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By Rommel C. Lontayao, Reporter
As educational costs rise,
earning a diploma has become more difficult. Some have devised ways
to present school credentials without even spending years in class
and thousands in fees.
Along Recto Avenue in Manila are
stalls selling fake diplomas, transcripts of records, nameplates,
theses, certificates, driver’s licenses, and other documents. For
selling spurious documents even “certified” by prominent
schools, the area has been dubbed “Recto University.”
Faking documents has existed for
several decades now. To date, “Recto University” has become
known to almost everyone who had to resort to presenting fake
documents to land themselves a job.
Compared to spending two or more
years in school and thousands of pesos before earning a degree,
anyone can get a spurious “diploma” and transcript of records
for a four-year course in just two hours and P1,500 in Recto.
It doesn’t matter whether the
diploma or transcript was supposedly awarded by a prestigious
university or a smaller one. Prices for these fake documents in
“Recto University” usually do not vary.
For theses or research papers,
P2,500 will suffice for 50 pages, while 75 pages or more will cost
around P5,000.
According to one vendor
interviewed by The Manila Times, most customers are students,
out-of-school youths, and those who are not able to graduate for
some reason.
“To be able to have a decent
job, they are willing to take the risk of presenting these fake
documents,” said the vendor who requested anonymity.
Several foreign embassies have
recently expressed concerns that more visa applicants are submitting
fake bank documents and school records.
Responding to these complaints,
Mayor Alfredo Lim of Manila ordered the immediate closure of
establishments on Recto Avenue in Manila suspected of producing fake
diplomas, transcripts of records and other certificates and
documents.
Lim has tasked Manila’s police
chief, Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales, to “continue without
let-up” the clearing of Recto Avenue or the University Belt of
racketeers who prey upon undergraduates and applicants who need
foreign visas and other certifications.
“Many [foreigners] have been
deceived by these businesses. Those who acquire fake documents from
them should know that once their records are proven fake, it can be
a ground for their expulsion,” the Mayor said.
Meanwhile, Lim identified the
Philippine Harvardian and Cosmopolitan College as among the
“diploma mills” operating along Recto.
He promised not to renew the
application for business permit of any establishment harboring or
sharing business spaces with the so-called “fakers.”
Lim, known as Manila’s “Dirty
Harry” for his tough tactics when he was with the national police,
also said that anyone caught engaging in this illegal production of
fake diplomas and certificates will be charged with falsification of
public documents.
The mayor also advised students
that getting fake documents for them to graduate and find a job
should never be considered an option, as this dishonesty will soon
be found out.
“Study hard and be proud of
your own accomplishments. In the end, your integrity will remain
intact because you did not deceive anyone,” Lim said.
He vowed a clearing operation
“without let-up” on “Recto University.” To date, however,
many establishments still sell fake documents along the said avenue.
“As long as people keep buying
fake documents here in ‘Recto University,’ it would be difficult
to stop this kind of business,” a vendor said.
 --With
Justine Manuel
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