UP graduate Mark Joseph Solis drew the irk of netizens when he joined and won Calidad Humana (human spirit or compassion) Smile for the World photo contest sponsored by the Chilean Embassy.
The 22 year-old public administration graduate claimed the photo of a smiling boy originally taken by Gregory J. Smith, founder of Children at Risk Foundation, as his.
Earlier reports said that Solis stole photos and claimed them as his. But UP probers revealed that Solis actually used the stolen photos and passed them as his to seven different contests.
“He submitted pictures that were not his despite the rules of the contests that the person should be submitting original work,” UP National College of Public Administration (NCPAG) dean Fe Mendoza said yesterday.
Solis also plagiarized and won both competition organized by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and the Papworth Trust in 2011.
In the year 2010 and 2011, Solis also submitted stolen photos to the VinylPlus Sustainable Thinking Platform photo contest, so as to the Water and Life photo contest of the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (2013).
After Solis was stripped of his winnings at the Calidad Humana photo contest, UP created the fact-finding committee.
“It is in this light that I am elevating the matter to your level for your more competent resolution. The college will still help; just let us know how,” Dean Mendoza said in her letter to UP Diliman Chancellor Caesar Saloma. The letter also enumerates resolution of some issues related to student conduct and discipline which at this point, the college may not be in the best position to resolve alone.
If Solis is found guilty, the student disciplinary tribunal will impose penalty based on the university code which states, that students “shall at all times observe the laws of the land and the rules and regulations of the university” and that “any other form of misconduct” is prohibited in the university.
