PMA CLASS BARON Cadet First Class Renato Carino Jr. PHOTO BY EV ESPIRITU/ INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON
FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City—Cadet First Class Renato Cariño Jr. was fearful when rumors circulated in social media that he was the valedictorian of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 2015.
Cariño, the class baron (brigade commander), actually ranked 25th among the 171 members of the class and was not among the Top 10 graduates announced by Lt. Gen. Oscar Lopez, PMA superintendent.
Cariño, son of an Army soldier, topped an officer’s course for graduates who are joining the Army—an achievement that caused confusion among netizens after it was posted on social media.
He said his case showed why cadets had been wary of social media.
In recent years, Cariño said, the PMA Cadet Corps had dwelled on the impact of false information circulating on social networking sites.
Although cadets are free to engage in online socialization, they have been cautioned about its impact, particularly on their careers.
“We are future military officials and (being that exposed) may put us or our families in danger,” Cariño said. “We tend to keep our identities as cadets out of Facebook pages, although not every cadet takes that precaution.”
“But we became more alert after (dismissed Cadet First Class Aldrin Jeff) Cudia’s case became a national issue,” he said.
Cudia was found guilty of lying by a court of his peers, called the cadet honor committee, before the graduation of Class of 2014 last year. Lying is a major violation of the honor code for cadets.
Cudia challenged the ruling but his situation became public when his sister complained about his situation on Facebook. Cudia was subsequently “separated” from the PMA for the infraction.
Backed by the Commission on Human Rights and the Public Attorney’s Office, Cudia took his case to the Supreme Court, polarizing the PMA alumni.
Last month, the high court ruled that the honor committee was a legitimate system for applying discipline and dismissed Cudia’s complaint, said Lt. Gen. Lopez, PMA superintendent.
Cariño said his situation was not as dire as Cudia’s but social media posts had upset his family.
At one point, a government official posted an invitation from Cariño’s father asking him to join the PMA graduation on March 15.
“After that post, my parents started to receive telephone inquiries from the media. I asked PMA officials for assistance to help correct the information,” he said. “I was told to calm down, because the academy was going to release the correct list this week.”
“The PMA asked us to steer clear from the online chatter, but some newspapers … carried the story that I was the class topnotcher so the academy had to ask them to retract the false reports,” Cariño said.
“We had to undergo a seminar on how to deal with (mainstream) media but social media is different,” he said.
For the moment, cadets confronted by false information online will not correct the data themselves “because it may worsen the situation,” Cariño said. PMA officials are tasked to correct these.
Cudia’s experience has produced some positive results.
Lopez said the PMA had reviewed the honor code and the honor system, and had drawn up new rules.
One reform would allow a cadet facing the honor committee to bring along a “cadet adviser” who acts as counsel, Lopez said.
PHOTO BY EV ESPIRITU/ INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON