I've been following the news thread regarding PLDT Chairman Manny Pangilinan (better known by his initials "MVP") in recent weeks with much amusement. MVP gave the commencement address at Ateneo de Manila's college graduation ceremony on March 27. What made this speech particularly controversial is that it was learned that several portions of it were copied from speeches delivered to other graduation ceremonies.
These fragments were found in graduation speeches delivered by known personalities such as Harry Potter's J. K. Rowling, Oprah Winfrey, Barrack Obama and talk-show host/comedian Conan O'Brien. So meat of MVP's speech was a veritable copy-and-paste of other people's speeches. This plagiarism incident might have gone unnoticed if it were not for the fact that it was delivered in a school of higher learning, no less.
The whole incident was so embarrassing that MVP offered to quit his post as Ateneo's chairman of the Board of Trustees. Being a busy person, it is expected that MVP does not really write his own speeches. Amidst the controversy, rumors came out that his ghost writers were actually former AdMU students themselves. This was later denied in a news article.
MVP's offer to resign was denied by the Board (probably out of delicadeza also). This did not go well with several faculty and staff. A statement was issued by these concerned staff, and I have to admit that I agree with their position. Allowing MVP to resign is actually the honorable thing to do and saves face for everyone. Denying his resignation offer puts him in a more awkward position with future events.
Thankfully, MVP insisted and even returned the doctorate degree awarded to him. A week or 2 later, he gave another graduation speech at FEU(?). I'm sure he learned his lesson this time and had it proof-read first. :)
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