After incident with PMA cadet comes another involving ex-PMAyer

THE ARMED Forces of the Philippines ( AFP) yesterday said that neither the military nor the Presidential Security Group ( PSG) condoned the infraction committed by a junior Philippine Navy officer who was caught withdrawing cash using cloned ATM cards in Makati City on Sunday.

“The acts of Lt. j. g. Raphael Marcial do not reflect the ( PSG) nor the ( AFP). We will not condone it. We will make him available to face charges leveled against him,” AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo.

Marcial is a member of Philippine Military Academy ( PMA) Class 2008.

“One person does not represent the whole organization… The reforms we are undertaking are very important. The acts of a few do not represent the whole ( organization),” Zagala said.

The incident involving Marcial came on the heels of the controversy involving a PMA cadet who was dismissed from the elite school for violating its Honor Code which states that a cadet “does not lie, cheat and steal or tolerate anyone who does.”

PMA Cadet First Class Aldrin Jeff Cudia was set to graduate salutatorian of PMA “Siklab Diwa” Class of 2014 and receive the Philippine Navy Saber for being the top cadet to enter the naval force.

Cudia is fighting the decision of the cadets’ honor committee which found him guilty of violating the Honor Code after he lied on why he was two minutes late to class.

Cadets of the PMA and the Officer Candidate School of the Philippine Army, Navy and Air Force agree to live by the honor system the moment they begin their military training.

Cudia’s plight in the PMA brought back the corruption issues which had hounded the AFP, with the commentaries centering on allegations that there had been many PMA alumni, like former Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, who had stolen from the government.

Now comes Marcial, who him- self was subjected to the same PMA Honor Code but apparently ignored it by stealing other people’s money.

“That only solidifies the belief that we should strictly implement the Honor Code and honor system to avoid things like this… If the public is looking for a connection between the acts of Lt. j. g. Marcial and that of the ongoing PMA ( issue), then the more the precommissioning level of our officers must strictly follow the honor system to prevent incidents like this in the future,” Zagala said.

Zagala said Marcial would be confined to his mother unit, the PSG, as he faces the charges filed against him.

He said the junior officer could face summary dismissal from the military service if guilty of the crime leveled against him.

Zagala said the AFP would also conduct a parallel investigation into the incident “to determine if it merits a court martial or just outright dismissal.”

“He has a right to defend himself and he is innocent until proven guilty,” he said.