ated 12/22/2011 10:55 PM
[EXCLUSIVE] Chief Justice finished doctorate without required dissertation
MANILA, Philippines - In a special graduation ceremony last April held in the historic Puerta Real, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) conferred on Chief Justice Renato Corona his doctorate in civil law, summa cum laude. He was one of six graduates to garner top honors during ceremonies intended to commemorate the university's quadricentennial.
Kneeling before the UST rector and wearing a black robe and bright red cape, Corona received a “ceremonial declaration” of the graduation, apart from his doctoral degree, from Father Rolando de la Rosa. 
It was a proud moment for the university, the world's largest Catholic university, as it celebrated its 400th year anniversary. It was as well for Corona who, almost a year earlier, was appointed to the highest post in the Supreme Court.
“This great educational institution…the oldest existing university in Asia…has made it possible for me to realize my dream of appending the hard-earned degree of Doctor of Civil Law to my name,” Corona said in his valedictory address. It was a welcome honor for the chief justice whose legitimacy was in doubt as he was appointed by then President Gloria Arroyo during the supposed ban on appointments during the election period. The Supreme Court, in a ruling, exempted itself from the ban.
(Corona now faces an impeachment trial in the Senate.)
But it turns out that UST may have broken its rules in granting Corona a doctorate in civil law and qualifying him for honors, apparently to favor the country’s top judge. (Read: requirements for getting a UST post-graduate degree)
UST rules
First, UST requires a dissertation. Dissertation writing takes all of 15 units spread out in four courses.
Second, only students who complete their doctorate degrees in five years are qualified to graduate with honors: “A student who has overstayed beyond the residency limit…will also be disqualified to graduate with honors.”
Corona does not have a dissertation. Neither did he fulfill the five-year residency requirement.
This unusual practice may set a precedent in UST and send a wrong signal to students that rank and influence trump academic rigor.
The UST Graduate School did not reply to our questions and repeated requests for interviews. We sent our first set of questions last Oct.3 and again on Dec.12. On that day, they asked for one more day of extension but did not get back to us after.
Where’s the dissertation?
What started out as a routine request for Corona’s dissertation for a book on the Supreme Court that we are finishing led to this story.
Our search, which began last July, yielded no results, except a public lecture the chief justice delivered in November 2010 at the UST Graduate School. The Varsitarian, the official student publication of UST, reported in April that Corona’s doctoral dissertation was entitled “To Every One His Due: The Philippine Judiciary at the Forefront of Promoting Environmental Justice.”
