14 April 2005 -  Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo has instructed the Philippine Embassy in Seoul to intensify its cooperation with the South Korean Police in stopping the proliferation of forged graduation diplomas and academic records from reputable Philippine universities including Ateneo de Manila University and Mapua Institute of Technology.

In his report to Secretary Romulo, Ambassador Aladin G. Villacorte said the Seoul Metro Police Agency has requested the Embassy's assistance in investigating the case of forged graduation certificates by verifying the authenticity of diplomas issued to Korean students, which appear to be forged as they do not carry some standard items such as Special Orders, which are cited on authentic documents.

The police report indicated that the diplomas were allegedly issued by the Ateneo de Manila University and Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT) and were suspected to have been forged by the Korean-Philippine Cultural Exchange Center in exchange for 15M won or $14,800. The MIT diploma and transcript of records even had an authentication dated 15 November 2002.  Ambassador Villacorte said the Embassy has no knowledge that such organization existed either in the Philippines or in Korea.

Ambassador Villacorte has sought the assistance of the DFA in coordinating with the Philippine Police authorities in investigating the existence of fake academic documents as Secretary Romulo stressed that the “DFA and the Philippine Embassy in Seoul must exert all efforts to protect and promote the reputation of  Philippine academic institutions.”

The Ambassador said that thousands of Korean students go to the Philippines to study English and attend colleges and universities all over the country but they should be protected from unscrupulous individual who manufacture documents in exchange for huge sum of money.

Ambassador Villacorte added that one way to limit the rise of fraudulent documents is to ensure that documents go through proper authentication procedures.  It may also be necessary in the future to set-up an information and cultural center within the Embassy to assist students who wish to study in the Philippines. He said Korean students fall prey to fly by night business transactions offering travel and education to Philippines.

Ambassador Villacorte also warned Philippine educational institutions to tread carefully in dealing with Korean businessmen offering themselves as agents. END
 

/jay