Look what we have here, folks!
The Daily Princetonian, the daily independent student newspaper of Princeton University, today ran a story about Ilocos Sur Governor and senatorial candidate Imee Marcos and her claim that she graduated from the Ivy League university.
Based on the newspaper’s own investigation, Imee is not a graduate of the school. The title of the article says it all: “Filipino governor, senate candidate falsely claims to have graduated from U.”
The daughter of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Imee has always introduced herself as a graduate of Princeton. Her official Facebook account even states that she was one of the first female graduates of the school — it even says that she graduated with honors.
However, this has been contested after local news website Rappler received information from Princeton’s Deputy University Spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss that Imee didn’t graduate from the school.
In an interview with News 5 earlier this month, however, Imee insisted that she was a graduate. She told them: “I entered Princeton, and from what I know, I graduated. I don’t know who that spokesperson is (Hotchkiss) so I will try to find out who he is.”
But Hotchkiss is sticking to his guns. In an e-mail interview with the Daily Princetonian published today, he said that Marcos attended the university from 1973 to 1976 and returned to study again from 1977 to 1979. Hotchkiss was quoted by the student newspaper for saying: “Our records do not show that Ms. Marcos was awarded a degree.”
The Princeton controversy is not the only academic-related issue that’s been hounding Imee. She claimed that she graduated from the University of the Philippines (U.P.) Law School, and has even posted photos of her supposed graduation on her Facebook account, but the university says otherwise.
A representative from U.P. told GMA News that they have no records of Imee graduating from the school, despite the existence of the photos.
Prior to this, Imee’s younger brother Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was embroiled in a similar controversy when he ran for vice president in 2016.
He claimed that he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science, philosophy, and economics from Oxford University, but an investigation done by Rappler showed that he only received a special diploma in social science.
Netizens vented their ire on both siblings a few months ago. They protested against Imee’s statement where she said people should just move on from the memories of her father’s martial law rule, a time when many human rights violations occurred.
On the other hand, Bongbong was slammed after he appeared in a Facebook video interview with President Marcos’ former defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile who said that his father’s martial law rule was a peaceful time.
