manny pangilinan once again does the right thing – quits ateneo for good
part of PDI’s news article:
“Circumstances have continued to the point where [this issue] is creating division within the university,” the Ateneo statement quoted Pangilinan as saying in a letter to the school’s president, Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, S.J.
“I have no desire to see this happen, or be an accessory to it,” he went on. “In that light and all things considered, it is best that I stand firm in my decision to retire, and reiterate this wish in my earlier note to you on 3rd April 2010.”
read in full: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100417-264734/Manny-Pangilinan-quits-Ateneo-board-for-good
manny pangilinan’s speechgate has taken another bizarre turn – he now says his resignation from the ateneo is irrevocable.
pangilinan delivered a plagiarized speech in the 2010 commencement exercise at the ateneo. this was exposed on the internet where a side by side comparison was made identifying important parts of his speech plagiarized from graduation speeches delivered by barack obama, oprah winfrey, j. k. rawling and conan o’brien in the US. in some parts, the speech copied them word for word.
as a reaction the exposed plagiarism, pangilinan apologized for his error and resigned his post at the ateneo.
fr. ben nebres, ateneo president responded to pangilinan saying he should not yet resign and would like to talk it over with him and the ateneo’s board of trustees. after a few days, the board of trustees of the ateneo released a statement saying they are rejecting pangilinan’s resignation.
now, pangilinan is once again doing the right thing – by rejecting ateneo’s rejection of his resignation.
this shows pangilinan to be a man of honor where he relentlessly upholds principles, keeps on doing the right thing even though the ateneo keeps on giving him an open door to excuses.
the ateneo, on the other hand has lost it’s principles and integrity in first honoring plagiarism at the university, gives the sinner an excuse for his sin and even rejects his resignation. pangilinan’s irrevocable resignation puts ateneo once again in a bad light and much worst than how this whole thing began.
the last episode proves once again ateneo has no principles and has lost it’s integirty. one wonders, has ateneo lost the way?
what is “the ateneo way” now?
the manny pangilinan speechgate – should pangilinan return the degree of Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa given by ateneo?
let us know what you think on this issue, please post a comment.
actually the other question here is – shouldn’t ateneo take back the degree of honoris causa that it gave to pangilinan?
reader reactions:
Konoswa :
To MVP: Return the degree of HONORIS CAUSA, and file IRREVOCABLE resignation of board position. These must be done to make a complete atonement of the cheating offense committed.
To Fr. Nebres: You should call it a spade; regardless of color dealt. You say MISTAKE? Should lightning strike twice, can an Ateneo student, on the dock for PLAGIARISM, quote you on this? Your use of the term MISTAKE, was a mistake along the standard of Fr. Cantalamessa’s mistake (comparing Holocaust with cleric pederasty).
Remember what Fr. Dela Costa wrote about split-level Christianity. Ethical principles also demand consistency—in the classroom, or boardroom.
The 3rd paragraph falls flat in the face, it was ruffling feathers not yet ruffled!
Your reply hints at compassion and empathy for MVP, but you are prolonging the guy’s agony by going to huddle still with cohorts, then back to MVP with the results. Your slip is showing symptoms of Peter principle.
If you must grieve for MVP, then do so by his side.
Your saving grace, at least, was not calling it a mere faux pax!
Plagiarism is what it is, and the apology of MVP suffices under these circumstances. But were this a case of paper chase for grades, I shudder to think the failing mark the hapless student receives after thorough rinsing and wringing by the professor, Dean Wanbol, and dear parents. Worse, being kicked in the butt with a disHONORable DISMISSAL to boot!
To 2 Ateneo writers: admit to your participation, and henceforth refrain from writing, whether of the spooky or nom de plum kind, except when hired by anyone from the GREEN side of town. Seriously.
Resigning from Ateneo is not enough. The most honorable thing for MVP to do is to return the honorary degree(s) accorded to him by Ateneo. I’ve read somewhere that he has a doctorate (honoris causa) from Ateneo.
And he should also divulge the identities of his speech writers, especially when Ateneo officials have denied reports that those speech writers were from Ateneo, at least to remove the cloud of doubt and shame from the university.
It is also not enough for that Ateneo official to just say those writers were not Ateneans or else it would just be a case of covering up your own mistakes. Identities should be revealed to completely erase the shame this has brought the school. It’s okay for those culprits to be revealed since that will be their punishment.
what manny pangilinan and manny villar have in common and it’s not just the nickname
at The 2010 Presidentiables Blog, a post on manny villar has been getting a lot of attention. the topic is the possibility of the manny villar campaign plagiarising a tv ad from argentina. it’s quite a coincidence.
click to read: did the manny villar campaign plagiarize a Cannes Lions award winning argentina tv ad?
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this one posted at The 2010 Presidentiables Blog (click to view: http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/)
the post we have on this blog on the possibility of the manny villar campaign plagiarizing the tv ad of an award winning argentina tv ad is getting a lot of read. (click to read here: did the manny villar campaign plagiarize a Cannes Lions award winning argentina tv ad?)
it’s quite a coincidence that our other blog, WAWAM! after hours (click to view here: https://wawam.wordpress.com/) a very similar topic is also getting a lot of read.
there are two common denominators: (1) it involves two people with the same nickname, “manny” – manny villar in this blog and manny pangilinan in the other blog.; and (2) it
involves plagiarism.
many pangilinan in the other blog delivered at the the ateneo de manila university during it’s graduation commencement exercise for 2010 graduates a speech that was found out to have major parts of it plagiarized from other graduation speeches delivered by barack obama, oprah winfrey, conan o’brian and j. k. rowling.
manny, as in manny pangilinan, was outed at a facebook account for ateneans (Overheard At The Ateneo) where side by side comparison was made that showed what parts were plagiarized. in many instances the plagiarism was severe with the exact words copied.
pangilinan has offered to resign from his post at the ateneo because of the incident. but fr. nebres, president of the ateneo wants to think about it first.
is this a coincidence or what? manny and manny on the same plagiarism sin.
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click to read : transcript of manny pangilinan’s speech at ateneo graduation rites and the plagiarized parts and links to original speeches
click to read all posts on the topic here: https://wawam.wordpress.com/category/manny-pangilinan/
manny pangilinan speechgate – how it all started at facebook’s “Overheard At The Ateneo”
the manny pangilinan speechgate all started at facebook, at the “Overheard At The Ateneo De Manila University”. (click here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=275733258561)
news reports said someone posted the side by side comparison of pangilinan’s speech and the plagiarized parts which pangilinan read and convinced him a large part of his speech was plagiarized. however, the original post has been taken down.
we would very much be interested to find out who posted it first at the facebook account. this person did a great job discovering these things.
how did the person go about finding out pangilinan’s speech was plagiarized?
there were multiple plagiarism from different sources, that must have taken some work.
manny pangilinan’s letter to fr. nebres:
I had taken a look at the side-by-side comparison @ Facebook, and must admit to this mistake.
manny pangilinan letter to fr. nebres:
I am told further that comments posted on Facebook have started to spill beyond graduation, and are now alluding to my misconduct with respect to Meralco, with former President Erap, and so forth. Under the circumstances, it is best for the Ateneo and myself to shorten the life of this controversy and prevent it from spinning out of control.
let’s see if we get more information on this one. please post a comment.
manny pangilinan speechgate: writers are not ateneans, reaches The New York Times
The New York Times calls manny pangilinan the “eminent imitator” for his speechgate at the 2010 ateneo graduation rites. it has reached beyond the 7,100 islands, one of the most prominent filipino business tycoon now known for something else other than business prowess.
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in today’s telecast of ABS CBN’s TV Patrol World, ateneo said the writers who wrote manny pangilinan’s plagiarized speech are not ateneans. it did not identify who they are and from what school they came from.
this gives us some relief.
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we have received some emails identifying the names of the writers. one name keeps getting mentioned. since we do not yet have a way to verify these names or that one name, we will not publish it here.
we are still hoping we will get something from the writers themselves.
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we wonder how the graduates of batch 2010 feel about all these. i am sure graduation time was a happy one. hearing that speech should have helped the happy moment. but reading about the speech days after the graduation may bring some new emotions and thoughts.
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ateneo needs to reconcile what fr. nebres wrote in his letter to pangilinan versus the school’s stand and policy on plagiarism in the school.
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this is a very good lesson to CEOs who are invited to deliver commencement exercise speeches – ask the speech writer point blank if any part of the speech has been copied from someone else.
better yet, don’t hire a speech writer, write it yourself.
a call to the 2 ateneo students who wrote manny pangilinan’s plagiarized speech to come out
to the 2 ateneo students,
we are issuing this call to the 2 ateneo students who wrote the plagiarized speech of manny pangilinan at the 2010 ateneo graduation rites to come out, identify yourselves and issue a statement on the matter.
according to PDI, you had wanted to come out but manny pangilinan insisted that he will take full responsibility for the error. we applaud mr. pangilinan.
we call on the 2 students to own up to your errors.
while you are at it, we have a few questions that we would love to hear from you on:
- how did you ever think it is okay to plagiarize the speeches of others, much morecelebrities?
- you wanted to inpress mr. pangilinan, plagiarizing a speech is the way to do it?
- it did not occur to you that you will be found out? why not?
- you knew manny pangilinan will deliver the speech in public, in front of many hundreds of students, parents, guests and faculty – you did not see the possibility of being found out? why not?
- how did you see it fit that one of the country’s most respected and most successful CEO can deliver a plagiarized speech?
- you do not have an estimation of the possible shame and loss of honor for mr. pangilinan, the school and yourselves if your plagiarism was found out?
- you saw your work as something you can be proud of?
- is plagiarism allowed at the ateneo?
- plagiarism is not sanctioned at the ateneo?
- what happens to a student found to have plagiarized by the school?
we also wonder what the school professors have to say about this issue and plagiarism at the ateneo.
we hope to hear from you soon.
vote in the polls on manny pangilinan’s resignation from the ateneo and fr. ben nebres’ response
vote now!
read more on this topic:
- writers of manny pangilinan’s plagiarized speech are 2 ateneo students! OMG!
- fr. nebres gives pangilinan an excuse slip for the plagiarism
- manny pangilinan delivers commencement exercise speech at ateneo plagiarized from jk rowling, oprah, conan o’brien and barack obama’s speeches
- manny pangilinan’s ateneo commencement address transcript and the plagiarized parts
- manny pangilinan speechgate: who is the idiot speech writer who wrote the plagiarized commencement exercise speech at the ateneo?
writers of manny pangilinan’s plagiarized speech – 2 ateneo students!
from PDI:
2 new writers
Pangilinan—who also chairs telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), where Nebres serves as independent director—is known in media circles to use the services of at least two staff members as his speech writers.
But public relations men who claimed to represent the tycoon in this crisis said Sunday morning that the draft for the March 27 speech was prepared by “two new speech writers.” No names were given.
A PR practitioner who works for Pangilinan on certain projects said the two new writers were “Ateneo students” who “wanted to impress” the tycoon.
“They wanted to come out but Pangilinan insisted that he will take responsibility,” the PR practitioner said on condition of anonymity.
A portion of Pangilinan’s letter to Nebres reads: “I have had some help in drafting my remarks, but I take full responsibility for them.”
this is exactly the kind of irony that we were hoping we will not have – pangilinan’s plagiarized speech was written not just by 1 but 2 ateneans! we had previously written here of our fear that the speech writer could be an atenean. we were afraid of this as there are many ateneans in the staff of PLDT.
according to PDI, they are two ateneo students and they wanted to come out but pangilinan insisted on taking the responsibility. again we applaud pangilinan on this gesture.
we encourage the two ateneo students who wrote pangilinan’s plagiarized speech to come out and identify themselves. we will post their names in this blog and will publish their statements on the matter.
the plagiarized speech has obviously harmed the reputation of one of the country’s most successful and most admired business tycoon. it has also harmed the reputation of your own school, the ateneo. coming out and owning up to your error is the right thing to do and will begin restoring the lost reputations of pangilinan and the ateneo. save pangilinan, save the school and save yourself.
it’s time to own up – The Ateneo Way.
~~~~~
make a comment in this post or send us an email at wawam.email@gmail.com if you want to publish a statement on this matter or if you have information on it.
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also read:
- writers of manny pangilinan’s plagiarized speech are 2 ateneo students! OMG!
- fr. nebres gives pangilinan an excuse slip for the plagiarism
- manny pangilinan delivers commencement exercise speech at ateneo plagiarized from jk rowling, oprah, conan o’brien and barack obama’s speeches
- manny pangilinan’s ateneo commencement address transcript and the plagiarized parts
- manny pangilinan speechgate: who is the idiot speech writer who wrote the plagiarized commencement exercise speech at the ateneo?
who is the idiot speech writer who wrote the plagiarized ateneo speech of manny pangilinan? : the manny pangilinan speechgate
this is also one of the most important questions regarding this speechgate – who is the idiot speech writer who wrote manny pangilinan’s plagiarized speech at the ateneo commencement exercise? please post in the comment section if you know who this speech writer is.
we are sure this speech writer has been fired by manny pangilinan but we like to know who this person is. (also hope to the heavens that this speech writer did not graduate from the ateneo! we hate ironies of this kind!)
what was this speech writer thinking? or perhaps the more apt question – why did this speech writer did not think at all?
the speech actually has two parts – the inspirational part and the tidbits about manny pangilinan’s life. obviously pangilinan read and wrote parts of the speech as it included personal anecdotes about his life.
pangilinan must have not known and he was probably not told parts of it were plagiarized where some were almost exact copies from other people’s speeches. we wonder if that was how it happened?
why did the speech writer not re-write them? he/she could have just picked up the thoughts but he could have made an effort to re-write them. was that lack of time? laziness?
the speech writer must have known this will be delivered at the ateneo. ateneo students are not exactly known for being naive. most probably all the graduating class at the ateneo owned a laptop and has internet connection. for sure at least one of them must have read some of these speeches where they were plagiarized from.
we are also very amused that pangilinan found out about the plagiarized parts of his speech at facebook. it is a very modern way of finding out about it. this is the equivalent of your home sex video circulating in the internet (hello, katrina halili? hayden kho?)
it made us wonder – what? manny pangilinan has a facebook account????
also read:
- writers of manny pangilinan’s plagiarized speech are 2 ateneo students! OMG!
- fr. nebres gives pangilinan an excuse slip for the plagiarism
- manny pangilinan delivers commencement exercise speech at ateneo plagiarized from jk rowling, oprah and barack obama’s speeches
- manny pangilinan’s ateneo commencement address transcript and the plagiarized parts
- manny pangilinan speechgate: who is the speech writer who wrote the plagiarized commencement exercise speech at the ateneo?
fr. nebres gives manny pangilinan an excuse slip for delivering a plagiarized speech at ateneo graduation rites
we applaud manny pangilinan for doing the right thing – admitting his error and resigning from the ateneo.
he should however fire his speech writer. we don’t understand how this speech writer can even consider plagiarizing other people’s commencement exercise speeches, most specially celebrities. copying it from others by itself we think is really dumb but plagiarizing the speeches of celebrities is simply stupid.
this speech writer did not think of the humiliation he/she is putting his/her boss in delivering a plagiarized speech. this is the ateneo, it is easy to expect the students are very much well read that at least one of them have read obama’s, oprah’s or rowling’s speeches.
manny pangilinan did the right thing but we do not understand how fr. ben can not do the right thing here.
in fr. ben’s letter to pangilinan, fr. ben was too forgiving and even went out of his way to provide pangilinan an excuse for his error. fr. ben puts the blame on pangilinan’s unnamed speech writer and exonerates pangilinan from the error as he may have not been “fully aware”.
we have a simple question for fr. ben to answer – based on ateneo policy and principles, what does the ateneo do to an ateneo student if they find out the student plagiarized?
the ateneo way is the principled way. it teaches it’s students and prides itself in being very principled. it protects and upholds principles, what is right and honorable regardless of consequences, even unpopular ones.
ateneo as a school also holds the highest and completely unflinching standards of excellence on it’s students. grade school students as early as grade 3 are taught that should they use a quote from someone or from the internet, the students should identify it’s source be it the author or the web link in homework or projects they submit to their teachers.
this is said in all grade school documents for homework and projects. all the students follow this and it is always checked. not doing this will get the student a lower if not a failing mark for the assignment or project.
we wonder why all of a sudden fr. nebres is not following these same standards and principle with manny pangilinan.
pangilinan is not a student, we understand that but he did perform a very important role at the school during the commencement exercise. his role is supposed to provide inspiration to the new graduates and when you do that it is expected that you do it at the highest standards that is why only men or women of substance or only those who are deserving are invited to make speeches like that.
fr. nebres in his letter to pangilinan sounded very willing to bend or even ignore the very same principles that it teaches its students to follow and abide by.
pangilinan knew what he did was wrong and he knew it’s gravity and how the plagiarism has hurt the school. he knew it so well that in his letter he said “wala talaga akong mukhang ihaharap pagkatapos.”
but fr. nebres disagreed with pangilinan’s statement of contrition. pangilinan is an ordinary citizen, fr. nebres is a priest and yet pangilinan knew the sin he committed and the moral shame he has caused the school and himself while fr. nebres a priest and president of the university can so easily can ignore it. this is really very hard to understand.
plagiarism is dishonesty. and plagiarism committed in a university destroys the very foundation of what a school of learning is. it is from universities where many great things in our world begin. copying it from someone else is no great achievement nor does it contribute anything. it is a shame.
the situation seems like everything is turned the opposite way or upside down. the sinner owns up to his sin that he knows to be a sin while the priest ignores it is a sin and lets it pass, reluctant to accept the act of contrition. the sinner already admitted the sin, can the priest not accept it?
we do not belittle who manny pangilinan is. he has done so much for ateneo and we admire him for it and are very thankful for his efforts.
but like pangilinan, we will call a spade a spade. he screwed up and what he did was shameful. we know he had not intended it but as he has said so himself, the damage has been done. and it was a very meaningful damage.
for his mistake, we think it is right for him to resign his position at the ateneo. if he still wants to serve and help the school, he should continue to do so but not having the same title and function he used to have. if he continues to serve and help the school, we will continue to admire him and be thankful for his efforts.
his letter to fr. ben and his resignation from his position in the school is his mea culpa and meant to bring back honor to the school. he should be allowed to do so. why is fr. ben stopping pangilinan from doing so? and why is fr. ben so freely accepting of the sin done on the school’s gradutaion rites?
graduation rites at its core is about achievement and excellence. glossing over a plagiarism committed at these rites we think destroys a lot of the meaning and celebration the event deserves very much. henceforth, graduation rites 201o will be known in the school’s history for the next 150 years and beyond as the one that had dishonesty in it. and fr. ben did not censure it.
we think manny pangilinan has done the right thing in owning up to his error, apologizing and taking the right action of resigning from the school, fr. nebres has not. we applaud pangilinan but we can’t say the same thing for fr. nebres.
what is The Ateneo Way?
Letter of Pangilinan to Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, president of AdMUDear Father Ben
Easter greetings!
I have been told last night that portions of my graduation remarks – in particular my address to the Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences – had been borrowed from certain other graduation speeches.
I had taken a look at the side-by-side comparison @ Facebook, and must admit to this mistake.
For this, I wish to express my sincerest apology to you, the University and to the 2010 graduating class.
I have had some help in the drafting of my remarks, but I take full and sole responsibility for them.
In mitigation perhaps, the body and substance of my speech represented my own story and my thoughts. And I have labored long hours to get those speeches done. It is my hope that their impact has not been lost on the graduates. That said, this post fact event I am certain has devalued the words I have uttered at graduation – whether original or copied.
I am told further that comments posted on Facebook have started to spill beyond graduation, and are now alluding to my misconduct with respect to Meralco, with former President Erap, and so forth. Under the circumstances, it is best for the Ateneo and myself to shorten the life of this controversy and prevent it from spinning out of control.
Fr Ben, this has been a source of deep personal embarrassment for me.
I am truly regretful for it. I already have too many battles to fight, and some of them I wish not to have to fight. In this instance, I do not want to, and would seek only the honorable and principled way out. The matter at hand may rest after this public apology, but it gives me a lot of personal discomfort to continue to be closely involved with Ateneo affairs after this incident. I am afraid the damage has been done – wala talaga akong mukhang ihaharap pagkatapos.
With much regret, Fr Ben, I would wish to retire from my official duties at the Ateneo.
With all good wishes to you and to our graduates.
M. V. P.
Letter of Nebres to Pangilinan
Dear Manny,
I received your apology just a few minutes ago and feel how deeply embarrassed and pained you are by this event. We realize that this was a mistake and we respect and appreciate your taking responsibility and your immediate apology.
At the same time, we know that this happened without your full awareness, though you take full and sole responsibility. Thus this does not diminish our admiration and respect for your person and for your care and accomplishments for our country and for the Ateneo. In fact, your acceptance of responsibility and apology command our utmost respect.
In reading again through your speeches, we also see that indeed the main part of your speeches were your story and your thoughts. We thank you for taking so much time to craft them and to share them with us and our graduates. We are deeply touched by this sharing of yourself.
Again I realize how profoundly embarrassed you are by this event and that you believe that resigning from official duties at the Ateneo is the principled thing for you to do. However, reflecting on the events and circumstances, I cannot quite agree, and I believe with many others that what is appropriate is the apology you have given. Neither can I agree with you that “wala talaga akong mukhang ihaharap pagkatapos.” I would thus like to take up your retiring from official duties at the Ateneo with our officials and Board of Trustees and discuss it further with you.
It is Easter Vigil and may the Risen Christ be Light to you.
Fr. Ben, S.J.
also read:
- writers of manny pangilinan’s plagiarized speech are 2 ateneo students! OMG!
- fr. nebres gives pangilinan an excuse slip for the plagiarism
- manny pangilinan delivers commencement exercise speech at ateneo plagiarized from jk rowling, oprah, conan o’brien and barack obama’s speeches
- manny pangilinan’s ateneo commencement address transcript and the plagiarized parts
- manny pangilinan speechgate: who is the idiot speech writer who wrote the plagiarized commencement exercise speech at the ateneo?
the manny pangilinan speechgate – pangilinan gives a graduation rites speech at the ateneo plagiarized from jk rowling, oprah, barack obama, conan o’brien’s speeches
this is shocking. how can this happen to one of the country’s most successful business tycoons in one of the country’s most respected universities?
ateneo prides itself as principled and doing the right thing, The Ateneo Way. this one happening on a commencement exercise?
it is karma, irony or a message being sent that one of the most successful filipino tycoon delivers a speech at one of the most respected universities in the country during one of the most important period in the university’s history, the sesquicentennial (yes that is a word, means 150) and it is marked by one of the foulest intellectual sins – plagiarism!
The Ateneo Way?
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click links below to read the speech transcript, the plagiarized parts and the letters sent by pangilinan and fr. nebres.
MVP admits mistake in speech, offers to retire from Ateneo
MANILA, Philippines – Businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP) has offered to “retire” from the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) after acknowledging that portions of his commencement address to the school’s sesquicentennial graduates last March 26 and 27 were copied from speeches of celebrities.
In a letter to AdMU President Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, S.J. posted Saturday on the AdMU website, Pangilinan apologized to the university and to the 2010 graduating class for giving a speech that “had been borrowed from certain other graduation speeches.”
“I had taken a look at the side-by-side comparison @ Facebook, and must admit to this mistake. For this, I wish to express my sincerest apology to you, the University and to the 2010 graduating class,” he said. “I have had some help in the drafting of my remarks, but I take full and sole responsibility for them.”
Several posts on Facebook said portions of Pangilinan’s speech were allegedly copied from celebrities such as JK Rowling, Oprah, and Conan O’Brien. (Read portions of the speech here: MVP: Money’s cool, but so is meaning)
Pangilinan said the incident “has been a source of deep personal embarrassment for me,” and he asked Nebres to allow him to “retire from his official duties at the Ateneo.”
http://abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/04/03/10/mvp-admits-mistake-speech-offers-retire-ateneo
also read:
- writers of manny pangilinan’s plagiarized speech are 2 ateneo students! OMG!
- fr. nebres gives pangilinan an excuse slip for the plagiarism
- manny pangilinan delivers commencement exercise speech at ateneo plagiarized from jk rowling, oprah and barack obama’s speeches
- manny pangilinan’s ateneo commencement address transcript and the plagiarized parts
- manny pangilinan speechgate: who is the speech writer who wrote the plagiarized commencement exercise speech at the ateneo?
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