Questions have surfaced over the academic qualifications of newly appointed Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel after the University of Santo Tomas (UST) said there’s no record of his enrollment in the school.
The Varsitarian, UST’s official student paper, quoted UST Assistant Registrar Kashmer Cruz as saying that there’s no record of Laurel graduating with a computer science degree from the university, as stated in media reports following his Cabinet appointment.
“The Office of the Registrar and the accounting department did not find any record of enrollment in the University of the name Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr.,” Cruz told The Varsitarian.
The Varsitarian said Laurel’s chief of staff confirmed that the DA chief didn’t attend UST.
Laurel was the president of the family owned Frabelle Fishing Corporation prior to his stint in the Marcos administration. He was also one of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s biggest campaign donors in the 2022 elections.
“Based on our records in the Office of the Registrar, agriculture secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. is not a UST Computer Science alumnus,” Assistant Registrar Kashmer Cruz told the Varsitarian. https://t.co/H0Q3v9ilvo
— The Varsitarian (@varsitarianust) November 12, 2023