MANILA, Philippines – For students, alumni, and the rest of the University of Philippines (UP) community, it was not just a simple joke on social media.
After threatening the safety of Ateneo Blue Eagles in a post online, the UP community called on Frederick “Spocky” Farolan to step down from his post as UP regent. In a cryptic post made after UP lost to the defending champions in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 81 Finals, he said that the Ateneo Blue Eagles will be "injured" before their next game on Wednesday, December 5.
On social media, members of the UP community said that his behavior is unbecoming of a UP official and is not representative of the principles the state university uphold.
This was echoed by Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, who said Farolan’s “views expressed on social media are totally unacceptable and a disgrace to the University of the Philippines.” Pangilinan served as a member of the UP Board of Regents twice – first as Student Regent in 1986 and then as ex officio member in 2003.
UP President Danilo Concepcion also denounced the controversial Facebook post in his statement released Sunday night, December 2. He said this issue will be taken up during the Board of Regents meeting happening Monday morning, December 3.
"While this regent has deleted the post and has apologized for its contents, claiming that they were made in jest, I wish to make it clear the University of the Philippines takes these statements seriously and dissociates itself from the post and from the actuations of this regent, matters which I intend to take up with the Board of Regents," Concepcion said.
While Farolan already deleted his post and apologized online, netizens said this is not enough. Below are some online posts calling on Farolan’s resignation:
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<a class="twitter-timeline" data-partner="tweetdeck" href="https://twitter.com/MovePH/timelines/1069383311225630720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">Netizens: Farolan resign - Curated tweets by MovePH</a> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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This is not the first time people urged Farolan to step down from his post. Earlier in April, he hit back at some commenters who slammed the delayed release of the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) results, prompting a lawmaker to call for his resignation as UP regent.
He said,“Forgive me for saying this…pero ‘yung mga kung makahirit e parang hulog ng Diyos kayo para sa UP, siguraduhin ‘nyo lang na papasa kayo ng UPCAT. Dahil kung hindi, lalaitin ko pati kaibuturan ng kaluluwa niyo (Those who are criticizing us act like they are godsent to the university. Make sure to pass the UPCAT. Otherwise, I will belittle you ’till the very depths of your soul).”
What do you think about the calls for Farolan's resignation? Let us know in the comments below! – Rappler.com