MANILA, Philippines – The results of 2018 University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) will be released by April 30.

UP Board of Regents member Frederick “Spocky” Farolan announced this in a Facebook post on Friday, April 6. 

“According to the Director of the UP Office of Admissions, the UPCAT results shall be out by April 30, 2018,” said Farolan.

The release of the UPCAT 2018 results was supposed to be on March 31 to the first week of April, according to a tweet of UP student regent Shari Niña Oliquino on March 28.

The latest announcement has caused an uproar among test takers and their parents, who were hoping to know the UPCAT results around the same time other colleges and universities released their respective test results.

A timely release would have helped incoming freshmen properly choose where to enroll among all the schools they passed, including UP.

Several netizens pointed out other schools’ deadlines to confirm enrollment slots are scheduled ahead of UP’s chosen release date, a dilemma for students who want to secure their slot in another university or college but who are also hoping they passed the UPCAT.

Farolan did not mince words against criticisms hurled at UP over the announcement’s delay.

“Forgive me for saying this…pero ‘yung mga kung makahirit e parang hulog ng Diyos kayo para sa UP, siguraduhin ‘nyo lang na papasa kayo ng UPCAT. Dahil kung hindi, lalaitin ko pati kaibuturan ng kaluluwa niyo,” said Farolan in the comments section of his post.

(Forgive me for saying this…but to those who are criticizing us and acting as if they are God’s gift to UP, make sure you’re going to pass the UPCAT. Because if you don’t, I will insult you to the very core of your soul.)

“Ipapatikim ko sa iyo ang purong panlalait ng isang tunay na pumasa ng UPCAT at nakapagtapos ‘di lamang ng undergrad pero pati na ng law sa UP (I’ll give you a taste of pure insult coming from a person who truly passed the UPCAT and who finished not just his undergraduate degree but also his law degree from UP),” he said.

He also has a message for those who made apparently stinging comments on his post who will end up passing the UPCAT 2018.

“At kung makapasa kayo, sisiguraduhin ko na magkikita tayo at malalaman ‘nyo ang kahulugan ng katagang ‘consequences of your actions.’ Siguraduhin niyong kaya ‘nyo panindigan ‘yang mga hirit ‘nyo,” said Farolan.

(And if you pass, I’ll make sure that we will meet and you will know true meaning of ‘consequences of your actions.’ Make sure that you can stand by your comments.)

In a Facebook post on Thursday, April 5, the UPCAT-UP System Office of Admissions said that it had consistently mentioned that the “results will be released sometime March-April.”

“Having a range of dates for release of results is the usual practice of schools like UP that have a very large number of applicants, and require strict validation of results with a different test every year,” it said.

UPCAT-UP System said it has heard the concern of parents regarding the schedules and admission policies of other universities and colleges, but the office has no control over other educational institutions.

“We fully understand these concerns are serious, but unfortunately we do not have the authority to change the policies of other universities,” it said.

The results of the UPCAT may be viewed on this website and this mirror site starting April 30.

Last year, 1,591 examinees passed the entrance examinations. 

The number of students taking the exam, however, has dropped in recent years due to the implementation of the K-12 program. In 2015, less than 10,000 students took the test, compared to the 87,000 exam takers in 2014. – Rappler.com