The Supreme Court has sustained with finality its decision upholding the dismissal of Cadet First Class Jeff Aldrin Cudia from the Philippine Military Academy for violating the academy’s Honor Code.
During the Court’s en banc session in Baguio City on Tuesday, the justices denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Cudia through the Public Attorney’s Office which sought the reversal of the SC decision issued on February 24.
Lawyer Theodore Te, SC spokesperson, said the Court ruled that it saw no reason to deviate from PMA’s findings.
In ruling against Cudia, the tribunal stressed that Cudia’s rights to due process were not violated by the PMA when it enforced its rules on disciplines, including the Honor Code.
The SC also said 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.”
It also recognized the PMA’s knowledge and expertise gained from handling of specific matters falling under their respective jurisdiction.
Cudia was found guilty of lying about his reason for being late in a class and was not able to join his classmates of the Siklab Diwa class during their graduation rites last March 16, 2014.
He filed an appeal but it was dismissed by the PMA, while a meeting with the President also did not bore fruit as the latter only directed then AFP Chief of Staff Emmanuel Bautista to conduct a review of the case.
Cudia then filed a petition with the SC but the High Court did not issue a status quo ante order or a temporary restraining order that would have allowed him to graduate.
Cudia PAO Chief Persida Ruth Acosta insisted that he was not accorded fair trial by the PMA Honor Committee.
The former PMA student cited the final report of the Commission on Human Rights which investigated the issue that found that Cudia was “given nothing but a sham trial and that the PMA Honor Committee violated the Honor Code when it refused to accept the “not guilty” verdict and instead called for a “chambering” changing the 8-1 votes to 9-0 and leading to his dismissal from the military academy.
Cudia claimed that the cadet who voted not guilty—Cadet First Class Dalton John Lagura was “pressured” into changing his vote to secure the guilty conviction.