Princeton University college newspaper “The Daily Princetonian” debunked senatorial candidate Imee Marcos’ claim that she graduated from the Ivy League university through an article.
According to a report by Karolen Eid, they sought for Marcos’ comment on the matter but the latter has not yet responded.
“Imee Marcos, a current candidate for a Philippine Senate position and the daughter of former Filipino President Ferdinand E. Marcos, says she graduated from the University in 1979. Although she enrolled in the University in 1973, no record shows that she graduated,” the article noted.
The newspaper observed that the Ilocos Norte governor identified Princeton University as her collegiate alma mater in her official Facebook page and in her curriculum vitae.
Interaksyon corresponded with the university via e-mail in October 2018 and got a response that she did not graduate.
Daniel Linke, Princeton University’s archivist and curator of public policy papers, confirmed that Marcos “did not earn a degree.”
Instead, he revealed that Marcos attended the university from the fall of 1973 to spring 1976 and the fall of 1977 to spring of 1979 with an independent concentration in Religion and Politics.
Deputy University Spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss also confirmed that the senatorial candidate was not “awarded a degree” despite her attendance.
The Daily Princetonian additionally noticed that Marcos has uploaded pictures of a supposed invitation from a class reunion on Facebook in an attempt to prove her stint.
They added that the letter’s validity “has not been confirmed.”
The newspaper also reported that Marcos did not receive a law degree from the University of the Philippines, as confirmed by UP Executive Vice-President Teodoro Herbosa.
Questionable records
In October 2018, a viral picture of a report card with Marcos’ name and supposed grades sparked rumors that the senatorial candidate allegedly flunked her subjects.
While the report card proved to be unverifiable, a law exists in the United States wherein grades of a student cannot be released without their permission.
DZMM Teleradyo in their “Ikaw Na Ba?” program on December 2018 asked Marcos, “Ma’am, once and for all, saan po ba talaga tayo nagtapos ng kolehiyo, sa Princeton University po ba talaga?”
Marcos gave a disconnected answer and said, “Yes, tama po. Talagang its the season. Talagang eleksyon na eleksyon na kahit na hindi pa nagdedeklara ang Comelec.”
On February 2019, News5 brought up the topic once more in their interview and said that a university representative has already debunked it.
Marcos relentlessly insisted that she graduated and said that “as far as I know, I graduated.”
“Pumasok ako sa Princeton at sa pagkakaalam ko, nag-graduate ako,” she said.
Within the same month, her supposed law degree to the country’s state university was officially debunked as well.
“There is no record of her graduation from UPD nor any honors or academic distinctions received with the University Registrar’s office,” UP Executive Vice-President Teodoro Herbosa declared.