UP Officials: Solis stole photos for 7 contests

MANILA - Mark Solis, the UP student who plagiarized professional photographs and submit it to photo contests as his own had submitted plagiarized photos to at least 7 competitions.

This is the result of the investigation done by the University of the Philippines (UP) special committee who were task to probe the public administration graduate student Mark Joseph Solis.

“He submitted pictures that were not his despite the rules of the contests that the person should be submitting original work,” UP National College of Public Administration (NCPAG) dean Fe Mendoza said yesterday.

The report shows that Solis had been plagiarizing photos since February 2011 when he was still a Political Science undergraduate student at UP.

Here are the reported 7 competitions:

1. Papworth Trust 2nd Photography Competition (2011)

2. Say Peace! Online Photo Contest (2011) - organized by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)

3. VinylPlus Sustainable Thinking Platform Photo Contest (2010-2011)

http://www.sustainablethinking.eu/page/ever-increasing-population-how-can-we-maximise-resource-efficiency-meet-our-growing-needs

4. Smiles for the World: 2nd Calidad Humana Photo Essay Competition (2012-2013)

5. Water and Life: 2013 ICIMOD Digital Photo Contest (2013)

6. Mulat Maninipat Photojournalism contest of the Union of Journalists of the Philippines-UP (2012)

7. OH MY GOVERNMENT Photo contest organized by the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (2012)

Mendoza said the report “enumerates resolution of some issues related to student conduct and discipline which at this point, the college may not be in the best position to resolve alone.”


“It is in this light that I am elevating the matter to your level for your more competent resolution. The college will still help; just let us know how,” she said.

The report said the NCPAG could elevate the case to higher university authorities for appropriate action.

The committee said the NCPAG would also have to decide on the status of Solis as a graduate student.

Mendoza also said that Solis ask advice from her and was remorseful for his actions and looked thinner when she met him last week.

The Chilean Ambassador said they will not press charges against Solis. The OPAPP on the other hand, is investigating the incident involving its own photo competition.