Cadet Cudia loses legal fight to be reinstated at PMA

From InterAksyon (Feb 24): Cadet Cudia loses legal fight to be reinstated at PMA

Dismissed Philippine Military Academy cadet Aldrin Jeff Cudia lost his legal battle against his dismissal from the PMA after the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday upheld the institution's decision against him.

The SC Spokesperson, Atty. Theodore Te, told journalists the High Tribunal, in upholding the PMA's decision dismissing Cudia for violation of its Honor Code, also affirmed the Honor Code as "a set of basic and fundamental ethical and moral principle, the minimum standard for cadet behavior and the guiding spirit behind each cadet's action."

The SC, Te said, ruled that it has no reason to deviate from the PMA's findings in the controversial Cudia case, which rocked the military academy last year, adding that the PMA did not violate his due process when it dismissed him.

Also, the SC affirmed the PMA's academic freedom and its right to enforce its rules on discipline particularly its Honor Code.

"The Court has always recognized the right of schools to impose disciplinary sanctions, which includes the power to dismiss or expel, on students who violate disciplinary rules," Te said quoting the ruling.

Te added that the PMA, as the primary training and educational institution of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), "has the right to invoke academic freedom in the enforcement of its rules and regulations, which are the Honor Code and the Honor System in particular."

The SC, according to Te also ruled that it is the responsibility of the cadets to maintain the highest standard of honor, and, throughout his or her stay in the PMA, "he or she is absolutely bound by it."

Cudia was found guilty of lying about his reason for being late in a class and was dismissed from the academy. He was also not allowed to join his class during their graduation in March 2014.

He appealed the case, but it was dismissed by the PMA and its Cadet Review and Appeals Board (CRAB), prompting him to seek an audience with the Commander-in-Chief, President Aquino.

The President ordered the AFP to conduct a review of the case.

Cudia then filed a petition with the Supreme Court, asking the latter to issue a restraining order or a status quo ante order that would have allowed him to join his "Siklab Diwa Class" in their graduation, but the High Tribunal did not grant his petition.

He and his family then filed several petitions before the high court, the last being in December 2014, asking the Supreme Court to immediately rule on his case because any continued delay in the resolution of his case is putting his life and future in limbo.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/105704/cadet-cudia-loses-legal-fight-to-be-reinstated-at-pma