If Police, PMA, and certain officials in Malacañang had the curse of Pinocchio’s nose, a handful of them would have far larger noses than the wooden doll. The bad part is that unlike Pinocchio who put mostly himself at risk, last week’s merchants of half-truth and white lies have hurt institutions and people’s reputations more, than endangering themselves. Last week many of us also learned that a promotion can be a demotion and that an Honor Code is only honorable among men and women who have real honor.
Some people believe that truth is relative and a matter of interpretation and one of those people is apparently PNP Chief Alan Purisima who insists that removing Senior Superintendent Conrado Capa as head of Task Force Tugis and banishing him to Cebu province is a promotion. Purisima even makes it appear that he was doing Senior Supt. Capa a favor because the promotion and assignment would pave the way for Capa to become a Police General someday. If this is true then why is the recipient of such “goodwill, favor, and promotion†acting like he just received a jail term and a demotion? If the promotion was truthfully a promotion then why is it so unpopular, controversial and being derided and challenged even by retired police generals? If the PNP believed in the promotion why did Purisima get hot under the collar and suggest that if Capa did not want it (promotion) the PNP can take back the promotion?
In the case of PMA Cadet Cudia, what started out as a 2-minute tardiness exposed the madness and obsession with rules that certain military institutions breed. The case of Cadet Cudia vs The PMA also highlighted the PMA’s institutionalized blindness to rights, fairness, justice and common sense. From what we have gleaned from the Cudia case, some people were so determined to make an example of Cadet Cudia that they conveniently forgot to mention details and disagreements among those who sat in judgment, and that certain pressures were exerted to reach a “unanimous verdict†against Cadet Cudia. In other words they had no problems showing Cudia’s dirty linen but not their stinking underwear.
When the PMA spokeswoman announced that if Cudia fails to win his case and is kicked out of the academy, the cadet would have to reimburse the government approximately 2 million pesos in scholarships, a lot of people raised their eyebrows! What was that statement in aid of? The statement certainly sounded like a clear attempt to blackball Cadet Cudia and make him look like someone who wasted Taxpayers money and failed to make good on a 2-Million Peso scholarship. Why did the spokeswoman even have to mention such dire repercussion when Cudia’s case was still in the hands of the Commander-in-Chief? Had Cudia’s case been in the judiciary, the spokeswoman if not the PMA would have easily been cited in contempt of court or violating Sub Judice rules.
Why threaten Cadet Cudia with a 2 million peso bill when it was the PMA leadership that made the decision to throw away all the time, effort and money “WE†the taxpayer invested on Cadet Cudia but it was the PMA leadership that decided that 2 minutes tardiness and Cudia’s excuse was worth throwing away 2 million pesos and four years of training. If after 4 years of training at the Philippine Military Academy, Cadet Cudia’s alleged lack of integrity and character is discovered or dealt with only now, this is a clear sign that the academy failed in its role and responsibility. Cadet Cudia should not be standing on trial or under investigation, it is the PMA that should stand on trial, it is the PMA that should finally be placed under investigation.
For so long this military institution has waved its laurels of the past but has not been studied, investigated or tried for producing an equal number of rebels, coup plotters, corrupt military and police officials even officers who don’t know the difference between a promotion and demotion. Yes the PMA has produced heroes, warriors and leaders. But it has also consistently produced classmates and batch mates who serve and protect each other’s interests more than the organizations they serve. Time and again, “PMA’ers†have been accused of choosing and prioritizing only their own kind.
Since the PMA found it fitting to wave a 2 million peso bill at Cadet Cudia’s nose, it is also fitting that we the Taxpayers wave our fingers at the PMA and remind them that it is our tax money, It is our academy and they who hold office in the PMA have a lot of explaining to do. No, SIR! The academy does not belong to the military, it belongs to Taxpayers, and don’t you forget it!
As we review last week’s events, it is clear that many people in power would rather talk their way out of the mess they created, instead of carefully and discreetly studying actions and consequences. The common assumption is that Senior Supt. Capa was shipped out so that some officials in the PNoy administration can wash their hands of Delfin Lee’s arrest, to pacify Lee, and give the appearance that the PNP bosses were not party to Capa’s maverick move of arresting the fugitive businessman.
In the case of Cadet Cudia, the suspicion is that “officials†felt challenged by Cudia’s defense and needed to teach him a lesson. Unfortunately what should have been a lesson of humility for the cadet ended up becoming a monumental embarrassment and expose’ on the personal and institutionalized abuses at the PMA. Perhaps Cadet Cudia was the necessary sacrifice that will cause the investigation of the PMA and its budget and expenditures. This of course gives little comfort to a young man “fighting the unbeatable foe†and whose only chance at fairness died in the hands of indecision and deflection.
Perhaps it is something to reflect on: If the Commander In Chief can’t decide on your future, why serve in his army?
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