High Society Diploma Comes Cheap

by: Boldstar

Last year I met a former batch mate from Singapore for coffee on my way to Bangkok Thailand. She has been working in Human Resources for a large company. After 2 lattes of catching up, she mentioned that our degrees should have included forensic analysis and alumni speed dialing because most of her work especially vetting for degree qualified vacancies includes having to contact various institutions particularly from India, China and the Philippines to confirm whether Maria graduated with a degree in engineering or Pedro did indeed acquire a masters degree through coursework rather than through Visa, MasterCard and/or American express.

Because online, I was able to buy a doctorate degree for my son Mr Samson May for $199 dollars. The problem is Dr. May is my cuddly purebred Rottweiler.

So why do people fake their qualification?

According to Singapore's Manpower Ministry, applicants want to have an edge in the competitive job market and so fake their qualifications, and embellish their resume by enhancing their work accomplishments and roles. That's why people are buying diplomas from online degree mills charging between a few dollars to thousands depending on whether an after sale service is required with telephone operators verifying degrees and sending transcripts to prospective employees. Filipinos have it easy, they just go to "Recto University" along Claro M. Recto Avenue in Manila for expediency and prompt service.

After conducting a survey Michael Worthington, co-founder of workplace expert ResumeDoctor.com, stated that "something you put on your resume could haunt you years later." Remember George O'Leary? His name is forever etched on my memory after our university career counsellor constantly warned us not to do an "O'leary" on our resume. George was Notre Dame's football coach for all of five days. Then the lies on his resume caught up with him. He had said he had a master's degree in education from "NYU-Stony Brook University". Well it is a campus that doesn't exist and he only took two courses from NYU and never graduated. Another is Mark Victor Hansen, a motivational speaker, co-creator of the "chicken soup for the soul" book series which is the biggest selling non-fiction franchise in the history of American publishing, and Oprah aficionado. Having been awarded an honorary PHD in 2002, his lies soon caught up with him when it was revealed that his two master's degrees from Southern Illinois University according to the New Yorker were a figment of his imagination.

Our local "celebrities" have also been caught extending their scholastic achievements. So does Wendy Puyat (a publicized high society “celebrity”) have a master's degree in visual communications from the Ecole Supérièure de Design Industrelle-Créapole (ENSCI) and the Sorbonne? Or is it one of those Recto University degrees? Based on my research, it is pie in the sky. Like having Italian "grade" fabric which is very much a creative extension of Italian Made, highly associating her designs with the luxury fabric industry that brought fame and wealth to Venice and many Italian regions since the renaissance period. By the way, the Sorbonne is the prestigious University Paris-Sorbonne founded in 1257 nowadays symbolising the French university system as well as representing the French intellectual prowess. Famous alumni include St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis Xavier, Victor Hugo, and Pope Benedict XVI - born Joseph Alois Ratzinger, and then Wendy Puyat according to her website.

Talking about creative extensions, I noticed that our very own "ambassadress of beauty", Vicki Belo otherwise known as surgeon to the stars is very thin on experience. Calling yourself surgeon from a one year residency at Makati Med, one year dermatology diploma in Thailand and preceptorship with Dr Jeffrey Klein who never endorses anyone with just 2.5 days of training is quite remarkable. But like anything in Manila, you can get someone else to suck fat out of people.

Hopefully Bong Revilla Jr will not make me call him Doctor.

Why should we care?

First, it is illegal under section 315 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines and secondly it stains the authenticity of our educational system affecting everyone with a degree gained after at least four years of hard work. Filipino workers are now particularly scrutinized specially when an increasing number of OFW's now include doctors, nurses, therapist, oil rig engineers, software developers, hotel executives, not just nannies and go-go dancers as in the past. Our counterfeit industry is so good the Koreans came in droves buying fake "Recto" degrees. Furthermore, it wasn't so long ago that Philippine-trained doctors now based in the US as well as the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) filed protests against Desperate Housewife after a discriminatory remark about doctors graduating from the Philippines, signifying how global the perception and presumption that training is of low quality in this country.

That is why your achievement should speak for itself like Kermit the frog who received an Honorary Doctorate in Amphibious Letters from the authentic Long Island University, as a result of environmental efforts. Fake degrees are the same as passing a fake Louis Vuitton Bag, as the real thing, nakakadiri like the parade of fakes during the movie premiere screening of "for the first time".

Spreading Hope in the Philippines

by: DJ Mojo JoJo
(note: the author sang for then Pres. Bill Clinton's inaugural ball in Washington)

Although Valentine’s Day has come and gone, the season of love is still in the air! While the Day of Hearts may have been a time of romance, in today’s Mojo:lations, I hope to keep love rolling, this time in a charitable sense. Sharing and spreading of love and hope for children in need here in the Philippines.

Recently, I was invited along with other celebrities and media through my good friend Odette Velarde to the launch of Samsung’s latest philanthropic initiative aimed at bringing communities together to help underprivileged kids. The initiative which is called “Samsung Hope” urges people to open their hearts and give hope to charitable organizations in their communities by taking an active part in raising social awareness on the plight of underprivileged kids, and spur the public to help these kids imagine the future and realize their full potential. Pledging a record US$700,000 in grants to 21 children beneficiaries across Southeast Asia and Oceania, the program empowers the community to actively contribute to causes they believe in through deciding how the grant will be allocated.

In a heartfelt presentation at Greenbelt’s MyCinema, the three Filipino charities chosen for the project were unveiled: Atriev, The Don Bosco Fondation and The Knowledge Channel.

ATRIEV

Atriev’s goal is to make a remarkable difference in the lives of visually-impaired individuals through education, enabling them to obtain mainstream employment and similar opportunities.

ATRIEV (Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired) provides post-secondary education for visually-impaired persons through adaptive technology.

ATRIEV’s success comes from its project called Adaptive Technology for Training, Resource and Access Center (ATTRAC). The ATRIEV team provides input and output alternatives for blind users. A screen reader and voice synthesizer give audio feedback that enables the user to execute computer tasks like word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentations, web surfing, E-mail, and programming.

Since the year 2000, ATRIEV students have garnered recognition both in the Philippines and abroad. ATRIEV has been successful in changing the lives of visually-impaired individuals for the better. ATRIEV hopes to conduct a sponsorship program to deserving trainees who qualified for support and passed the eligibility criteria set. An IEC campaign will be mounted as part of ATRIEV’s advocacy campaign. This will help promote the services of the Center as well as develop awareness among youth and other stakeholders how visually impaired youth can obtain post-secondary education, and gain access to regular employment opportunities, though they are disabled.

DON BOSCO FOUNDATION

The Don Bosco Foundation is a Non Profit institution of education of the Salesian Congregation of Don Bosco, composed by Salesian religious (priests, brothers and sisters), lay persons and sympathizers of the Salesian work in the Philippines. It was created to support the education of children and youth in need.
The name, Don Bosco, refers to the founder of the Salesians, Saint John Bosco, the Apostle of the Youth, who opted for the most poor boys and girls of his time (19th century) in Italy.

In 1976, on the occasion of the 25th year of Don Bosco in the Philippines, the Salesian Society of St. John Bosco was founded as a continuation of the educational works of Don Bosco around the world. Currently, the DBF has technical schools, literacy centers, scholarship programs for poor children and food programs for students.

The Vision of Don Bosco Foundation is to be a lead institution in the education and promotion of children and youth from poor backgrounds or at risk due to physical or moral dangers. The children and youth must have a place where they can continue their studies until they are ready to face their own future with a skill and better opportunities of employment. In such context they seek to fight poverty through education.


KNOWLEDGE CHANNEL FOUNDATION INC.

Knowledge channel foundation’s objective is to deliver quality education to every Filipino student, especially those in rural areas, and to build a nation through television.

Founded by its President and Executive Director Rina Lopez Bautista, Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. (KCFI), formerly known as the SKY Foundation, is a non-stock, non-profit organization that aims to improve the academic performance of students all over the country, particularly in remote areas, through television.
The Foundation helps educate millions of students through instructive programs for English, Math, and Science with the use of audio-visual transmission technology. The programs are created to help advance the comprehension and retention of students. In remote areas, KCFI is not just a learning tool. It also gives hope to the principals, teachers, students, and community, knowing that there are foundations like the KCFI who continuously seek educational programs that help nurture the future generation.

Out of 42,000 public schools in the country, KCFI have only reached 1,709 schools. With your support, KCFI can reach out to more schools, bring quality education to every student, one school at a time. With your donation, you can help foster a child’s intellect, improve his education, and most importantly, shape his future

How you can spread the hope

More information on the beneficiaries mentioned above can be found by logging on to www.samsunghope.org, where everyone can support their favorite beneficiary by pledging to let hope take off. Each beneficiary will receive a base amount with an additional grant to be determined by the number of pledges it receives.

Take an active part in rallying your community in making a difference and sharing your blessings with the Filipino children who will directly benefit from pledging to the charities mentioned above. Love is not just about roses, chocolates and paper hearts… it’s about sharing hope and giving a chance to those in need.