Joel Villanueva hurt by UST alumni association’s statement on Mocha’s award

Senator Joel Villanueva said he was “hurt” when he learned that the award he received from the University of Santo Tomas Alumni Association only had two criteria—that one is in the government and that he or she is a graduate of UST.

Villanueva made the remark amid the furor over Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson's getting the same recognition from the alumni association.

Villanueva and Uson were two of several government officials who received the Thomasian Alumni Awward for Government Service on Sunday.

“I have been a student of UST for eight years and I am a proud Thomasian. Sa amin sa UST, tinuruan kami na not to wash our linens in public, even if it is dirty or not,” Villanueva said.

“If you ask me kung na-offend ba ako doon sa statement ng alumni association, I’ll be a hypocrite to say hindi,” he added.

Villanueva said he would have thought twice whether to accept the award had he known that Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson was also a recipient.

“Pag-iisipan kong mabuti ‘yun,” Villanueva said.

Villanueva said he did not know that Uson was also receiving the award that night.

He said he no longer wanted to make a “big fuss” about it.

Villanueva said he knew what he needed to do as a senator with or without the award.

UST alumni have criticized the award given to Uson. Some recipients in the past years have even indicated their plan to return theirs.

In a statement, the university said the alumni association was an entity separate from UST.

"The UST Alumni Association Inc. (UAAI) is a corporation distinct and separate from UST. It has its own board of trustees and operates independently," read the university statement.

"The University does not interfere with the affairs of UAAI or any of its alumni organizations," it added. —NB, GMA News