Let’s be very clear. The University of the Philippines (UP). No question. The best. The apex of brains in this country.

Does it also produce the best excuses?

Because apparently it produced Senator Chiz Escudero. Very bright. Very smooth talker. They say he’s from UP. UP Law. Debate team.

Then he opens his math. Nothing adds up! Zero!

You cannot claim you’re from UP then buy a turquoise ring that looked at us like it really costs three times your declared assets.

Lovers of brains, is this the guy UP sends out into the world as an example? We know some of you can solve equations faster than Chiz can explain his lifestyle.

You wonder if this is the best. Confront the quiet desperation of a nation hoping for better even as we settle for less.

Imagine Chiz doing the Oblation. It represents selfless service. Did Chiz run? We may never know. The more pressing question: did conscience ever get the chance?

Service to the nation. That is UP’s heartbeat. It is not glamorous. Never Instagrammable. Never inconvenient. It is unpaid. Messy. It is the promise you make to every student who walks through the university’s gates. It is sacred. Because integrity is priceless. Every student who dreams of making a difference deserves to have a role model who actually exemplifies what UP teaches.

Service to the nation is not taking P30 million from a contractor “friend” and cashing checks from people who might benefit from your decisions.

The brightest minds in the country, and here we are, marveling at someone’s most creative ability to rationalize a very expensive friendship.

Chiz is a cautionary tale. He is proof that a degree, however brilliant, does not guarantee conscience. And every time we look at him, it is a reminder that brilliance without ethics is a crime against hope.

Do not let Chiz sully the intellectual rigor that literally built the best minds in the Philippines. Because brilliance doesn’t pretend. Nor does excellence bankrupt logic. Chiz? He is none of the above. And if he still wears that badge, well, you wouldn’t let him near a calculator, let alone your reputation.

We urge you, UP. Make your statement. Ethics, once abandoned. Silence in the face of misconduct is the true betrayal of education.

When the mirror warps, it is the school, not the graduate, that is expected to polish it. The value of an alma mater is measured by the courage it has to confront its own legends when they fail humanity.

A university that nurtures intellect without conscience fails its promise, and must be willing to draw lines where brilliance alone cannot redeem.

Make a statement. Not to humiliate. Or punish legally. But in declaration, loud, proud, unambiguous, that the values you teach are not for sale for P30 million.

Nobody knows better than this country the heartbreak of realizing the best is really just not.