Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos on Wednesday, April 10, dodged questions on her credibility to be a senator due to discrepancies in her school records.
“Sanay na kami (We’re used to it),” she said, referring to those doubting her capabilities and qualifications in running for senator.
When pressed for her reaction about the criticisms involving her records in Ivy League school Princeton University and University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law, Marcos only said: “Next question, thank you.”
Separate statements have been issued both by the Princeton University and UP College of Law regarding Marcos’ claims.
The Ivy League school’s independent student newspaper Daily Princetonian quoted Princeton Deputy University Spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss who said, “records do not show that Ms. Marcos was awarded a degree.”
Meanwhile, UP said Marcos had “no record of her graduation from UPD nor any honors or academic distinction received with the University Registrar’s office.”
Marcos drew flak from critics for supposedly lying about her educational records.
Opposition Senate bets — former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, former House Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada, and lawyer Romulo Macalintal of Otso Diresto all said Marcos is not fit to be a senator because of her dishonesty.
“Kayo, alam ninyo gaano kahirap magkaroon ng diploma. ‘Yung isa riyan, graduate raw siya sa UP College of Law. Pero walang diploma. ‘Yung isa riyan, graduate raw ng Princeton University. Pero walang diploma (All of you know how hard it is to earn a degree. There’s one who claimed she was a graduate of UP College of Law but there’s no diploma. There’s also another one who said she was a graduate of Princeton University, but there’s no diploma),” said Hilbay during Otso Diretso’s forum with students at the Bulacan State University.
“Mapagkakatiwalaan niyo pa ba ang isang senador na hindi man lang makuhang maging matapat tungkol sa simple ngunit importanteng bagay katulad ng diploma (Can you put your trust in a senator who can’t even be honest about a simple yet important thing such as a diploma)?” he added.
In an interview with DZMM radio in December last year, Marcos dismissed the question about her scholastic achievements. According to her, the issue was only being thrown at her because it was the “election season” and that her “performance” record should speak for itself.
