Who can receive an honorary doctorate degree?

WHO wouldn’t want to receive an honorary degree?

The University of the Philippines recently conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on Sen. Mark Villar. 

UP gave the award to Villar for his achievements as Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary, as he had led the construction of numerous infrastructure projects in the country. These include new facilities in UP campuses. 

But not a few eyebrows were raised over this move, among them from UP’s Student Regent Siegfried Severino, who opposed the university’s decision to honor Villar.

Severino, who represents 50,000 UP students, said the UP Board of Regents must also look into the Senator’s character as part of the Villar family, and not just at his contributions to UP.

Villar’s father, former Senate President Manny Villar, is the country’s richest man, and his mother, Sen. Cynthia Villar, is one of the wealthiest lawmakers. Their family runs a giant property development company and several other businesses.

“Several issues of land-grabbing and development aggression hound their family’s reputation and his stint as the Secretary of DPWH exacerbated these key issues. A conferment of honorary degree to him seemingly puts all these issues under the rug,” Severino said.

Other netizens also questioned the wisdom behind the move. One Twitter user said there must be “honor before excellence.”

The honorary Doctor of Laws degree is the highest academic recognition of an individual’s contributions to the advancement of a field in a particular discipline through extraordinary accomplishments or contributions.

Just who is qualified to receive this accolade?

Criteria for recipients

The Commission on Higher Education released revised guidelines in 2021 on the conferment of honorary doctorate degrees by higher education institutions in the Philippines.

It said the exemplary accomplishments that would merit the honorary degree are any creative work, scholarly output, productive advocacy, and philanthropic work that have brought honor and distinction to the institution and the country at large. These could also have contributed to the significant advancement of the individual’s particular field of endeavor or interest.

For an individual to qualify for an honorary doctorate degree, he or she must also at least have a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent earned from a CHED-recognized program.

Members of the board or administrators of the college or university, as well as CHED officials and employees, are barred from being nominated for this honor. 

The honorary degree is conferred during an appropriate ceremony, as determined by the college or university. The recipient must be present during the ceremony, or may attend it virtually.

Limitations of the honor

Aside from recognizing an individual’s accomplishments, will the honorary degree be of any use?

According to the CHED, an honoris causa or honorary degree is not an “earned degree.”

Because of this, it cannot be a criterion for evaluation purposes, such as ranking, promotion, and qualification requirements, for any position in an organization or institution.

Moreover, the honorary degree does not entitle the recipient to any bar or board-related professional practice.

This means the honorary Doctor of Laws degree will not make anybody, including Villar, a lawyer. 

CHED oversight

The CHED has the prerogative to deny or withdraw, or withhold or declare null and void, the conferment of an honorary degree on the following grounds:

• When any of the submitted credentials are fabricated
• When the recipient’s conduct or stand on certain issues contravenes public morals and policy

The commission also has the discretion to exempt individuals with exceptional achievements or accomplishments from the documentary or procedural requirements for getting an honorary degree.

Foreign honorees

The colleges or universities may award the honorary doctorate degree to foreigners, but the ceremony must be held in the Philippines. The foreigner’s country of origin should also be giving the same privilege to Filipinos. 

Criteria for colleges and universities

Not all higher education institutions can give out honorary doctorate degrees.

According to the CHED, these must have existed as a college or a university for at least 25 years. 

These must also have a “well-acknowledged academic reputation” and a mission, vision, objectives, goals, and values as adjudged by the CHED. 

These must likewise have doctoral programs that the CHED has approved. 

Colleges and universities may only award two honorary degrees per year, except in cases when it has prior written approval from the CHED.

Private colleges or universities that have autonomous or deregulated status may award honorary doctorate degrees without approval from the commission, but they must inform the central office of this one month before they award the degree.

The same goes for higher education institutions created through a Presidential Decree and treated as a foreign school or institution of foreign character.

Procedures

All qualified colleges and universities must seek CHED approval to grant honorary doctorate degrees two months before the scheduled date of conferment. 

The commission, as a collegial body, will deliberate and decide on the this at least 10 working days prior to the proposed conferment date. 

Rejection of the award

A recipient offered the honorary doctorate degree may also decline it. In 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte said he would not accept the honorary doctorate degree that UP planned to confer on him.

He said he does not accept awards “as a matter of personal and official policy.”