“BREAKING our silence after a year.”
Kristina Loriz Esguerra, an alumnus from the University of Perpetual Help – Calamba, recently made a lengthy post on Facebook discussing issues she and her thesis mates had had with a group of students from her former university.
In the post, she detailed how she and her other thesis mates, Miguel Dela Rama and Eloise Camille Molina Parado, had come up with the idea for a device called the “Palay Desiccator.”
This device, as per screenshots from Esguerra’s post, aimed to develop a new way of drying rice using low-cost materials, keeping in mind farmers who may be unable to purchase an electric drying machine.
She explained that she and her group mates came up with the title, the shape of the dryer, the design, the paper, and everything else behind the idea. Later on, they were told that they would be receiving an award for Best in Thesis.
This, however, was retracted later on. Esguerra explained that this was because another group had beaten them to pass their bookbinded thesis.
“Paunahan pala ang basis,” Esguerra wrote in her post adding a few more details and accusations.
They kept silent about it as they hadn’t yet graduated, and they didn’t want to do anything that would affect their marching.
“Irregular students kami; si Eloisa shiftee, si Miguel transferee, ako naman returnee, kaya sobrang saya namin na [mayroong] isa kaming na-achieve before matapos ang college,” she further wrote.
“Grabe yung galit, disappointment, at iyak namin dahil hindi namin siya pina-patent, wala daw plagiarism sabi ng UPHSD-Las Piñas.”
She added: “Kung hindi pa binalita ng OnePH, wala man lang kaming kaalam-alam na yung concept ng thesis namin, pinakuha niyo sa iba para sabihin na sila nakaisip nyan.
Where’s the academic integrity here?”
The report from OnePH in question was released at the start of September. Here, it detailed how a separate group had gone viral online for a TikTok with a caption that read: “Bumuo kami ng thesis ng tropa ko para sa mga farmers haha.”
In OnePH’s interview with one of the members of the group said: “Ang una pong tanong namin is: Ano po yung mga nagiging problema tuwing ber months … na anihan? Doon palang po sa isang tanong na yun, halos dun nalang din po talaga umikot yun kasi ilan na po agad nagsabi na ang problema din po na kinakaharap ngayon pag ber months is maulan po, [at] mabaha.”
The group then claimed that they created a design for the dual-powered Palay Dessicator, a machine which could be powered by electricity or pedaling. The report also stated that it took almost two years before the invention was solidified.
They then hoped to patent the design, and won an award for Outstanding Thesis for their work.
Under a video of the report, there were comments posted from family members of Dela Rama and Parado, asking how the university had allowed this to happen.
Esguerra wrote in her post: “Pano tayo maging proud sa quality of education if yung students hindi marunong mag-isip ng sarili nilang innovation? Tinanggalan nyo kami ng Best Thesis Award tapos yung nag-add ang binigyan nyo ng award.”
She stated that she and her groupmates deserved recognition for their innovation, but felt that they’d been overshadowed by the group of students who seemingly used their design as a starting point for theirs. She also noted that the thesis panelists apparently did not find out until recently that they had won Best in Thesis.
To end her post, she wrote: “Mananahimik na sana kami since we all graduated, and masaya na kami sa life namin. But yung wound pala nung ginawa nyo samin, tas dinagdagan nyo pa, masakit pa pala. And everyone should know about this.”
Included in her post are screenshots of her and her groupmates’s conversations when they were first formulating the idea, photographic evidence of Dela Rama buying rice from farmers near his home, as well as photos of them with their invention, the Palay Desiccator.
“Ilang linggo namin pinag-isipan yan, tas kayo tumingin lang sa thesis namin,” she wrote under the caption of one photo.
Statement from the university
Last September 23, the University of Perpetual Help – Calamba responded to this issue by posting an official statement on their social media.
Here, they wrote that they were aware of the concerns raised regarding the Palay Desiccator, adding that they take matters such as those seriously. They stated that they were committed to ensuring that all parties would receive a fair and just resolution.
“A comprehensive investigation is underway to examine information and details, including but not limited to issues of citation, permission, and innovation,” they said.
“The University will take appropriate action based on the findings of our investigation. We ask for your patience and understanding as we work to address the situation professionally and respectfully, ensuring that our values of academic integrity and collaboration are upheld.”
republicasia has reached out to Esguerra, Dela Rama, and Parado, as well as the University of Perpetual Help – Calamba, but have yet to receive a response.
