222 PMA Class of 2014 graduates urged to serve honestly. The graduates of the Philippine Military Academy “Siklab Diwa” Class of 2014 throw their caps in the air at the graduation rites held in Fort Gregorio Del Pilar in Baguio City on Sunday March 16. Thom Picana
A lawmaker expressed dismay on Sunday over the failure of the Philippine Military Academy and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to resolve the case of dismissed PMA cadet Aldrin Cudia, barring him from attending graduation rites.
ABS party-list Representative Catalina Leonen-Pizarro said the AFP should have acted with haste on Cudia’s appeal so he could have still marched along with the Siklab Diwa Class of 2014 if he were allowed to graduate.
“[Cudia’s] case is still hanging while the graduation is ongoing. The problem now [is] if suddenly the appeal of Cudia be granted, then he would have already missed the rites. Sayang naman,” she told GMA News Online in a text message.
The lawmaker said her resolution might now be considered moot and academic since Cudia’s case is still unresolved although the graduation ceremonies are over.
According to its website, the ABS (Arts Business and Science Professionals) party-list was created “to protect and advance the collective interests and concerns of Filipino professionals who constitute the highly trained and skilled manpower of the country.”
Aquino and Gazmin met with Cudia and his family on the eve of the graduation rites to discuss the cadet’s dismissal from the academy.
The PMA’s Honor Committee found Cudia guilty of lying about his reason for being late for a class, a violation that led to his dismissal from the academy.
Cudia’s family, however, has claimed there were irregularities in how the committee voted on his case, and asked Aquino to overturn the decision.
Gazmin said Cudia’s absence at the PMA’s graduation rites is “without prejudice to whatever will be the result of [his family’s] new appeal, which is now elevated to the [Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines] whom the President directed to investigate [the case].”
