A second year cadet of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) was recently found guilty of stealing five pieces of grapes from her seniors and the decision reversing her punishment has been panned by officers and people with ties to the institution.
Major Cheryl Tindog, PMA spokesperson, on Saturday confirmed the incident as she insisted that the academy remains committed to observing the PMA "Honor Code."
The PMA Honor Code is a set of rules which govern the behavior of its cadets and alumni. It states: "We, the cadets, do not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate among us those who do."
The unnamed third class cadet, who committed the violation "last year" when she was still a plebe, underwent a trial initiated by the PMA Honor Committee for "several months."
The committee is composed of select first- to fourth-year cadets who are tasked to resolve issues among themselves as part of the academy's tradition.
The result of the probe, which was released on July 7 but shared to media only recently, showed that the cadet admitted to stealing the grapes from the refrigerator "exclusively" owned by the first class (fourth year) cadets.
The cadet had tendered her resignation upon the recommendation of the committee until Vice Admiral Allan Ferdinand Cusi, PMA superintendent, learned about the incident and convened the PMA Board of Senior Officers, which was composed of ranking military officers, to reverse the ruling.
According to Cusi, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana called his attention about the case of the cadet last year.
"SND's (Secretary of National Defense) instructions were for PMA authorities to investigate properly the case. He did not influence me on the outcome of the case nor influence my decision. It was my sole decision alone after due process had been undertaken," Cusi said.
He also denied rumors that the cadet has a connection to a "powerful" official, hence, the intervention to the PMA Honor Committee's ruling.
"Contrary to the malicious claims of other parties, I do not know any aunt or any other high government official from DND who interceded in behalf of the said cadet," Cusi said.
Instead of dismissal, the PMA Board decided to punish the cadet with 51 demerit points, 180 hours of punishment tours, and 180-day confinement inside the barracks.
The reversal of the ruling did not sit well with some military officers who claimed that it was "demoralizing" for some cadets and a deviation from the tradition which lets cadets to resolve the issues among themselves without intervention from the PMA leadership.
Tindog stressed that intervention of Cusi in the case was “necessary” is it was an exercise of the Revised Honor System (RHS) which was promulgated in 2007 which gives more weight on the powers of the PMA superintendent as the final authority in the disposition of cases rather than the Honor Committee.
"Considering that the cadets are still under training, the Honor Code and System (are) formative and developmental rather than punitive and preventive of growth and edification and improvement," Tindog said.
"That is why the strictness in terms of degree of application and sanction is graduated, i.e., less strict with the new cadets and plebes who are under extreme physical, biological, mental, emotional, psychological stress, but stricter as the class of cadets becomes more senior," she added.
"It is the PMA's responsibility to allow any cadet to learn from his or her mistake and attain moral-ethical reformation. The decision made for this case was in no way a deviation from what the Honor Code and the Honor system stand for, but was actually a testament to PMA's character development program for all cadets," she added.