Merinette Retona (from J 196 WUV)
CLAIM:
A publicity material released April 19 in the official Facebook page of USC councilor candidate Marco Dava (KAISA UP) claimed that he was a member of the internal affairs committee of the University of the Philippines Journalism Club (UPJC) for academic year 2017-18.
FACT:
The UPJC said Dava applied for membership during the first semester of AY 2017-2018 and was a “conditional” member after he failed to complete the application process.
He became a member by the end of the first semester, and was assigned to the internal affairs committee of the organization during the second semester, according to UPJC.
However, he failed to deliver his responsibilities as a UPJC member.
On February 11, Dava sent UPJC Vice President and committee head for Internal Affairs Jane Bautista a message through Facebook Messenger saying he “feel(s) like he really couldn’t commit to the responsibilities and tasks assigned to (him)” because of his commitment to another organization.
Bautista replied to Dava’s message by asking him if he would be able to address his duties as a UPJC member after finishing his other commitments, but Dava never replied.
“The only time he attended a meeting was during the first committee meeting. He then became unresponsive, hindi na siya nagreply nung nagtanong ako ng ‘Magiging active ka pa ba (he didn’t reply when I asked him, ‘Will you still be active)?’ The executive board took that as, he withdrew his commitment from the org,” Bautista said.
This inactivity became the basis for UPJC to send Dava a notice of suspension on April 14. 
He was subsequently served a notice of expulsion earlier today after he failed to appeal his suspension. UPJC said it is still awaiting Dava’s response.
