A college and a student council at the University of the Philippines Diliman issued statements about individuals pretending to be part of their community.
UP Diliman’s College of Mass Communication (CMC) on Sunday said that it was aware a certain individual has been claiming to be a graduate of “Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication major in Journalism” on Facebook.
“This person is not in our list of graduates. Please also be advised that we do not have such a program,” the college said on August 25.
It also addressed an incident that reportedly happened during the College Recognition Ceremony.
“We verified the pictures were taken at the Film Center, but the group was prevented from joining our College Recognition Ceremony as our registration personnel did not find the name of the individual in graduation attire in the list of graduates,” the UP CMC said.
“We request everyone to approach this topic with due civility and courtesy,” it added.
The college did not drop names, although some online users posted a screengrab featuring a Facebook profile picture update of a female individual claiming to be a graduate of the degree that was nonexistent.
In UP Diliman, there is an undergraduate degree of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, which falls under the CMC.
There is no degree of Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication Major in Journalism.
On the same day of the statement, an online user took to Threads issuing an apology for “using” the name of the university.
“Pasensya na po sa lahat at sa paggamit ko ng pangalan ng school [niyo], pinagsisisihan ko po na ginawa ko ‘yun, Lalo ko lang po pinahiya sarili ko. Pasensya [na po] talaga,” user @cess_neo wrote.
“Alam [na po ng] nanay ko [nangyari], sa dami ng nagme-message sa kanya. Sana po mapatawad [niyo] ‘ko sa ginawa ko. Pasensya [na po] talaga,” she added.
She also included the hashtags “#updiliman” and “#masscom” in her post.
The Threads user likewise posted a screengrab of a Facebook post under the name “Yuri Reyes.”
Yuri claimed that she made the move to make it seem to her family that she finished studying at the university.
She said she was not able to pursue her studies at UP Diliman due to “financial” issues.
Yuri also said she was a graduate of another school and that she would not use the posts or pictures for job applications.
“Please stop, dinelete ko na po. I’m sorry,” she said.
On August 13, the UP NCPAG (National College of Public Administration and Governance) Student Council also released an advisory about a “fake NCPAG student” identified as Joy Love Amorsolo.
It said that the individual was added to certain group chats last May “after submitting a screenshot of the 2024 UPCAT result with their name on it.”
UPCAT refers to the UP College Admissions Test.
“However, upon a second review of the submitted screenshot due to reported grievances about their suspicious transactions, the NCPAG Student Council raised concerns about its validity,” the UP NCPAG said.
It added that a “Joy Love Amorsolo” does not exist in the student database after verification.
“We would like to clarify that Joy Love Amorsolo is not a qualified new student of UP NCPAG. The UP NCPAG Student Council has removed the flagged account from all official communication channels. We advise everyone to refrain from any contact with their account. Thank you,” the student council said.
“Frauds and persons falsely identifying themselves as students of the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance shall not be tolerated and similar cases will be dealt with as such,” it added.
In 2021, an individual named Kathleen Joy Poblete also claimed to be a graduate of UP Manila and Cavite State University.
UP Manila said Poblete never attended the university, while the CSU said she only attended the school for three semesters.
RELATED: UP Manila, Cavite State University dismiss claims of a fake alumna
UP, the country’s national university, is among the most prestigious universities in the Philippines known for its academic excellence. It has consistently topped other Philippine universities in international rankings.
Some of the university’s esteemed alumni include former vice president Leni Robredo, late senator and democratic icon Ninoy Aquino, former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, journalist Jessica Soho and actress Agot Isidro, among others.
UP has produced a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a Pulitzer Prize awardee, national scientists, national artists, national social scientists, seven presidents, 15 chief justices, and thousands of doctors, lawyers, engineers and teachers serving the country.
