(SPOT.ph) Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas have made waves in recent weeks due to their verbal heated exchange that started from “Sampal Wars” to fist fights to barilan. Roxas said Davao being a peaceful city is a myth, Duterte fired back saying Roxas' Wharton degree is also a lie.
"You claim to have graduated from Wharton School of Economics. That is a myth. You did not graduate sa Wharton School of Economics, Mr. Roxas. Wala doon sa listahan na ikaw ay nakakumpleto ka ng four years o five years," Duterte said.
But it looks like the Mayor is mistaken—Wharton does have undergraduate programs, and being an "undergraduate" is as good as being an "alumnus." In a report by GMA News, the Wharton School has confirmed that Roxas is one of its alumni. It said that Roxas graduated with an economics degree from Wharton in 1979, based on the records of the University of Pennsylvania registrar.
What seems to be the big deal? Some of Wharton School's most notable alumni are U.S. Republican presidential candidate DonaldTrump and magnate and philantropist Warren Buffet. Yvette Fernandez, Editor-in-Chief of Town & Country, gives us a list of other influential Filipinos who graduated from Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania...other than Mar Roxas.
Undergraduates:
Felicia Hung Atienza
President of the Chinese International School Manila; wife of Kuya Kim.
Duane Santos
Executive vice president and general manager of Greenfield Development Corporation.
Chris Po
Chief executive officer and president of Century Canning Corporation; married to Nanette Medved.
Lauro Baja
Heads the Philippine unit of Swiss bank UBS Group AG. He’s vice chairman of corporate-client solutions for Asia.
Andres Soriano III
Chairman of A. Soriano Corporation (Anscor); retired chairman and CEO of San Miguel Corporation.
Jigger Antonio (undergrad and MBA)
Co-chief operating officer, Century Properties.
Marco Antonio (undergrad and MBA)
Co-chief operating officer, Century Properties.
Master’s Degree Holders:
Manny Pangilinan
Also known as MVP, Pangilinan is the chairman of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company. He is also the chairman of TV5, Philex Mining, and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation.
Jose Cuisia
Philippine Ambassador to the United States.
TG Limcaoco
Ayala Corporation’s chief finance officer and finance group head. His wife, Helen Castro, is also a Wharton alumnae.
Cesar Virata
Former Philippine prime minister, also the eponym of the Cesar Virata School of Business, the business school of the University of the Philippines Diliman; married to theater director Joy Virata.
Vince Perez
Founder and CEO of Alternergy Partners, a power company focused on developing renewable energy in Asia. He was Secretary of Energy from 2001 to 2005.
Greg Domingo
Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry. Master of Science in Operations Research from the Wharton School.
Martin Lorenzo
Businessman with his family-owned Macondray and Co., Inc., former chief executive officer of Pancake House.
Tomas Lorenzo
President of Lapanday Properties.
Erratum: The first version of this article showed Lauro Baja Jr. This has been corrected.
Photos from various news articles