Peña accused of faking credentials

Another candidate of the ruling Liberal Party ( LP) is facing questions on his credentials.

After LP standard-bearer and presidential bet Mar Roxas, it is now Makati Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña who is accused of faking his educational attainment for claiming that he has a degree in managerial economics from International Academy of Management and Economics (IAME) in Makati City.

A certification issued by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports in June 1993, a copy of which The

STAR obtained from a source, showed that Peña graduated from IAME with a “two-year diploma course in management” and not a bachelor’s degree.

“Peña is lying about his academic attainment. The managerial economics degree course, which he claims to have earned does not exist or is not even offered by IAME,” the source alleged, adding that such a “lie” has been claimed by the mayoral candidate since 2013, when he ran and won as vice mayor.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, stressed that the issue is not really on what course Peña had completed.

“The real issue is the fact that Kid Peña has been dishonest about his academic background; he has blatantly misled the public. Elected officials are expected to tell the truth. How can you expect a mayor who is lying or is not telling the truth?” he stressed.

Earlier, Roxas was put in hot water after claiming that he was a graduate from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Another presidential candidate, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has accused Roxas of being a fraud, saying he only took a six-week course in Wharton.

Duterte said Roxas graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, but cannot claim to be a Wharton graduate because such a title is only accorded to master’s degree graduates at Wharton.