Is Mar Roxas Really a Graduate of Wharton School of Economics?
Did Mar Roxas really earn a degree in Wharton School? Was he able to graduate from the prestigious University in the United States of America?
A heated discussion on social media continues to gain the attention of the supporters of two Presidential candidates, Mayor Duterte and Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II. The controversial topic being talked about online involved Mayor Duterte who cited that Mar Roxas did not graduate from Wharton School Of Economics.
In a quoted statement shown in the website of ABS-CBN news, Mayor Duterte allegedly said;
"You claim to have graduated from Wharton School of Economics. That is a myth -- you did not graduate sa Wharton School Of Economics, Mr. Roxas. Wala doon sa listahan na naka-kumpleto ka ng 4 years o 5 years for a degree."
In addition to this particular statement the writer of ABS-CBN news mentioned another quoted statement that reads;
"Maybe nag-enroll ka ng three-month course, correspondence -- I would believe that. Pero ikaw na nag-graduate ka nang naka-toga? Show me a toga, kasama ng nanay mo that you graduated."
These provocative allegations of the tough Mayor prompted Mar Roxas to issue a challenge to Duterte. In an interview Mar said, "Kung hindi totoo ang Wharton degree ko, sampalin mo ko hindi ako iilag. Pero kung totoo ang Wharton degree ko, sasampalin kita."
RELATED STORY: Mar Roxas Challenges Duterte for a Fistfight, Says "Suntukan na lang?"
We conducted an online research for this topic and we came across with multiple sources but there are few things that we noticed from Google search results which include the following:
1. Large online news agencies released "defensive statements" in favor of Mar. This leaves us with a question, "Why are they so quick to defend Roxas?"
2. After showing the "proof" of Mar Roxas that he graduated from Wharton School, these local news outlets fired back and criticized Duterte.
3. Similar articles relating to the proof of Mar Roxas are consecutively published on large affiliated websites.
Nonetheless, if we go back to the arguments of the netizens on social media, both camps have valued insights. The usage of "graduate" can vary and what we thought could not be exactly the same idea to what Mayor Duterte thought when he delivered those quoted statements via his local TV program in Davao.
As mentioned by Cocoy Dayao(an obvious Mar Roxas supporter), "Wharton has both undergraduate degree and MBA program. Hence, Mar Roxas "graduated from Wharton is true[sic]."
However, being a graduate from a graduate school is totally a different story. As mentioned by another commenter "Nik at Night", "under-grad refers to a Bachelor's degree, a pre-req for graduate studies (masters or similar) which is a pre-req for post-grad (doctorate)[sic]."
The same commenter mentioned that regardless of the three categories, once a person earned a degree on any category that individual is called a "graduate".
Now, is Mar Roxas really a graduate of Wharton School?-The answer is "yes" and he earned his undergraduate diploma from the said University but this does not totally mean that Mayor Duterte is wrong since his context of "graduate" could be different from what we assumed.
RELATED STORY: Mar Roxas Challenges Duterte for a Fistfight, Says "Suntukan na lang?"
The word war of the two Presidential candidates has gone to far but let's leave this political tactic to them.
Lastly, just a piece of advice, choose the candidate who has a solid platform with high potentials to "handle massive stress". We need a President who has firm plans and strong will to eradicate bad elements in our chaotic society. As what most of you are telling to each other, choose the better Presidential candidate.
One more thing, we are not campaigning for Mayor Duterte. We don't like to be involve in politics. This is not a paid post and nobody forced us to publish this article. #WakeUpPhilippines