UP decision on penalties for Solis out next month

MANILA, Philippines - The University of the Philippines (UP) will decide within one month the penalties it may impose on Mark Joseph Solis, the graduate student who allegedly submitted plagiarized photos to various competitions.

“The decision will include not only the finding of guilt, but the corresponding penalties for the violation,” UP-Diliman chancellor Caesar Saloma said in a text message to The STAR.

“For proven dishonesty cases, penalties could range from one-year suspension, dishonorable dismissal from the university, to withdrawal of degree by the university,” Saloma added.

The UP official received on Friday the report of the fact-finding committee created by the UP-National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) that looked into Solis’ case.

The report earlier showed that Solis submitted plagiarized photos in at least seven competitions.

Solis declined to comment on the report, noting that he was advised not to do so.

Saloma said he expects the decision and recommendation to be released within a month, as he gave assurance that the decision-making body would observe due process to allow Solis to present his side.

The UP chancellor said the deliberation would involve the Diliman executive committee composed of the college deans and vice chancellors.

He said the decision might be subject to the approval of UP president Alfredo Pascual or the UP Board of Regents, the highest decision-making body of the university.

Saloma said Solis could appeal the decision before the UP president or the Board of Regents. He said the recommendation would be in accordance with the purpose of the UP as a national university.

Plagiarized photos

“He submitted pictures that were not his despite the rules of the contests that original work should be submitted,” said UP-NCPAG head Fe Mendoza.

The committee report said Solis submitted plagiarized photos in the Smiles for the World competition this year, the Mulat Maninipat Photojournalism contest of the Union of Journalists of the Philippines-UP last year, the VinylPlus Sustainable Thinking Platform in 2010 to 2011, and the Water and Life photo contest of the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development this year.

The report said Solis submitted plagiarized photos and won in competitions organized by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and the Papworth Trust in 2011.

Mendoza said an addendum attached to the report stated that Solis submitted a plagiarized photo in a competition sponsored by the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration in 2012.

The dean forwarded the report to the chancellor, noting that he is in a better position to resolve the issue.

In her letter to the chancellor, Mendoza said the report “enumerates resolution of some issues related to student’s conduct and discipline which at this point, the college may not be in the best position to resolve alone.”

The report said the NCPAG could elevate the case to higher university authorities for appropriate action.

Basis for punishment

Section 1 of the 1976 student code of conduct, which states that “students shall at all times observe the laws of the land and the rules and regulations of the university,” could be a basis for disciplinary action on the issue, according to the committee report.

It cited Section 2(m), which states that “any other form of misconduct” is prohibited in the university. Penalty ranges from expression of apology to expulsion, depending on the gravity of the act.

The committee left it to the appropriate bodies to decide on the penalty.

The issue stemmed from the Smiles for the World competition organized by the embassy of Chile, in which Solis won $1000 in cash and a trip to Chile and Brazil.