This year’s graduates of the University of the Philippines (UP) have had their celebratory moment during their commencement exercises held last July. But a certain “graduate” has recently gone viral for graduating under a program that UP doesn’t even offer. Yikes. Here’s what went down with the alleged UP “graduate” (who we’ll refer to as Neo from here on out):

She has “graduated”

On the last weekend of July, when UP held its commencement exercises, Neo posted an album named “BAMC MEMORIES!” filled with photos from her alleged graduation day.

“Officially a graduate, and I did it my way – against all odds!” she captioned photos with her family.

Neo also posted a photo of her medals laid on top of a UP diploma cover with a sablay, a bouquet, and a laptop displaying a congratulatory message. “What, like it’s hard? *nag relapse*,” her caption read.

She also changed her profile picture to a graduation photo of her wearing UP’s iconic sablay. She wrote that she graduated as a magna cum laude from the course “Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication Major in Journalism” from UP Diliman.

In another viral screenshot, her mother commented a message full of warmth and pride for Neo.

Outraged netizens unravel the lies

Over the long weekend, her posts have gone viral, and many netizens have noticed discrepancies with her posts.

#1 There is no such course in UP Diliman

While there is a College of Mass Communication, UP does not offer a “Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication Major in Journalism” — only a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

#2 Her grad day photos were only taken outside

Despite claiming that she “graduated” from UP, she did not post any photos of her receiving her diploma up on stage. Just pictures of her and her family outside of the venue. A netizen pointed out that if she were really a magna cum laude, she would’ve gone up the stage to receive a medal for her alleged achievement.

#3 She allegedly received a Gawad Oblation medal

In the photo of her medals, she had a Gawad Oblation medal, which is a medal that is awarded only to “alumni and friends, including individuals, organizations, and institutions, for their significant efforts in increasing the institutional visibility, international prestige, and recognition of UP as a National University, and for helping UP undertake its mandates under Republic Act No. 9500 or the UP Charter.” Not to graduating students, as she claimed she was.

The college issues a statement

After Neo’s posts made rounds on several social media platforms, UP College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) released a statement disowning her as a student. UP CMC confirmed that she is not a graduate of any of their programs.

“This person is not in our list of graduates. Please also be advised that we do not have such a program,” the statement read.

While the photos Neo took at the graduation ceremony venue were real, UP CMC said that they did not admit her or her family into the event since she was not on the list of graduates.

“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.”

She apologizes

After UP CMC’s statement was released, a Threads user assumed to be Neo created a post apologizing for “using” the name of the university. The Threads account and post have since been taken down, but news outlet Interaksyon has already picked up the statement, quoting:

“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.”

Her other posts have since been taken down, with her accounts inaccessible.

Another similar case

A couple of weeks ago, the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) Student Council also issued a statement clarifying the issue regarding a “fake NCPAG student” who was identified as a certain “Joy Love Amorsolo.” According to their investigations, despite Joy Love submitting a screenshot of a UPCAT result with her name on it, she is not a registered student.

Some Reddit users also noticed how a certain “Chynna Palma” is allegedly pretending to be a UP student on social media, even being dubbed an “urban legend of UPD” on the UP Diliman Freedom Wall.

In 2021, another individual also pretended to be a graduate of UP Manila, even giving a commencement speech that went viral online. This fake UP Manila graduate also claimed she received many accolades, including Juris Doctor’s award, Best in Research award, and the title of Summa Cum Laude.

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