Ferdinand Marcos Jr urged to stop pretending he has an Oxford degree
The images of a besuited Ferdinand Marcos Jr, clad in a top hat and leaning nonchalantly on a Rolls-Royce, dating from his time in Britain in the 1970s are as you may expect from the playboy scion of a kleptocratic dictator.
Yet as the Marcos family returns to power in the Philippines after a landslide presidential victory by Marcos Jr, he is facing calls to stop misrepresenting the circumstances of his studies at Oxford.
“According to our records, he did not complete his degree, but was awarded a special diploma in social studies in 1978,” Oxford said in a response to a freedom of information request lodged by a UK-based Filipina supporter of Marcos Jr’s nearest rival in last week’s election.
Marcos Jr, nicknamed “Bongbong”, has claimed in interviews that Oxford issued him with a bachelor’s degree, while his official spokesperson has said that the politician and his team “stand by the degree confirmation which was issued by the University of Oxford”. His website states: “He completed his undergraduate studies at Oxford University and graduated with a special diploma in social studies.”
But a UK-based Filipina supporter of Marcos Jr’s rival Leni Robredo, who lodged the FoI request, said of Marcos: “He should stop misrepresenting his special diploma, which is clearly not a degree. It’s clear he did not complete undergraduate studies.”
