March 18, 2024

THE ADHOC COMMITTEE

My Application for Reclassification
This College

Dear Sirs and Ma’ams:

Greetings of Peace, Good health, and Safety!

Let it be known that my application for the promotion to the professorial status was not
attended by any trace of evident bad faith nor malicious intent to conceal material facts.
Supported by authentic documents, I submitted myself to the directions and guidance of
this committee.

To shed light on the attendant circumstances, let me present the facts and timelines of
everything that transpired;

1. On September 30, 2022, I had an interview with a panel of evaluators for my

accreditation to professorial rank. At the onset of the interview after my short talk about
myself, the chairman of the panel remarked that I was highly qualified for the
professorial position according to the submitted documents, except for the fact that I
had no publication in a journal recognized by NBC. I acknowledged this fact but
expressed my belief that the indexing companies of my publications, although not
recognized by NBC, were still reliable as the journals of my published articles were
available in the libraries of various international universities (see annex 1). The
chairman then asked if I had papers prepared for publication, to which I responded
affirmatively. He stated that if I could provide evidence of acceptance in reputable
journals such as Scopus-indexed journals showing that I am the primary author, they
would recommend my application for approval, subject to the endorsement of my
college president. I then asked if I would undergo another interview after presenting the
required evidence, to which the chairman said that there was no need for me to do so.
The interview would proceed to evaluate the other criteria. The interview continued after
this.

2. During the following week, I came across a healthcare journal that had been indexed
by Scopus. To verify its legitimacy, I checked the indexing database link that had been
shared with us by Mr. Sam Magomnang of USTP. To recall, during the day of our
interview, Mr. Magomnang was assigned to our holding area for our assistance. He
gave us tips on how to ensure that the journals were recognized by NBC. Utilizing the
 2

aforementioned link, I discovered that the journal was included in the list of recognized
journals by NBC. I was impressed by this discovery and immediately submitted the
research article with myself as the principal author. On the 5 th day of October 2022, I
received an email confirming my submission (Annex 2). On October 10, 2022, I
received the acceptance letter from the healthcare journal and the editorial review
approval result with information that the article would be published in its Volume 10
issue No. 4 (Annex 3). I forwarded them and a screenshot of the journal to Mr.
Magomnang via messenger, asking him to double-check if the journal was legitimate.
He confirmed that it was, as can be seen in Annex 3.

3. Right after the confirmation that such a journal was legit, I paid the publication fee,
which the journal had acknowledged on _____ (Annex 4). Then, I received an email on
_____ informing me about the pre-print version of my manuscript (Annex 5). From that
time onward I constantly monitored the progressive publications of the journal in the
said Volume and Issue while waiting for the cut-off month of the publication in
December 2022.

4. After the cut-off month of the publication, I noticed that the said research article was
not included in the table of contents of Volume 10, Issue No. 4 which I immediately
verified from the journal. On _____, the journal acknowledged my verification email
(Annex 6). On _____, I received an email informing me that the aforementioned
research article could not be located.

5. After realizing that I had been scammed, I reported the incident to the appropriate
authorities of this college. I also promised to do everything in my capacity to publish the
same research article before the implementation of the next NBC cycle.

6. During this time, my left eye had already undergone two (2) consecutive surgeries,
which made it prone to infections and often became dry. Despite this, I have been
working hard to submit the same research article to journals recognized by NBC to
comply with the requirements set by the Regional Accreditation Committee (RAC). This
involved revising it to suit to the unique and specific requirements of each journal like
formatting, etc., and patiently waiting for the results of the review process, which are
subject to the policies and standards of each journal. Consequently, it took me a long
time until the article was finally accepted for publication.
7. The aforementioned article was then published before the final phase of the
implementation of the current NBC cycle for I still have to sign the documents for my
promotion, and the matter has not been approved yet by the BOT. Hence, I fulfilled my
promise to try my very best to have it published before the implementation of the current
NBC cycle.
 3

Prayers:

1. After having presented the facts of the issue, may it be recognized by this
Committee, the College President, and the members of the Board of Trustees (if
necessary), that throughout the aforementioned courses of events, I acted in good faith
and there was no malicious intent to conceal material facts from the Committee, the
College President, and the members of the Board of Trustees. Furthermore, may the
following reasons justify this prayer and consequently merit their conviction that I indeed
acted as I prayed herewith:
1.1. I was only a victim of the fraudulent act of the scammer. A situation that I had not
foreseen nor doubted considering that the shared journal link and the issued
certification had apparent authenticity and reliability.
1.2. The process of selecting a healthcare journal was similar to my previous
experiences and even more precise and careful. Instead of relying solely on my
judgment, I sought the confirmation of individuals knowledgeable in determining
whether or not the journal is indexed by a company recognized by NBC. These
individuals included my co-author, who was an official in CHED Region XI, and Mr.
Magomnang, who shared with us the link to a database of journals recognized by NBC.
They both confirmed the journal’s authenticity and reliability as per the link I shared with
them.

2. May this committee and the college president find me remaining honest and truthful
in my entire participation in the current NBC cycle even if I know that the concerned
research article has not been published yet. The following are my reasons:
2.1. After consultation with trusted persons, and prayerfully seeking the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, I submitted my documents to the institutional reclassification committee
for purposes of evaluation and rating. The documents were authentic and were
evidence of my performance and accomplishments within the rating period.
2.2. During the evaluation of the documents at the national level, our representative
who is our institutional committee chair, called me up via cellular phone for some
clarifications on what had transpired during my previous evaluation. I relayed to him the
necessary information and assured him that I would not pursue it if, at the end of the
process, I would still fail to publish the said research article.
2.3. Throughout the process of the NBC current cycle, from the document submission
until at present, it was clear to me that I should not sign the document about my
reclassification for the rank of Professor IV if such a research article would not be
published. On December 30, 2024, the article was accepted for publication, and I
considered it as the meaning of the assuring signs I received during my prayers and
reflections.
 4

3. After presenting the reasons why I believe that I acted in good faith, I respectfully
request that my research article's publication date in March 2024, although beyond the
evaluation cycle, be reconsidered as compliant with the requirement for my professorial
rank granted in NBC cycle 8.
4. I further pray that my application for the current NBC cycle will also be reconsidered
despite my pronouncement during the committee meeting that I am willing to withdraw
it. However, may it not be taken as an outright retraction of such a statement but as a
sharing of additional insights and reflections that transpired after the said meeting. I am
hoping that these will also serve as food for reflection of the members of this committee.
The following insights and reflections led me to this prayer:
4.1. This is a different cycle, and the documents I submitted will not be credited for the
succeeding cycle.
4.2. The documents that I submitted which covered the period from July 1, 2019, to
July 30, 2023, were pieces of evidence of my loyalty, dedication, and commitment to
serve the institution as a campus administrator, vice president for research,
development, extension, and knowledge management, and a faculty member of the
college of arts and sciences.

Considering that I was only a victim of fraud, which I considered a fortuitous event, I
finally prayed for the liberal application of CSC law and rules. Need not say, that I
exerted diligent efforts to comply with the requirements for my promotion to the
professorial rank. In closing, I reiterate my resolve to submit my case and my fate to the
sound judgment of this committee and the college president with a prayer to arrive at a
just and equitable resolution.

Very respectfully yours,

ALVIN O. CAYOGYOG
Faculty, College of Arts and Sciences