Citing Enrile case, dismissed PMA cadet Cudia seeks SC consideration anew

Citing the Supreme Court's favorable ruling on Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile's bail petition, the mother of dismissed Philippine Military Academy cadet Jeff Aldrin Cudia on Thursday asked the tribunal to reverse its February ruling upholding the dismissal.

"In the very recent case of Juan Ponce Enrile versus Sandiganbayan and People of the Philippines, this honorable court has chosen to exercise its judicial discretion following the dictates not only of the mind, but more importantly, of the heart," Filipina Cudia said in her second motion for reconsideration (MR).

In her motion, which was filed through the Public Attorney's Office (PAO), Mrs. Cudia lauded the SC for being "Solomonic" in granting Enrile's petition for bail in connection with a plunder case lodged against him over the alleged pork barrel scam before the Sandiganbayan.

In granting Enrile's bail petition, the SC noted his frail health and advanced age.

Cudia's mother hoped the high court would show the same compassion.

"It is in this light that the petitioner-intervenor (Filipina Cudia), as mother of Cadet Cudia, once again knocks at Your Honors' kind hearts to review and re-examine the facts of the case especially taking into account the supervening events, and re-deliberate on the legal issues involved," read her motion.

Supervening events

The PAO cited the 1994 SC ruling "Teodoro and Zacaria v Carague, et al" that stated the SC has an inherent power and discretion to modify or reconsider a final judgment when supervening events would "harmonize" the disposition with prevailing circumstances.

Among the supervening events that the Cudia family cited was the cadet's passing in the University of the Philippines' Law Aptitude Examination prior to the denial of his MR in April.

Another supervening event cited was the denial of Cudia's request for a diploma, certificate of good moral chracter and honorable dissmisal. Other documents he requested meanwhile have yet to be released as of this time, read the MR.

"In the higher interest of justice and on equitable and humanitarian considerations, this honorable court may compel the PMA to award [the requested documents] which may facilitate his transfer to an institution of higher learning," read the motion.

The PAO stressed that Cudia, who was dismissed by the PMA for lying, finished all his academic requirements leading to a Bachelor of Science degree and has passed the UP LAE, "a testament to his brilliance as a student, and to his extraordinary potential as a future leader and shaper of this nation."

Cudia's family could not also afford to have him repeat his tertiary education, the motion noted.

The Cudia camp also noted that prior to the eruption of the controversy, the cadet's father Renato Cudia had suffered a brain stroke.

"With Cudia's mother unemployed and his father seriously ailing, Cadet Cudia's re-enrollment for tertiary education would be too difficult for the indigent Cudia family to bear," PAO said.

"The accusation against him with respect to lying affects only his standing as a cadet and trainee being honed to become a member of the armed forces. Such stringent standard is linked not to his standing as a student, but to his personality as a cadet," read the motion.

Guilty of "quibbling"

In its February ruling, the SC found Cudia guilty of "quibbling," which constitutes "lying," when he explained that he and his previous "class" were "dismissed" a bit late, causing his tardiness for his next class.

In its original ruling, the SC defined quibbling as a situation where a person creates a false impression to his listener by "cleverly wording what he says, omitting facts or telling a partial truth." The SC said Cudia was considered to have "quibbled" because "by no stretch of imagination can four constitute a 'class.'"

Cudia claimed he was with three other classmates when they were supposedly dismissed late by their previous class.

The SC said the PMA did not violate Cudia's right to due process when it enforced its rules on discipline, including the Honor Code, for lying. It said the case is "subsumed under (the PMA's) academic freedom" because the establishment of rules governing university-student relations, particularly those pertaining to student discipline, may be regarded as vital, not merely to the smooth and efficient operation of the institution, but to its very survival."

Cudia's camp sought but failed to have the SC ruling reversed, after it junked their motion for reconsideration last April.

In February 2014, the PMA 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. The PMA, the PMA Honor Committee of 2014 and the PMA Cadet Review and Appeals Board, through the Office of the Solicitor General, filed their consolidated comment last June 17, 2014.

Cudia did not march with the Siklab Diwa batch during the PMA’s graduation rites in Baguio City last year since his appeal was still pending before the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the PMA at the time.

Cudia’s classmates ostracized him after he opted to stay in the PMA even after the Honor Committee recommended his dismissal.

His family, however, has claimed there were irregularities on how the committee voted on his case and asked President Benigno Aquino III to overturn the decision.

Cudia's family insisted that the PMA Honor Committee should have acquitted the cadet because one of its members had originally voted in his favor. Under PMA rules, an accused can be acquitted with just one "not guilty" vote.  —KBK, GMA News