Top PMA graduate a CCT beneficiary

FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City - Aida Codiam, mother of a member of this year's graduating Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class, felt nervous upon hearing that a cadet has been dismissed for violating the honor code.

She immediately thought about her son Billy, whom she said had always wanted to enter the military service since high school.

"We watched (the report) about (PMA cadet Aldrin) Cudia on tv. We were really nervous. We thought it was about our son," Aida said.

People from their hometown in Tanudan, Kalinga were also concerned apparently because their surname sounds like that of the beleaguered cadet.

"People in Kalinga learned about the news and they said our son might have been dismissed from the PMA," Marciano Codiam, Billy's father said.

Aida and Marciano heaved a sigh of relief after their son called them two days after reports on Cudia's dismissal surfaced.

Billy himself informed his parents that the cadet in the news reports was not him and that he would be among those who would march on graduation day.

It was good enough for Billy's parents to hear that their son will graduate after four years of rigorous military education. But the good news did not end there.

Billy finished third in the 'Siklab-Diwa' 2014 batch and bagged the Social Science Plaque and the Spanish Armed Forces Award, which is given to the cadet with highest overall rating in all so socio-humanistic subjects.

"I am happy that he will graduate," Marciano said.

It seems that the children of Marciano and Aida are fond of studying and public service.

Billy entered the PMA to fulfill his ambition to become a soldier after completing a Political Science degree in Baguio City.

His brother, an education degree holder, is now training to become a policeman in Laguna. One of their two daughters is working as a social worker while another one is a radiologist.

Aida and Marciano supported the studies of their children by working as utility worker and farmer, respectively.

Leadership also runs in Billy's blood, being a nephew of Tanudan Vice Mayor Pedro Codiam.

Asked to describe her son Billy, Aida said: "A good son. He does not talk much. He is silent. He dresses simply. He has no vices."

Billy, who is joining the 85,000-strong Army, will be welcomed with a feast when he returns to his hometown.

"We are planning the celebration... The scope of the mother side and the father side (of the family) is wide, it covers two barangays," Marciano said.

The Codiams are beneficiaries of the government's conditional cash transfer (CCT) program since 2009, said Irene Bungay, regional program coordinator of the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilya program in the Cordillera.

“Probably, he is the first among millions of CCT beneficiaries in the country to be in the prestigious PMA top 10 graduates,” she added.

“Here I am, for these I pray that others like me who came from a poor family may have the courage to try and struggle for the ideals at PMA. My family is happy that I have reached the goal for me," the soon-to-be Philippine Army Second Lieutenant said.

Leonardo Reynoso, DSWD-Cordillera regional director said “his acknowledgment that his family is a Pantawid beneficiary means that he is proud of his roots.”  

His outstanding feat, the official added, “is commendable.” He is a model for the Cordilleran youth, Reynoso added saying that his achievement has reached DSWD Sec. Corazon Soliman, who in turn has reported to President Benigno S. Aquino III.

Kalinga Governor Jocel Baac also expressed his congratulations to his provincemate. “You’re a living testimony that we can still be one of the best even though we originated from a low class province.  As long as there is perseverance in us and guidance of God, we can achieve succes,” he said.