Does this man deserve two blog entries?
Yes, for two reasons. One, he has not stopped. After he went ballistic on that first thread, he actually posted another status, this time saying that he might now be open to the proposal to make the State University a post-grad university, so that he doesn’t have to deal with UPCAT examinees anymore. He hashtagged this thoughtless assertion “Not really a proponent of this but I’m pissed so screw you” and “galit sa mga punyetang ingrato” and “I have been anger free for a while ngayon pumutok so putangina niyo.”
Two, while he *tries* to admit that he lost his temper when he shouldn’t have, he also spends as much time defending his original violent, angry, and absolutely uncalled for responses to the public on his Facebook page, saying that in fact, if you look at his thread, whenever there’s a proper comment, he actually responds properly as well.
That is not only the weakest excuse, it’s also a lie.
This proves that in fact one of the first instances he went crazy was when someone put into question his excuse that 82,000 examinees took the UPCAT this year, which is why there’s a delay in results. The girl then posted an article talking about how in 2015, 85,000 took the UPCAT and results were released on schedule. At the risk of being redundant, Farolan started his response with: “E di ikaw ang mag-check. Feeling magaling ka rin no.”
That statement in itself is conduct unbecoming of any public official. Even Mocha does not reply in this manner to anyone, especially “the public” that responds to her Facebook posts.
Yes, I’m comparing a member of the UP Board of Regents to the mis_Communications Asec.
To defend himself, Farolan now says that:
Note that even in the original post, lahat ng maayos ang komento at kritisismo ay maayos kong sinagot. Yung mga bumanat ng pabalang at offensive ang tinamaan ng aking pabalang din na sagot. Anyway, I apologize for my temper.
Let us ignore that non-apology, and instead look at what exactly offended Farolan on his comments thread. Could it be that comment that said “one more month of waiting”? Or that one that said “ang tagal.” Or was it that joke “chine-check din daw ng UP yung EQ ng applicants 😂😂😂.”
Or could it be the “Good God … goodbye 10k”? Of is it that one that says “kala ko ba first week of april ha.” Or is it the comments “anona” and “aasa pa ba”?
Or is it the versions of “nakakainis naman 😢.” Or “End of April di ko nakaya, ang hirap nito”? Or that one that says “Daming pakulo ng UPCAT na to. sobrang tagal.” Or that one that says “jusko.” Or “iyak”?
Or was it this that triggered Farolan: “What UP Office of Admissions failed to realize is that not all universities will start their classes on August.”
The latter is the last comment before Farolan posted this:
Forgive me for saying this… pero yung mga kung makahirit e parang hulog ng Diyos kayo para sa UP, siguraduhin niyo lang na papasa kayo ng UPCAT. Dahil kung hindi, lalaitin ko pati kaibuturan ng kaluluwa niyo. 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.
At kung makapasa kayo, sisiguraduhin ko na magkikita tayo at malalaman niyo ang kahulugan ng katagang “consequences of your actions”. Siguraduhin niyong kaya niyo panindigan yang mga hirit niyo.
Ako po ay si ATTY. FREDERICK MIKHAIL “SPOCKY” I. FAROLAN, Member, U.P. Board of Regents.
This comment is what got Farolan in the news, but also it is at the heart of what is wrong with his way of thinking.
To begin with, none of the comments he received on his PUBLIC Facebook post would qualify as “parang hulog ng Diyos kayo sa UP.” Complaining about, airing one’s dismay at, the delay of UPCAT results is in no way equal to arrogance or entitlement. It has everything to do with the fact that UP was unprepared for the number of UPCAT examinees this year, when one might actually say it had two years to prepare for it.
And what does passing or failing the UPCAT have to do with anything? We are just talking about results here, and the point is precisely that the kids and their parents need to know if they passed or failed, so they can plan their lives, not waste money on other schools, or look to other schools as options.
For Farolan to say that he will “insult to the depths of their souls” the ones who fail the UPCAT, so that they experience what it’s like to be insulted by someone who actually passed the UPCAT and graduated from UP (and UP Law at that!), is him displaying his own arrogance and superiority complex. Please lang. Passing the UPCAT and graduating from UP does not make you any better or worse than the next person. In fact if Farolan is any indication, being a UP graduate means absolutely nothing when it comes to kindness and compassion, plain common sense and public service.
But the UP Regent is not done: he threatens those who do pass the UPCAT that he will hunt them down and make them understand the meaning of “consequences of your actions.” And pray tell what actions were those that would merit these consequences? That they posted sad, pissed, and crying emojis on his wall? That they joked about how UP might never release the results? That they complained about the thousands they were going to lose on other universities’ application fees because by the time UPCAT results are released, it will be too late to get it back?
And in the meantime, what are the consequences for Farolan, given his actions? Why is there no reprimand from the State University, and why is he being allowed to continue responding in this manner to these students and parents who continue to call him out, now more than ever?
And no, the UP admin and the Board of Regents cannot say that Farolan does not represent them. Because he speaks for UP and the BOR, invoking a collective “natin” in relation to what he calls “hirit na nakakabastos at mga pangungutya” later on in his thread:
Naiintindihan natin ang pag-aagam agam ng mga magulan at ang kahinayangan sa di mababawing reservation fee. Kaya nga umabot na ang diskusyon sa BOR mismo PERO nagkakamali sila kung akala nila ay tatanggapin rin lang natin basta basta mga hirit na nakakabastos at mga pangungutya. Hindot sila.
As far as Farolan is concerned, these UPCAT examinees and their parents are “mga hindot” who should only be grateful to him for having announced the date UPCAT results release. For Farolan, the rest of the comments on his post are uncalled for, and this is why he’s hurling invectives at those “entitled millennials” who are “ingrates.”
But in fact these UPCAT examinees and their parents have a right to complain. They are entitled to a proper explanation for the delay, as well as a proper apology, and ideally, a response to their concern about losing their hard-earned cash on deposits with other universities, for which the deadline for refunds happens before the UPCAT results.
Here’s something Farolan forgets: the State University is the people’s. It is ours, regardless of whether or not we actually end up going, or are from, there. Our taxes pay for the State U, and in that sense we pay for whatever salary Farolan gets, as we did pay for his tuition when he was a UP student. Absolutely no one deserved this treatment from Farolan. And none of those who complained, whether examinees or parents, were wrong to have aired their dismay and anger.
Only one person was arrogant and entitled, bastos and elitist, here. And it’s that person appointed by Duterte.***