers when it decided to expel him from Class 2014. He said that members pressured a cadet who initially voted to acquit him. A dismissal requires a unanimous vote from committee members.

The committee declared Cudia guilty of violating the Honor Code when he reportedly lied in his explanation of why he was late in one class last year. He appealed the decision but the PMA command upheld the committee’s decision.

Review

On the eve of the PMA graduation ceremony, Cudia and his family met with the President in Baguio City to ask for his intervention.

The meeting failed to make him graduate, but it paved the way for another probe. PMA Commandant Colonel Rozzano Briguez also said that even if the President decided in favor of Cudia, he would not be able to graduate since he has yet to complete his academic requirements.

Cudia finally left PMA grounds on Sunday, March 16, the day his classmates graduated. 

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin conceded that the PMA honor system is now being reviewed. The code and how it is being implemented has to adjust to the times, he said. (READ: 50 cadets once left over code violations)

 “Mayroon kailangan pag-aralan kasi may mga hindi na angkop (Some aspects have to be studied since some are no longer appropriate),” Gazmin earlier told reporters. He is a PMA alumnus himself who would rise in the ranks to become the chief of the Philippine Army.

“May mga batas na tayo ngayon na noon araw, noong panahon namin, ay wala pa itong ang mga batas na ito kagaya ng Interntional Humanitarian Law, yung Human Rights, marami nang naidagdag na noong araw ay wala pa ganiyang batas kaya wala kami nava-violate,” Gazmin said. (We now have laws that were not there during our time, like International Humanitarian law, [International] Human Rights [Law]. We did not violate anything because back then, there were no such laws.) – Rappler.com