I don’t pretend to know much about the nitty-gritty of military life. In fact, the closest I ever came to experiencing it involved being an officer in the Citizen’s Army Training (CAT) program in high school, and being a normal cadet in the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program in college.
If anyone cares to notice in my past two articles on the military and cadet Aldrin Cudia’s case with the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), I haven’t really said much on whether or not I think the ruling per se by the Honor Committee itself is bullshit. That’s just me; whatever I may think personally about their ruling, the point is their ruling has been made, and must be respected. If there is a question with any ruling, then several established processes are there to be followed to have it reconsidered in a structured manner.
I approached this issue, however, from a big picture institutional perspective. This kind of perspective relies less on the nitty-gritty and technicalities of military society, and more on the simple question of whether institutions and rules are being followed and strengthened or not.
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Ultimately, this is the biggest problem of Filipino civilian society: rules and institutions are blatantly disregarded, much less being consistently followed in it.
All over social media, there is talk about how the military is allegedly corrupt – a conclusion seemingly reached based solely on Mr. Cudia’s case – and that the chattering classes are doing their part of “bringing awareness to it” in hopes of reforming the military “to rid it of corruption”
Social media as a source for social change and reform does not and will never have a reliable track record, especially while what dominates the discussion of issues are the wrong arguments and the views of the poorly-educated. The focus is on grandstanding, and on the droll, petty and unimportant matters.
There’s one very tiny detail that the social media brats seem to be overlooking: Aldrin Cudia willingly subjected himself to such rules for four (4) years. As such, it was his personal responsibility to make sure that he abide by them without fail at all times.
The “indignant” civilians on social media should not have presumed na magmalinis and to point a finger at the military that it is the sole corrupt and dishonorable institution when their own society is replete with examples of gasbags who lie, cheat, steal, and tolerate among themselves those who do so. Some of them even become government leaders.
It takes one to know one.
As I’ve been asserting ad infinitum, if there is indeed any corruption within the military ranks – and there probably is – then it is impossible and ultimately pointless to attribute such corruption to the military as an institution alone. The military ultimately draws its “raw material” and mandate from the civilian sovereign society that it has sworn to protect. As such, the military and civilian societies not only go hand in hand, they are inseparable.
As “raw material” for military service, Filipino civilians are inherently flawed by design due to their damaged and dysfunctional culture. Some of them overcome these flaws; others don’t. So guess what: the best way to overcome that flaw is to dismantle that “raw material” and build it back up so that the flaws and rough edges are chipped off. Which the military as an institution has a history of doing. Very well, I might add.
Those indignant civilians on social media act just like the morons in Edsa Dos who were supposedly from the “educated” classes and who utterly disregarded the institution of the popular, democratic vote which the masa used to put Joseph “Erap” Estrada into office. These morons took to the streets in an extralegal manner when they found that the procedures as prescribed by their democratic institutions didn’t yield the result that they wanted. And now, the morons are being replicated on social media where they proclaim to know with certainty that the PMA was remiss in following its own rules.
That’s a point that will fly over the Filipino “educated” heads: just because they don’t like the result of the popular democratic vote, how can they say that the system didn’t work? In the same way, how can they definitely say that the entire PMA system is corrupt, just because Cudia was dismissed?
To Filipino civilian society, violation of an honor code is small, insignificant, forgivable, rampant, and commonplace. To the military, however, it spells the difference between life and death for soldiers.
Mr. Cudia did not graduate this year, and he’s going to be made out as a martyr on social media if he hasn’t been already. To the nagmamarunong and nagmamalinis Filipino social media brats, he will stand as an example of a reason the PMA and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) should be abolished. To those who can relate to the military as an institution, or know better and can appreciate what honor is, Mr. Cudia will simply be yet another statistic added to the cadets and soldiers who have failed to uphold the tradition of honor that the AFP and PMA uphold and demand.
Mr. Cudia allowed his sister to play-out the victim card for him on social media. He had seemingly tried to gain popular support for his case in an extra-institutional manner. Tough luck and too bad na lang, for Cudia and his fantards (a term coined by a friend with relatives in the military) that the military does not decide cases based on popular and public opinion.
You don’t need to be a soldier in uniform to truly grasp the essence of what it means to be honorable. One would simply have to accept the consequences of his/her actions, take steps to correct the wrong in them, resolve not to repeat his/her mistake, and move on.
Filipinos will do well to emulate, and even exceed the example of the military on what it means to live with honor – to live with propriety, and a strict code that does not permit wrongdoing. Instead, Filipinos use words like “honor”, “code”, and “loyalty” as a punch line. On occasion, Filipino civilians who go into the military simply fail to quash and reform the inherently corrupt and dishonorable nature of being Filipino once they step inside, and more so when they exit the strict regimented environment of the academy.
As such, Filipino civil society will simply continue to sound like a bunch of emo, hypocritical, pa-victim, whiny, hypersensitive cry-babies, just because they don’t get the results they wanted when they clearly don’t play by the rules. And especially when they avoid any sense of personal accountability.
Filipinos – please, don’t go around pretending that you know about honor, code, loyalty, military laws, procedure, protocol, and other military technicalities.
[Photo courtesy: thefilipinoservant.wordpress.com]
А вы, друзья, как ни садитесь, все в музыканты не годитесь. – But you, my friends, however you sit, not all as musicians fit.
It is quite unfair to say that PMA and all other military institution as corrupt based on Cudia’s case and also on how some of their graduates turned out. How the academy moulds their cadets are really just that…. militaristic, which in a way is good, if you will be serving your life in the military. Such virtues as honesty and integrity are heavily practiced within the academy, which is very good.
The thing with the pinoy is they all like to twist things to their favor, get all the sympathy from as many people as they can, publicize it on the media, be noisy as much as possible. “Basta makakalusot”. These, to me, is just so unmilitary.
In Cudia’s case, he must have known long before entering the academy about its military culture and how things are going to be once he is in it. And now he cries foul. This is one of those times why the military has a code of silence.
kahit kampi tayo di mo pa rin nararanasang maging kadete sa loob. so don’t say anything.
Ang problema kasi e pag yun “Honor Committee” na ang nagsinungaling? Sabi nila unanimous vote, pero yun pala 8-1 yun voting before “the chambers incident” na hindi parte ng kanilang rules and not even reflected in the minutes of the meeting.
Yun hindi pagrecord sa minutes, dun pa lang makikita mo na intention na mag “hocus pokus”.
Kung si Cudia ay na dismiss dahil sa pagsisinungaling, mas lalo dapat ma dismiss ang lahat ng na nasa “Honor Committee” dahil sa lantaran pagbabalewala sa kanila mismong batas at pagsisinungaling na “unanimous” vote daw.
sources: http://www.rappler.com/nation/53003-cudia-new-evidence-pma
The thing with the pinoy is they all like to twist things to their favor, get all the sympathy from as many people as they can, publicize it on the media, be noisy as much as possible. “Basta makakalusot”. These, to me, is just so unmilitary.
In Cudia’s case, he must have known long before entering the academy about its military culture and how things are going to be once he is in it. And now he cries foul. This is one of those times why the military has a code of silence.
“If you do not like the heat, get out of the kitchen”
It is Cudia’s free will to attend the academy, if he did not agree with the honor code, then he should not have entered PMA in the first place. Or if in some way he did subscribe to the honor code, then he should have avoided violating it.
Ang hirap sa mga pinoy e, sinabi nang bawal, susubukan pang lumusot e. As simple as a no jaywalking sign, when they are apprehended, they will find every reason to justify why they violated it, even to the point of blaming a thing, a person or anything under the sun.
The Honor Committee(?)who voted should also be investigated if this allegation is true. Parang selective yata. And don’t act like you know everything, parang si Valedictorian na talking down on people na porque di raw alam ang honor code. It might surprise you to learn that hindi lang ikaw ang matalino (kuno) dito sa mundo. Give civilians some respect and credit. Hindi lang kayo ang nakakaintindi.
You cannot blame the Honor Committee because there were 3 other cadets that were reported for being late along with Cudia… And only Cudia has a different explanation to save his class standing rather than accept demerits and punishment “tours”… Mukhang maliit na pagkakamali pero sa military it would mean the lives of his men or the lives of innocent civilians… In the military, soldiers must give up some of their basic rights and submit to a law of perpetual constraints so they may serve their motherland with all their lives…that is chivalry!
Its easy to write an article that merely says that rules are rules and should be followed. It is harder to to write an article on whether policies and rules are effective and should be revised. I expected more from reading this.
I still think the honor committee’s logic in ruling cudia’s case is bullsh*t. Nonetheless, Cudia would not have lasted a day in service even if he did graduate. Parang gang mentality eh. Let us just hope cudia and the PMA will be better off with this decision.
Yes, it is easy to go around saying “rules are rules, and must be followed.” It IS that simple, and Filipino civilians must make it that simple. Unfortunately, Filipinos tend to complicate things by introducing all sorts of excuses as to why they don’t, or can’t. They see themselves as above laws and institutions.
Who’s going to evaluate if the military’s policies and rules are effective? Filipino civilians? Excuse me, before Filipino civilians go around claiming that the military is a corrupt and dishonorable institution, they better check themselves in the mirror first.
Rules should be followed presupposes that rules are properly formulated. You have singled out a specific set if rules then why didn’t scrutinize it? You don’t think the rules have holes in them? Don’t give us the excuse that you are outside the military and that you cannot make an assessment. At least show in your article that you can think CRITICALLY! Or can’t you?
So your basis for disagreeing with rules is that they didn’t produce a result you agree with. Is that thinking critically?
Do you assume that the military and civilian society have the same standard of what is acceptable and fair? As I said somewhere else in this comment thread, that is a fatal assumption, not one I’m going to make. As such, let the military handle this case their way. It’s their rules, after all. They’re certainly more credible when it comes to honor and upholding rules than Filipino civilians are.
Or does that point still fly over your head?
“So your basis for disagreeing with rules is that they didn’t produce a result you agree with. Is that thinking critically?”
No, my basis for disagreeing with the rules is that the “lying” and “held up” was a case of semantics in my opinion. And for the committee to rule it differently begs the question if whether the honor system is effective. That was the crux of the issue for me.
The thing is, I read your article expecting something deeper, something that talks about the rules, what you think about the chambering. You said you wanted a big picture approached, on whether the rules are followed and strengthened. I was expecting substance. All I see are generalizations. Its your choice of topic that I am criticizing.
Your article is nothing but a rant on another issue, riding on the cudia issue that you obviously are incapable of analyzing. Forgive me if I expected something more.
“Yes, it is easy to go around saying “rules are rules, and must be followed.” It IS that simple, and Filipino civilians must make it that simple.”
Wer mit der Herde geht, kann nur den Ärschen folgen – whoever runs with the flock, can only follow ass. – Fallen Angel
I think a lot of Filipinos have no trust in their military institution and this is just one case! Whoever write this article- look at the military institution that we have and the kind of people it has produced!
But why blame the military only for “the kind of people it has produced”? As I said above, where do you think those who go into the service come from?
That’s right, from Filipino civilian society. So you might just want to ask yourself whether it is the military whom people should be pointing to as corrupt.
Of course Filipinos have no trust in their military institution. They don’t trust ANY of their institutions. They always want to believe that they are unjustly victimized by their institutions instead of finding ways to make their institutions yield results.
I don’t get it fallen angel. Why is the military on a higher moral ground than the civilian? Your comment implies that it was pure before it was tainted by the people who run it. The same can be said of any institution though.
But you are right on a few things. Everybody should feel a sense of personal accountability for their lives instead of always playing the victim card. How to do that paradigm shift however is a challenge. I also agree on the trust issue stalemate. How to resolve that I have no idea.
Military Professionalism
Men who adopt the profession of arms
submit their own free will
to a law of perpetual constraints
of their own accord.
They resist their right
to live where they choose,
to say what they think,
to dress as they like.
It needs but an order
to settle them from their families
and dislocate their normal lives.
In the world of commands,
they must rise, march,
run, endure bad weather,
and go out without sleep or food,
be isolated in some distant post,
work until they drop.
They have ceased to become
masters of their own fate.
If they drop on their tracks,
their ashes shall be scattered
in the four winds,
that is all part and parcel of their job.
-CDG
It’s not Cadet Cudia, that social media is pointing at, in blogs. It’s the way these Cadets change into dishonest, lying people or politicians. Once, they go to civilian life, or turn out to be politician; or are in the higher ranks..Duty, Honor, and Country…or Honor, Courage, Loyalty…must be the guiding principles in their lives…It is sad that those principles are only followed during their duration of being Cadets. The military being used by Politicians to stay in power. Inspite of the politician’s attacks on the Philippine constitution, and the rights of ithe Filipino people…
I say the honor code is an extinct dinosaur that can be used and abused by ruthless, abusive individuals. The honor code should give way to the rule of law, substantive and procedural due process, the presumption of innocence, justice and fair play. The honor code is a hard and fast rule that does not recognize a fair trial. In this context, the PMA should adopt cadet officer court martial procedure/proceedings to deal with internal rules of discipline, administrative violations and criminal liability. A JAGO team should be installed in the PMA to conduct and teach cadet officer court martial proceedings and procedure! Junk the extinct dinosaur in the honor/CRAB committees. Ours is a rule of law and not of men! Reform the system into a cadet court martial proceedings and procedure!
Well said article sir. I salute the author. Honorable and a gentleman to admit he once believe otherwise.
The Honor Code is not based on the rule of law. It is an agreement among cadets, that’s why it is practiced and executed by cadets themselves. And since it is only among cadets, those who violate are given a choice; to resign or to take the consequence (be ostracized); this is so since cadets cannot dismiss another cadet. However, a change has occurred between 2006-2008 in which the PMA started to have a hand in the ruling and cadets found guilty are now dismissed. This is part of the reason why Cudia’s case went out of hand. Had it been the old system, he would have taken his course of action based on his own judgment and not be subject to higher authority’s decision.
On the matter of “Chambering”, when there is a vote of 7-2 or 8-1, all voting members get into a forum and expound the reason/s for their vote. That is, regardless of their vote, they explain the logic behind their decision. After which a second round of voting is conducted in which the decision is held final. This is also a part of the change from the old system in which there is only one voting session and cadets never know how each and every other member voted.
@Allan Gasataya
Exactly my point Allan. You said: “The honor code is not based on the rule of law.” But you must remember that the rule of law is an underlying principle of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Ours is not a rule of men but a rule of law. Cadets are not only bound by the rule of law… They are also bound by due process(i.e. Bill of Rights), the presumption of innocence, fair play in a fair trial. The present honor code is nothing more than a rule of men. It is a hard and fast rule which can be abused by those ignorant of basic rights, the rule of law and a fair trial. Justice, fairness and equity also applies. I still say junk the present committees that act with crab mentality and the rule of men. As cadets you are bound by the rule of law and the Constitution. I would prefer cadet Cudia to get a fair trial in a cadet officer court martial proceeding. There can be no honor system where the law as a rule of order is ignored by voting only. Votes are not enough. There must be moral certainty beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty. The military justice system should be applied to PMA cadets in a fair and proper court martial trial to determine guilt or innocence in the violations I mentioned. You have no choice or say on the matter as the Constitution prevails above all.
As far as i know,, “hugot sa hangin” (imbento) lang ni anavee yung 8-1 unanimous decision na yan. Anavee is an ex-kg (kaydet girl) kaya naman nagmamarunong at nagmama alam sya. Without knowing and realizing na yung kapatid na nya ang napapahamak at nasisira dahil kagagawan nya. Mas mqganda sana kung nanahimik nalang sya. Tignan mo tuloy, nairita si Pnoy sakanya, nasabihan tuloy sya ng “hindi kita kinakausap” .. ang masama nito inirapan nya si Pnoy. Umaatittude si ate. Pakielamera kasi.
Tapos may tv guestings pa sya. Anu na ginawa nya? Puro nalang kahihiyan yung ginawa nya. Masyado nya isina-publiko yung mga nangyayaru sa loob ng PMA kaya naman namis-interpret ng taong bayan yung tunay na issue.. at napunta pa sa corruption.. ang layo ng narating..
Look, the student spent 4 years there. He knows the rules and the codes. Do you really think that a 2 minute tardiness violation with a white lie constitutes such a major violation so much so that he is not allowed to graduate? Yes punish him. Give the student 500 push ups, heavy boot camp, a strongly worded reprimand for his white lie, perhaps even a demotion of rank and demerits to humiliate him publicly in front of his fellow Mistah’s. Perhaps even suspend him but don’t deny him what he worked so hard to achieve. What we want is fairness. A punishment commensurate to his offense. Instead what he got wasn’t fair. That is the reason why the netizens are crying foul.
And therein lies the fatal assumption that Filipino civilian society has made with this case:
That its standards of what is fair, forgivable, and acceptable should necessarily be the same with the military’s
As I said above, to Filipino civilian society, violation of an honor code is small, insignificant, forgivable, rampant, and commonplace. To the military, however, it spells the difference between life and death for soldiers.
You don’t have to be a soldier to realize that if you can get away with what is deemed a “white lie”, then it becomes progressively easier to lie about bigger and bigger things.
And you don’t dare question this rule, this honor code? The posters above have described so clearly that the honor system as it is today is not a rule of law but a rule of men. Are you not capable of making such an analysis? I think that is the bigger issue that you should have tackled in your article.
No, the bigger issue to tackle here is whether Filipino civilian standards of what is right and acceptable necessarily apply to the military.
As I said above, I am not a soldier, and never claimed to be. I will not claim to know how the PMA applies their honor code inside its walls. But “do not lie, cheat and steal” is something easily applicable outside the military. Filipino civvies just don’t get that and cannot reconcile it with their accepted values.
As such, let the institutions work things out for themselves. You wish to be part of such an institution, you follow their rules. That simple.
Just because Filipino civilians don’t like how the PMA evaluated one of their own doesn’t mean that it did wrong.
The PMA is under no obligation to divulge information about the case to the public. Deal with it.
Problema kasi sa mga sibilyang Pilipino, pakialamero sa lahat ng bagay, kahit sa mga wala silang alam eh.
yes the code is a rule of men. a gentlemen’s agreement. never seen it done and practiced somewhere. only in PMA.
The simplest way I can put it is this: if you try to join a club, let’s say, a car club, they have a set of rules which, if ever you want to be member of the said club, you must follow. The PMA in this case has that set of rules which, should also be followed to the letter, being military and all. The difference would be if that school/academy are training people to decide regarding winning a contract as opposed to deciding if you ever want to risk the lives of your men in the field. It is easy for people to shrug off a few minutes late, if the highlight of your daily activity will be deciding whose powerpoint presentation you will use, but it will not be so easily taken if you are deciding for a life or death situation.
Graduated lahat ng punishment sa loob. commensurate to the offense…But Honor violation is totally different, it’s dismissal…Cadet Cudia knows that from day one. napaka unfair kung tignan mo sa labas, pero kung naranasan mo pano binago ang buhay at galaw mo sa loob dahil sa systema at kung ano ang kahalagahan nito sa pagiging sundalo, you would say tama lang at kailangan dapat. i knew a certain cadet who took 1 Peso coin on a table of another, he wanted to make an outside call on a pay phone. he got tried later at midnight and the following day, early morning he was clearing out of the academy..
The morons at EDSA dos? c’mon. It was not only that the educated didn’t like having Erap as their president, It’s the stupid impeachment procedure that can be circumvented by such stupid acts like ‘voting not to open a friggin envelope’ that they cannot accept. A few questions for the author, Do you honestly believe that Erap did not receive any kickbacks from jueteng? and Do you believe that without EDSA dos, the impeachment procedure will eventually decide on removing Erap as president?
Whatever I think of Erap is irrelevant to the point I made above.
Who do you think put Erap in in the first place? Filipinos have been proud to practice their “democratic right to vote”, and look at what that’s gotten them. Their leaders, after all, reflect the very society who put them in.
Does not accepting the result of the system necessarily justify using means outside it? Think again of whether the system, or the ones using it and their understanding of it, are.
Somehow, somewhere, Filipinos have to learn to make their institutions work for them, instead of protesting every time they get a result they don’t want. No, blowing a case out of proportion in social media isn’t an example of reform.
Whoever you really are fallen angel, please be more knowledgeable about what you are saying or preaching here!
Unless you tell me what it is exactly I am not “knowledgeable” about, then this comment of yours merely comes across as whining.
You don’t know the ways of the Honor Committee. You were not even there when they voted 8-1 or unanimously. Why accuse base on hearsays? Straighten your facts first before airing your rants.
http://rangercabunzky.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-current-pma-honor-system.html
@Janna
I never liked star chambers that can promote abuses of power and gross injustice. Read what I said about what it should be. I say abolish the honor committee in favor of a cadet officer court martial proceedings. A fair trial under the rule of law(Military Justice System}, due process and the Bill of Rights. Ours is a rule of law and not of men. When a group of people take it upon themselves to judge others without a rule of order known as the law then abuses, injustice, partiality, pre-judgement, trial by publicity and even harsh punishment can rule the day. ABOLISH THE STAR CHAMBER HONOR COMMITTEE TO GIVE WAY TO CADET OFFICER COURT MARTIAL PROCEEDINGS IN THE PMA. JUSTICE AND LAW RULES!
The only opinion I have had – and will ever have – directly concerning Mr. Aldrin Cudia’s case with the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) is this:
The only thing known for sure is that the Honor Committee found him guilty of violating the Honor Code. Beyond that, all other “facts” being thrown around on social media are yet to be verified. Yes, even those that self-proclaimed social media network Rappler has published.
Wow. So you basically used an issue you have no idea on, did not do any research or analysis and relate it tangently to another issue that you have oversimplified. Pretty good journalism here.
Then obviously you never understood my points. The case itself is not up for discussion; how Filipino civilian society reacted to it is.
And like what I said, I was expecting a deeper article than that.
what the author was poimtimg out on joe civilian society takea such issue. he was very carefull with fact but frank on hia opinions.
Dude, he is not a journalist, this is not investigative journalism, he is just expressing his opinion here on which either we agree or disagree, to a point..
You are right. This is not some intelligent piece of writing.
I know one cadet who put some of the perfume of her room mate but did not get the bottle, she was tried of stealing and found guilty, also from top ten of the graduating class.
Friends, let us not bash the Honor Code that they have at the Academy, it is theirs alone and it has been there since the creation of the Academy. The Honor Code is not something evil, it is there to instill and inculcate integrity in the cadets. Honesty, honor, integrity can never have a gray area. It is either you lied or not, stolen or not, cheated or not and tolerated or not, nothing in between.
It does not promote dysfunction because it shapes a culture of trust. It is not out of times because honesty/honor/integrity can never be outdated, it should linger on as a good value in ALL men. It is not selective because it is applied to ALL cadets REGARDLESS of class, gender, age, intellect and social standing.
There may be a few alumni who strayed along the way. But let us not generalize all the academy alumni, NOT ALL of them are rotten and maligned. There are only a few bad eggs out of the whole basket. Let us not brand the whole basket as full of rotten eggs and throw caution to the wind.
Lying, cheating, stealing and tolerating is a personal CHOICE. It is NOT taught at the Academy to do such things. On the contrary, it is heavily emphasized to the cadets to do the honorable thing.
In my perspective, the Honor Code is a good thing. At least I know that the institution is doing SOMETHING to mold its sons and daughters who will someday lead our armed forces.
Given facts (in various news reports):
1) Cadet Cudia and some other cadets were late for their next class because they waited for their instructor.
2) ALL of their other classmates WERE NOT late for this next class.
3) As a result, they were given appropriate punishment (demerits and touring).
4) Cadet Cudia appealed this punishment (demerits and all) and said that it is not his fault because the class were dismissed late hence making it appear that it is the fault of the instructor in question.
Did Cadet Cudia lied when he said that “they were dismissed late”?
Those who said YES would say that he should have answered directly the question. He should have said that they were made to wait by the instructor that is why they (the 4 cadets) were late for the next class.
Those who said NO would say it is just semantics, why be so technical about it. The effect is still the same, they were late for the next class.
The issue here again is if Cadet Cudia lied about the reason why he was late.
So friends, just take your pick…
“Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die…”
“Obey first before you complain…” Bullshit!
The extinct dinosaur of the star chamber honor committee and their commissioned officer supporters conveniently forgot that we are a free democracy under a rule of law. We are governed by the Philippine Constitution. As such we should recognize rights guaranteed by the fundamental law and international law. Military absolute expediency in even ignoring reason and blind obedience to issued commands is the way of fools. The thinking soldier as a leader and a follower knows the difference. To the cadets and officers who believe that the honor code is a hard and fast rule I say this… You are not infallible! Leadership must be just, fair and reasonable. Read the military principles of leadership on the internet! To adhere to absolutism is not the way of a democratic military that upholds, defends and protects the Constitution. We are a free democracy not a fascist extremist militarist state!
Common people never realize the importance of the Honor Code. Because outside an institution where only the rule of law is followed, you can apply the Honor Code during certain situations. Unlike the Military, they have not experience extreme situations where you are to choose to live but let your comrades die, or you have to die, and let you comrades live.
We are Filipinos, we are from the bloodline of the brave and the gallant. Our history are shaped by wars with oppressors. The KKK during the Spanish Era, would have not been successful if they do not follow their Honor Code to their death, it is symbolized by signing your name in your own blood, it’s like signing your own death certificate. Also during the Japanese Occupation, the members of the resistance group have a solid Honor Code, but they are some that betrays it. The previous members with “Bayong” on their head.
On our Modern World, only few understands the nature of intent of a strict Honor Code, those who are in the military , and also those who have families in the institution. We criticize it even though we have never understand it and nor comprehend the importance. You can never apply freedom of speech, your so called democracy and or fairness in the war zone.
Try to look at it in a bigger picture.outside the box.A message was sent to every Filipino.Everyone of us should be honest.Everything we do,we should be responsible of our actions for the betterment of our country.Sad to see that in this means, this is the way the message be relayed.A sample in military, and that Mr.Cudia was the one being sampled.
Good god. For the longest time I thought I was going crazy after seeing wave after wave of zerglings joining the bandwagon of wanting to apply their day to day morals on the Honor Code that most people do not understand.
I, for one, am not part of the military but I do understand that if you join an institution, or even group, with a set of rules, you follow them or face the consequences. He was found guilty of lying by the committee, that’s it. Delete that statement; he was late and gave an excuse. Semantics? Really? The difference of being dismissed late vs. being late because you had to talk to your teacher and decided to stay translates to the teacher’s fault vs. your decision to stay, hence, your fault. That’s not poor wording, that’s alleviating responsibility from yourself. That’s pointing your finger at something because you want to stay scott free rather than manning up and admitting that you were late because of so-and-so just because you don’t want your demerit. That’s trying to bring up the pwede na yan card rather than following the rules that were set by the institution he freely joined. We don’t need a committee to understand that.
For weeks now, it felt like I’ve taken a bunch of crazy pills for not seeing through the eyes of the popular opinion. This, along with a couple of other recently published articles, is quite refreshing.