Connect with us

News

UST Alumni Association Prexy resigns as Mocha’s award sparks criticisms

Published

on

FILE: During the university’s Grand Alumni Homecoming on Sunday, Uson received the Thomasian Alumni Award for Government Service given by the USTAAI. (Photo by Photo by Michael Angelo M. Reyes/The Varsitarian)

FILE: During the university’s Grand Alumni Homecoming on Sunday, Uson received the Thomasian Alumni Award for Government Service given by the USTAAI. (Photo by Michael Angelo M. Reyes/The Varsitarian)

MANILA, Philippines — University of Santo Tomas (UST) Alumni Association Inc. (USTAAI) President Henry Tenedero has resigned on Tuesday evening following the uproar of criticisms related to the Thomasian Alumni award given to Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson.

During the university’s Grand Alumni Homecoming on Sunday, Uson received the Thomasian Alumni Award for Government Service given by the USTAAI.

In a statement, he USTAAI expressed its apologies to the UST community and to the general public for any criticisms the conferment of the Award may have caused, however, it stood firm with its decision not to cancel any award that has been given.

“The USTAAI  most humbly expresses its sincerest apologies to the Father Rector, UST Administration, alumni, students, and the general public as well for any reactions that may have resulted from the conferment of the recognitions in the Thomasian Alumni in Government Service,” the USTAAI said in a statement.

“The USTAAI stands firm with its decision not to rescind the recognition already conferred… As head of the USTAAI, President Henry Tenedero humbly takes full responsibility on what has happened, thus, tendering his resignation,” it added.

The recognition given to Uson was widely criticized by the university’s alumni and students, the general public, including The Varsitarian, the official student publication of the university.

In its editorial, The Varsitarian lambasted the USTAAI’s efforts to confer Uson with the award, even calling for the resignation of the organization’s officials.

“For the entire UAAI leadership to have ignored her dubious track record and the controversy it had elicited is sheer incompetence, irresponsibility, stupidity and even corruption,” the student publication wrote.

Earlier, UST disowned the award given to Uson following the backlash, saying the USTAAI is an organization distinct and separate from the university, with its own board of trustees.

Meanwhile, fellow awardee and Akbayan party-list Representative Tom Villarin vowed to return the award, saying: “I refuse to buy into their recent justification for awarding Mocha Uson that one only needed to be a graduate of our Alma Mater and be part of the government. If that were true, then all Thomasian civil servants should have also been given such an award.”

Villarin even branded Uson as a “purveyor of fake news, an unrepentant violator of ethical standards in journalism and a free-flowing fountain of foul language.”

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Maria in Vancouver

Lifestyle1 week ago

Nobody Wants This…IRL (In Real Life)

Just like everyone else who’s binged on Netflix series, “Nobody Wants This” — a romcom about a newly single rabbi...

Lifestyle2 weeks ago

Family Estrangement: Why It’s Okay

Family estrangement is the absence of a previously long-standing relationship between family members via emotional or physical distancing to the...

Lifestyle2 months ago

Becoming Your Best Version

By Matter Laurel-Zalko As a woman, I’m constantly evolving. I’m constantly changing towards my better version each year. Actually, I’m...

Lifestyle2 months ago

The True Power of Manifestation

I truly believe in the power of our imagination and that what we believe in our lives is an actual...

Maria in Vancouver3 months ago

DECORATE YOUR HOME 101

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Our home interiors are an insight into our brains and our hearts. It is our own collaboration...

Maria in Vancouver4 months ago

Guide to Planning a Wedding in 2 Months

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Are you recently engaged and find yourself in a bit of a pickle because you and your...

Maria in Vancouver4 months ago

Staying Cool and Stylish this Summer

By Matte Laurel-Zalko I couldn’t agree more when the great late Ella Fitzgerald sang “Summertime and the livin’ is easy.”...

Maria in Vancouver5 months ago

Ageing Gratefully and Joyfully

My 56th trip around the sun is just around the corner! Whew. Wow. Admittedly, I used to be afraid of...

Maria in Vancouver5 months ago

My Love Affair With Pearls

On March 18, 2023, my article, The Power of Pearls was published. In that article, I wrote about the history...

Maria in Vancouver6 months ago

7 Creative Ways to Propose!

Sometime in April 2022, my significant other gave me a heads up: he will be proposing to me on May...