8/9/2019 Statement of PWU Chair HZBenitez on Boy Abunda

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STATEMENT OF DR. HELENA Z BENITEZ

ON MR. EUGENIO BOY ABUNDA, JR.

I am making this statement both in my capacity as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the

Philippine Womens University and as a person who has known Mr. Abunda in hisprofessional capacity as media practitioner.

Mr. Abunda holds the degree of bachelor of arts, major in communication arts, fromPWU. He earned the degree under the CHED ETEEAP program which means Expanded

Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program. Under this program, we

evaluated college credits he earned from the Ateneo de Manila, the quality of his work

experience and achievements in mass communication, and required him to takeenrichment courses to qualify him for the degree under the rules and requirements of the

Commission on Higher Education. He more than fulfilled the requirements and

specifications of the program and was thus awarded the degree.

Not content with earning his undergraduate degree, he has gone on to pursue post-

graduate studies. He has earned a certificate from a seminar course in internationalrelations and diplomacy from the PWU HZB School of International Relations and

Diplomacy. He is currently working on his master of arts in communication. These are

serious courses of study and his being a media personality does not give Mr. Abunda any

preferential status. He has to earn his grades. He has to take his studies seriously. Andhe does. Perhaps more seriously than his peers because he well realizes that being in

show business, some quarters may be skeptical of both his motivation and his ability.

Mr. Abunda has also interviewed me in some of his programs, particularly Private

Conversations which airs on television. He has impressed me with his insights and thequality of the research he undertakes to prepare for the program. He does not just showup and ask questions. He does his homework. He takes his job seriously. This may be

why he is such a great success in media.

People might tend to dismiss his ideas and work achievements lightly by virtue of his

being a show business personality. They would be mistaken.

Perhaps an indication of the kind of insight and appreciation that Mr. Abunda has aboutour society and its values is his declining to accept the position he is said to be being

groomed for. By any standard, he is more than qualified. But, sensitive and sensible as

he is, he may have realized that some people might raise a ruckus over the matter. He,therefore, wisely decided to decline. In declining, Mr. Abunda may have realized that

incoming President Benigno Aquino III has more important issues and problems to attend

to. The President-elects energies should be devoted to these; not to defending Mr.Abundas proposed appointment to the cabinet. The controversy over his appointment is

therefore one problem or situation that presumptive President Aquino will not have to

deal with. By that much Mr. Abunda has shown how sincere he is about helping the

incoming administration succeed. And he is all the more admirable because of it.

DR. HELENA Z BENITEZ

Board Chairperson

The Philippine Womens University