PNoy guest in March 16 rites: PMA plagued by list of fake grads, salututorian’s dismissal

BAGUIO CITY – President Benigno Simeon Aquino III will lead graduation rites of the Philippine Military Academy  Class 2014 today (March 16) here at Fort del Pilar recently plagued by hacking of its website which posted a list of fake graduates and investigation of its salututorian for allegedly violating its honor code.

This, as PMA officials said after graduation, PMA class SiklabDiwa 2014 (Sundalong Iarangang Lahi ng Bayani sa Diwang Wagas) will join the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) with their respective preference of branch service, the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

The academy is a  tri-service academy, which prepares cadets for their specific branch of service,  to be field-ready, fleet-ready or squadron-ready upon graduation.

It is the training ground for future officers of the AFP with  the mission to instruct, train, and develop the cadets so that they will possess the character, the broad and basic military skills, and the education essential to the pursuit of a progressive military career.

In 1993 through Republic Act 7192, the first female cadets were admitted in PMA.

PMA boasts of a long and illustrious history of preparing the best Filipinos for military service.

For this year, the final and official list of graduating cadets of the PMA was released March 10,  during the presentation of Top 10 at  PMA in  Fort del Pilar here.

PMA public information officer Maj. Lynnete Agnes Flores said the PMA website (www.pma.ph) was hacked earlier last week and a fake list of graduates was posted on it.

She said  list was not authorized by the PMA and they are now conducting investigation on how and who would have hacked the PMA website and post the fake list several days before the  graduation rites on March 16.

“That was not an official list, not even a leak, because we don't publish an alphabetical list of names of the graduates," Flores said.

 Just hours after the PMA supposedly published a list of this year's graduates, the PMA web site became inaccessible on March 5.

 The list in question included the name of Cadet First Class Aldrin Jeff Cudia, who is facing dismissal for reportedly violating the PMA Honor Code.

 Flores said that the case of Cadet Cudia is still subject for review and pending further investigations and other process, the PMA is looking for new evidences that would be presented to prove his case which may decide if he would be joining the graduation of his classmates this year.

Meanwhile, Rene Cudia, the father of Cadet Cudia went to the Armed Forces of the Philippines Headquarters in Manila to meet with AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista.

Since Gen. Bautista was out of the country, AFP spokesperson Gen. Domingo Tutaan met with Rene Cudia and discussed matters pertaining to the plea of the family of Cadet Cudia to let him join the graduation ceremonies on March 16 but Tutaan said that the case is still pending in the PMA Honor Committee.

 The embattled cadet Cudia and his family is fighting back after he was recommended for dismissal from the country's premier military school for supposedly violating the honor code.

Cudia has filed honor violation charges against fellow cadets composing the honor committee who voted to dismiss him from PMA.

 Cudia is  supposed to graduate salutatorian  of the  223 strong-Siklab Diwa Class.