The world of academia was thrown into disarray on July 12, 2022, when a TikTok video featuring the two graduates’ valedictory addresses went viral.

In the film, Jayvee Ayen, a magna cum laude graduate of Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges (CSPC) in 2022, and Mariyela Mari Hugo, a cum laude graduate of Far Eastern University (FEU) in 2019, will deliver statements.

The pronunciation, word flow, and topic matter of Jayvee and Mariyela’s speeches are identical in the two-minute tape.

There is also one word that appears frequently in their speeches: “lang.”

The only difference in the flow of the speech was supposedly mimicking to adjust to the time, place, and courses accessible at their institution.

The intriguing aspect of the tale is that Jayvee appears to have plagiarized a portion of Mariyela’s speech that was trending on Twitter at the time due to the great substance and quality of her delivery.

Mirayela received her Bachelor of Secondary Education with a Major in English in June 2019.

Jayvee received a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship from CSPC and graduated first in his class in July 2022.

They were both picked to make valedictory addresses at their graduations at separate periods.

The title of Mariyela’s valedictory speech is “Lang,” which is also the title of Jayvee’s speech.

When the controversy over Jayvee’s apparent copying of Mariyela’s speech broke, the CSPC magna cum laude stated that she was inspired by the FEU cum laude speech.

He stated that he was familiar with the content of Mariyela’s speech and had no intention of imitating it.

In an interview with their school newspaper, The Spark, he stated, “I meant not to plagiarize […] Naka-relate lang rin ako ng sobra nung napanood ko yung video.”

Jayvee also acknowledged seeing Mariyela’s speech on YouTube, but he already had two speeches prepared.

The third speech he composed included information from a poll he conducted among CSPC students and graduates.

Someone apparently shared Mariyela’s “Lang” speech with him after he finished his third speech.

Jayvee also acknowledged that he saw Mariyela’s speech on YouTube, but he already had two speeches prepared.

The third speech he composed included information from a poll he conducted among CSPC students and graduating students.

Someone apparently shared Mariyela’s “Lang” speech with him after he wrote his third speech, “Kay Ma’am Mariyela, I am really sorry. Hindi ko po intensyon na i-plagiarize yung speech niya.

“Nagkataon lang talaga na same topic yung gusto ko i-address (and) at the same time nagkataon rin na napanood ko ‘yung video nya.

“Kung baga driven by her impactful speech kaya nagawa kong ma ipasok yung ibang thought sa speech ko without thinking na napa-plagarize ko na pala yung speech nya.”

Mariela stated, “The issue has already been brought to my attention by concerned netizens.

“While one may have good intentions, one must still check if the means to actualize those intentions are also ethically acceptable. Borrowed ideas, even inspirations, should be cited or at the very least, acknowledged.

“I hope that this issue serves as a reminder to everyone to review and uphold their standards.”

The CSPC published a statement on the heating issue yesterday, July 13.

Jayvee apparently received a barrage of insults, prompting him to apologize to Mariyela.

They apologize for Jayvee’s “carefee attitude” in his “unintentional duplication” of Mariyela’s speech’s idea and style without giving credit to the original author.

They also requested forgiveness from individuals or groups that may have been impacted by the tragedy.

Statement of the CSPC: “With all that has been said and done and on behalf of Mr. Jayvee Ayen, we apologize to Ms. Mariyela Mari G. Hugo for the carefree attitude of Mr. Ayen in unintentionally copying the idea and style of her speech without proper attribution.

“We apologize to all other individuals and entities who may have been offended and affected by this issue.”

Some internet users couldn’t get beyond the college’s use of “unintentional copying” as a justification for their student’s error.

As a consequence, the comment reached the CSPC’s Facebook post’s comments area.

A netizen made the following comment: “How is copying unintentional? The school has been dragged to this mess. You could revoke the award given to him. Plagiarism is a serious offense. It’s a valid ground for expelling a student.”

Another netizen defended: “Copying and publicizing a copied material being an unintentional act? I need a scholarly paper to prove the argument here insofar as it contradicts certain theories of virtue epistemology and moral philosophy.

“The act of copying has the elements of mental and moral deliberations; the decision to copy and publicize the work seals the fact of its intentionality. As a good scholar, he should have at least diligently considered the consequences of his act.”

Another netizen also rejected the school’s reasoning.

They said, “You just gave a free pass to existing and future students of your institution to plagiarize and get away with it. Such disgrace and disservice to everyone in your academe.”

One of them appeared to be looking towards the school administration.

It states: “UNINTENTIONAL COPYING. Almost word per Word , Gesture and Intonations plagiarized. Top 1 of the Graduating class at that? If this is your best how sad”