Malacañang on Monday kept its distance from the issue surrounding University of the Philippines (UP) Regent Frederick “Spocky” Farolan following his cryptic social media post and suggestions of violence against basketball players of Ateneo de Manila University.
Calls for the resignation of Farolan mounted up after he had posted on Facebook that three Ateneo Blue Eagles will be “injured” in Game 2 of the UAAP best-of-three finals series on Wednesday. This was after the defending champions Ateneo beat UP in Game 1 on Saturday.
Asked if the Palace will support the calls for resignation against Farolan, who was appointed by President Duterte as member of the Board of Regents of the State University in 2016, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said they will leave it “to the discretion of the person subject of the call(s).”
“I think we should give the person the benefit of the doubt, let him explain himself. That’s what we call due process and the rule of law,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
Panelo also called for an independent investigation on the matter to be headed by UP.
“I think there should be a body that will objectively investigate that incident so that the finding will come out,” he said.
“We’ll leave it to UP because it happened there we will always respect the independence of any entity in this country,” he added.
Senator Francis Pangilinan earlier said that the statement of Farolan was “totally unacceptable and a disgrace” to the university.
READ: UP Regent Spocky Farolan must resign – Pangilinan
For her part, Senator Nancy Binay said Farolan should step down “out of delicadeza and out of love” for UP.
“Out of delicadeza and out of love for UP, it is best for Regent Spocky Farolan to tender his resignation. He has put UP in a bad light twice. First was about UP College Admission Test (UPCAT), and now the UAAP,” Binay said in a statement on Monday morning.
Earlier in April, Farolan drew flak after responding with arrogance to a post about the results of the UPCAT. /je
READ: Nancy Binay calls for UP regent’s resignation