FALSE: UPHSL kicks out criminology student behind pro-Nuezca post

At a glance:

• Claim: University of Perpetual Help System Laguna (UPHSL) kicked out a criminology student because of a post he wrote justifying the death of Sonya Gregorio.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: According to UPHSL, the person matching the profile behind the controversial post left the school in 2007 for academic reasons. He left without earning a degree.
• Why we fact checked this: Posts containing the claim were being shared on Facebook. They have had 27,000 reactions, 3,800 comments, and 49,000 shares collectively.

Complete details:

A screenshot of a conversation between an unidentified Facebook user and the Facebook page “University of Perpetual Help System- JONELTA” says that the school’s board decided to kick out a criminology student.

He was allegedly kicked out after he posted about his support for Police Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca, who killed two unarmed civilians, Sonya Gregorio and her son Frank, on December 20.

In the screenshot, which began to circulate on December 21, the Facebook user brought up the supposed student’s post and appealed to the university to not let him graduate. The university supposedly replied, “We already received similar complaints regarding this student of ours. The board already deliberated that this student will be kicked out for imposing improper behavior and by dragging the name of the University in shame. Thank you.”

This screenshot was posted on Facebook by multiple users. A video posted on the Facebook page “PH.virals” mentioned the same claim. The posts have had 27,000 reactions, 3,800 comments, and 49,000 shares collectively.

This claim is false.

The person who supported Nuezca on social media is not connected with, or enrolled in, the University of Perpetual Help System Laguna (UPHSL) and therefore could not have been kicked out following his recent post.

This is according to a statement on the official Facebook page of UPHSL on December 21. The university said that the only student who may match the description of the Facebook user had already left the university in 2007 for academic reasons.

“The said commenter is not connected or more so enrolled in the University of Perpetual Help System- JONELTA System,” the university said in its statement. “We owe it to our public and most especially to our fellow Perpetualites to say that the only student who may match the description of the commenter on social media left the University in 2007 for academic reasons. Needless to say, said student did not acquire a degree from the University.”

The statement was made even before the rumor that the Facebook user had been kicked out began to circulate. The university’s statement said they received emails and messages regarding his post. Multiple users were sharing the supposed student’s post to condemn his statement. The university’s name was involved, as the user’s Facebook profile indicated that he studies criminology at UPHSL.  

UPHSL’s statement also mentioned that they condemn the post supporting Nuezca and that they are praying for the souls of the victims. They also considered the slay incident as senseless killing without prejudice to the judicial process.

Rappler could not reach out to the Facebook user to verify his post supporting Nuezca or his academic history, as his Facebook profile has since been deleted. In a phone call with Rappler, UPHSL said they could not disclose any personal information about the former student.

Also on December 21, the Facebook page “University of Perpetual Help System- JONELTA,” admitted in a post that it is not the official page of the UPHSL. Based on the screenshots of the claim that are circulating, this is the page that told an unidentified Facebook user the university will be kicking out the criminology student.

Rappler reached out to the owner of the “University of Perpetual Help System- JONELTA” page to ask if he or she indeed had that conversation with a Facebook user. There has been no response as of writing.

The page’s December 21 post is its first post in 3 years. Its last post was dated November 8, 2017. The page does not have any contact details or other relevant information about UPHSL that might indicate it is officially connected to the school. – Jerome Sagcal/Rappler

This article was written by a volunteer of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program, a 5-week exclusive and hands-on training on detecting, investigating, and verifying online misinformation and disinformation.

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