Published last July 12, 2012
► By PWD Investigative Team
The PinoyWatchDog.com investigative team has been informed by the cum laude database manager at University of Santo Tomas in Manila that Darna Umayam, who has long advised associates she graduated Cum Laude in Mass Communications from UST. Her name cannot be found in the university’s database.
PinoyWatchDog.com sources in the field had developed her maiden name as ‘Banar’. However, the PWD team found her expired real estate license name as Dolores Banania Umayam. Both spellings were provided to UST, but her name did not appear, or anything close. The cum laude designation appears on a recent resume she released while seeking to obtain awardees for her 100 Outstanding Fil-Ams in the U.S. award show.
On Thursday, July 5, 2012, Mrs. Umayam met with PinoyWatchDog.com Senior Columnist Joel Bander at a local Starbucks, and discussed at length PinoyWatchDog.com’s recent Awards Show expose’. That is a companion story about the long mysterious judges and process of selection for the 100 Outstanding Fil-Ams. During that discussion Bander informed her of the results of PWD’s investigation at UST in Manila. Umayam personally assured Bander that she would scan and send her UST graduation certificate to him that evening upon returning home.
However, less than an hour and half later Mrs. Umayam sent an email that stated “it’s up to you to put that I am not cum laude or whatever you wish to put, and that all my license are expired.” The license issue involves a reference on the same resume to a real estate license and notary public commission.
The resume has no dates of licensure. The California Department of Real Estate online web page indicates Umayam’s real estate license expired in 1993. The PWD investigative team has also learned from the California Secretary of State that her notary commission also expired in 1993. However, Umayam’s resume states she was a licensed real estate salesperson “before she retired in 1998.” She confirmed these dates to Bander, but did not wish to discuss the five (5) year anomaly.
PinoyWatchDog.com first received a ‘heads up’ on the cum laude story from another journalist advising that similar research at UST yielded no cum laude record. However, PWD sought to do its own investigation before publishing this story.
Posted by PinoyWatchDog.com
on August 22, 2012. Filed under BLASTS FROM THE PAST,COMMUNITY.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
You must be logged in to post a comment Login
Pingback: UST cannot certify Darna Umayam graduated Cum Laude … | real-estate-licensing
Don Azarias
July 11, 2012 at 4:12 am
Later, this lady will claim that she is the heroine in the classic Filipino film “Darna At Ang Babaeng Lawin.” Instead of a “Cum Laude” maybe she is a “Cum Lawlaw.” (LOL)
BTW, I would like to commend you guys for your investigative zeal in exposing pseudo-community leaders, like her, who bilk the unsuspecting Fil-Am public in order to enrich themselves. What a shame!
Janie Heckert
July 11, 2012 at 4:37 pm
Luke 14:11
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
And he who humbles himself will be exalted.
James 4:6
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Jerry Ruedas
July 11, 2012 at 6:06 pm
What is the whole point of this investigation. This was an email forwarded to myself, but do not understand what is there to gain from this. Thanks
lariosa
July 11, 2012 at 6:50 pm
It just goes to show how gullible we, Filipinos are. Immediately believing the printed resumes of Kababayans or non-Kababayans. This is how Filipinos are bilked from their hard-earned money by whites or non whites(e.g. kababayans) who advertise on their expertise without doing due diligence as to the truthfulness of the printed word.
Thanks to Pinoy Watchdog. You should do more of this investigative reporting on all areas of business especially those that are being used mostly by our Kababayans.
Ravi Chauhan
July 14, 2012 at 12:13 am
really very nice post thanks for sharing with us
Best Home Loans India
Pingback: USA: FIL-AM AWARDS EXPOSE | Patnubay Online
Pingback: California bander | Tomicren
Pingback: HAGIT USA: ABS-CBN signals a return to honesty, integrity and respectability in fund-raisings | Patnubay Online
Pingback: Tony Olaes – Confused Mismanagement of Gawad Kalinga USA at Time of Flood Crisis | PinoyWatchDog.com | TanodBayan
Azon Kel
August 11, 2012 at 8:34 pm
Anyone out there making false claims about credentials to milk hard-working people struggling to make both ends must learn a lesson from this investigation, hopefully. Great job PWD!