What begins as a General Assembly devolves into a very public confrontation, exposing fractures within a college foundation now under scrutiny over missing funds counting up to the millions.
On June 22, 2026, the pick-up and drop-off area of the UP College of Media and Communication (UP CMC) becomes the unexpected backdrop for a heated exchange between two women respected in their respective fields.
One of them is Malou Choa-Fagar.
Fagar is a veteran television executive and a pillar of the original Eat Bulaga! production. She also served briefly as president and chief executive officer of the Jalosjos-owned TAPE Inc. in 2024, during the Jalosjos family’s much publicized falling-out with Tony Tuviera and the noontime show’s hosts, Senator Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon. Following this, she was appointed general manager and chief operating officer of PTV-4 in August 2025.
She is currently a member of the board of trustees of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication Foundation, Inc. (UPCMCFI).
The other is Cecile Ilagan.
Ilagan has taught Research and Broadcast Principles and Practice to undergraduate students, as well as Media Theory and Media Literacy to graduate students at the University of the Philippines.
She is currently an assistant professor at UP Diliman’s Department of Broadcast Communication.
Roughly six hours after the General Assembly, a video capturing the heated exchange between the two women appears on the Facebook page of Tinig Ng Plaridel, the college’s official publication.
The video is intriguing enough as verbal altercation between the two professionals but, at its core, points to the more grievous divide between a state university's College and its Foundation.
The issue centers on the finances of the UPCMCFI.
AN EXCHANGE CAPTURED ON VIDEO
The video starts with Ilagan standing outside a car, raising her voice to individuals who remain inside a car whose tinted windows are rolled up.
She is asking for the audit report on the Foundation's funds and is decrying her exclusion from the just-concluded General Assembly.
Ilagan: “Ilang araw na po'ng nakalipas, June 2, nag-meeting. Hinihintay namin yung email mula pa nung June 2.
"Tapos kaya ako um-attend dito para makita ko yung report. Hindi niyo ako pinapasok, nag-lock pa kayo ng auditorium," referring to the UP CMC auditorium, venue for the General Assembly.
A voice from inside the car can be heard saying: "Yes, because ganyan ang magiging action mo."
Ilagan fires back: "Ano?"
The voice replies: "Ayan, ayan."
Ilagan retorts: "O, ngayon, kung ganito yung magiging action ko, hindi ba tama lang?"
By this time, the car window is rolled down, revealing two women inside, one of them Fagar, who says: "It's so unbecoming, it's so..."
Her voice trails off as Ilagan turns to the camera held by Tinig ng Plaridel staffer Seven Fangki. A small crowd has also gathered to witness the altercation. To them, Ilagan explains her outburst:
"Nakakagalit talaga pag nawala ang apat na milyon na pera sa foundation, na four hundred thousand na lang ngayon, na hindi nila maipaliwanag!”
Fagar picks up where she left off: "It's so unbecoming of a professor to be acting that way."
Ilagan shoots back: "It is so unbecoming of you as the president!"
Fagar corrects her: "Excuse me, I'm not the president."
Ilagan counters: "Sabi mo kanina acting president ka."
Fagar responds: "Only for today."
The context for this is that the Foundation's ex-officio president and incumbent dean of the College of Mass Communication, Diosa Labiste, had “disengaged,” a term used by Ilagan, from the UPCMCFI since June 3.
Fagar, who sits in the Board of Trustees, had been tasked to preside over the General Assembly of June 22.
Next, the Tinig Ng Plaridel video shows Ilagan holding a stack of documents that she attempts to hand over to the two women inside the car, neither of whom is willing to receive them.
"Just please sign, I will give you a copy," Ilagan says, her tone relatively calmer.
When no one takes the paper, she repeats, this time stronger and louder: "Just sign that you received this. You're our corporate secretary."
This time, Ilagan is addressing the woman beside Fagar, later identified in reports as Ritzi Villarico Ronquillo.
Fagar, known in the entertainment industry as "Tita Malou," someone who speaks evenly even during heated discussions, says in controlled tones: "Alam mo, gigil na gigil rin ako sa iyo...kasi ikot lang tayo nang ikot."
Ilagan presses again for the audit report: "Sige, pag hindi ko na-receive ang audit report today, what will you do?"
Fagar replies: "Sue me. If I don't give it to you today, sue me."
This time, their voices go down a notch but the tension does not.
Ilagan: "So, what's preventing you from sending it now?"
Fagar: "Because we need time to submit it, to forward it. O, bakit? Nasa sa kanila..."
Ilagan: "It was already presented during the June 2 meeting. We're just waiting for our copy."
Fagar: "Alam mo, o, yun naman pala, e."
June 2 marks the Foundation’s meeting with the College Executive Board, where the “prorata distribution” of the departments’ remaining funds is discussed.
UP CMC—in a statement about the June 2 meeting posted on its FB page on June 24—says the Foundation “failed to explain how the amounts were arrived at, where the rest of the project funds are, and how the UP CMC units can recover and access the full amounts.”
UP CMC units cover the following: Department of Broadcast Communication, Department of Communication Research, UP Film Institute, Department of Journalism, and the Graduate Studies Department.
The UP CMC statement also outlines four demands, foremost of which is to “provide the members of the Foundation with copies of the audited financial statements, audit report/s, and other financial reports for the years 2016 to 2025.”
Ilagan is adamant about getting this audit report: "Where is it nga?"
Fagar: "Why do you still need a copy?"
Ilagan veers to another topic: "Where is the suspension?"
Fagar, beginning to reply, says, "Hindi, why do you...," but seeing the conversation take a different turn, stops, appearing surprised at the mention of a suspension.
Ilagan piles it on: "O, di hindi mo rin alam, akala ko ba acting president ka?"
Fagar: "Only for the assembly."
Ilagan, voice louder and tone more aggressive, presses on: "Okay, just plain and simple, explain to us now, to all these students, where did our money go?"
Fagar’s answer comes without hesitation: “It was stolen!”
Ilagan starts to press Fagar to name those responsible, but Fagar refuses to say more.
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What Isn’t Captured on Video
The video has since gone viral, amassing 1.5 million views at press time.
Some netizens are quick to brand Fagar "corrupt."
Even with her repeated clarification that she was president only for the General Assembly, public perception quickly ties her to the controversy.
Two days later, June 24, UPCMCFI releases an official statement saying Fagar had no involvement with the missing money at any time:
Fagar was simply asked to preside [over] the GA, but, "never had access, possession, or control of the funds in question, and is innocent of the allegations made against her on social media."
Meanwhile, other netizens call out Ilagan’s approach as “pag-iiskandalo.”
Still other netizens weigh in to say that the confrontation could've been handled more privately.
Indeed, how did the situation escalate so?
"Because the Trustees were very evasive," replies Ilagan in an exclusive chat with PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) via Facebook Messenger on June 25.
What made you follow Fagar to her car?
Ilagan explains that, early that the morning, she tried to gain entry to the General Assembly, but: "We were locked out."
Continuing, she says: "The video you saw happened after I was locked out of the meeting room for over an hour.
"While in another video, TNP [Tinig ng Plaridel] reporter was interviewing Fagar, I was asking other trustees why no one ever came out to tell us to join the meeting.
"I went outside the CMC building because the trustees were all heading out of the building.
"I needed to ask treasurer Maria Angelica 'Rica' Abad for the audit report. She said last June 2 and June 22, she'll email but never did.
"I also had to serve our Manifesto of Membership Protest and Demand for Transparency to the corporate secretary Nerissa 'Ritzi' Ronquillo who was inside the car with Fagar.
"I was not following Fagar."
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FACULTY VErsuS FOUNDATION
As is par for the course in social media, more netizens had to have their say. Some call the heated argument “away ng mga Englishera, sosyal, matatalino, mayaman.”
But, in fact, the heated exchange is just the tip of the iceberg.
The contending groups—Faculty versus Foundation—are now moving in different directions. One is focused on recovering the missing funds; the other is focused on “filing cases to recover the funds.”
The Foundation outlines the issue in a brief June 24 statement.
"The UPCMCFI Board discovered that there was misappropriation of funds by individual(s) after an external audit covering the period of 2021–2025 that was initiated from August 2025 to January 2026."
The statement does not reveal who are involved.
"The total missing P4.4M of UPCMCFI funds were taken by certain individual(s), and consisted of P1.4M remaining funds from different closed projects, and P2.9M from Operating and Institutional funds of UPCMCFI that are earmarked for financial support of the UPCMC Staff and the College."
The statement also does not indicate when a complaint would be filed.
But it clearly alludes to having built up a “strong case” over the past months and a definite plan to “file cases to recover the funds.”
The statement reveals:
"Even before the GA, the Board took action and approved resolutions to engage legal counsel to pursue appropriate remedies against the person(s) concerned."
To this, Ilagan maintains that the Foundation’s action plan is moving at a snail’s pace.
In her interview with PEP, she points to how many months have passed, noting that the UPCMCFI could have acted sooner against the individuals involved.
"Several years of not presenting the financial statements during General Assemblies," she says.
"I came into the picture only in 2025. When I noticed irregularities, I personally filed a verified complaint with the SEC starting December 9, 2025.
"If they really wanted to file a case, two to three months is more than enough because, by January 2026, they already have enough evidence.
"All that's left to do is prepare the complaint affidavit, submit to court, and wait two months for feedback.
"Why then did they not do anything in the last four to five months aside from just issue preventive suspension? Do they really want to recover the missing funds?"
On this matter, the UPCMCFI has stated: "Case details and evidence cannot be released so as not to compromise legal strategy and violate court rules."
But the short explanation did little to ease UP CMC’s concerns. It asks: why could it not be given access to the audit report?
Soon after the June 2 meeting, UP CMC duly asked for the audit report.
According to Ilagan: "The follow-ups were made through various channels by the minutes taker.
"Note that requests and follow-ups as far as I am concerned started since November 25, 2025.
"The efforts of other members started even years before that."
Meanwhile, a source from UPCMCFI reaches out to PEP to clarify the amount allocated to UP CMC and its units.
The source says: “Hindi PHP4M ang pera nila sa Foundation; most of it is earmarked to support college workers.
“The PHP1.4 million in remaining funds from closed projects is what should be in question.
“The rest is Foundation money, not theirs.”
Asked what is slowing down the filing of the complaint, the source replies: "Hindi ganoon kadali kumuha ng mga evidence from the bank..."
WHY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY MATTERS
The June 22 General Assembly was, to all concerned, a crucial meeting, with the audit report expected to be part of the main agenda, as well as the election of new officers of the Foundation.
For Ilagan, it was the ideal venue for addressing the issues.
But, as she tells it, she and several members were locked out and left to wait outside the auditorium, even when they were willing to pay the PHP500 annual membership fee.
UPCMCFI countered by saying their required attendance forms were lacking.
The Foundation statement said:
"The Notices of Meeting were sent on June 1, 2026 to all registered email addresses of UPCMCFI members that included these two requirements:
"(1) Pre-register with the Attendance/ Proxy Form, and (2) Membership Dues via bank deposit or bank transfer to be submitted by June 19, 2026 (Friday).
"There was special consideration for members who had already submitted their attendance/proxy form by the June 19 deadline and were unfamiliar with online banking: cash payment at the registration desk by 9 a.m. on June 22."
Professor Ilagan confirms that she received the Notice of Meeting on "Tue, Jun 2, 2026, at 12:45 A.M."
However, she did not submit the attendance form, a requirement for this meeting that, the professor wants noted, had not been imposed in the past.
Adding to the confusion, a number of walk-in members said they did not receive the notices at all.
Ilagan herself was at the venue by 8:30 A.M.
"I was able to go inside to look for the person to whom I can pay my membership dues.
"They were still setting up when I arrived. So, I patiently waited. At 8:49 A.M., I asked for the person, Jonathan Beldia, who should receive the payments, but he was not yet there.
"I told the Trustees that their email said I have to pay before 9 A.M., but Beldia arrived at 9:30 A.M.
"Upon my insistence, the corp sec [corporate secretary] gave me an attendance form, but told me I can just observe and not vote.
"I questioned that because, in the bylaws, dues are payable on or before the Annual Members' Meeting.
"So they made me wait outside at 10 A.M. while they said they'll deliberate on the matter.
"No one came out until 11 A.M. when the meeting was already over.
"We also have the payments of the other members who would like to pay for their 2026 dues under protest and on hold for escrow."
UPCMCFI has countered that the "walk-in persons did not submit the duly communicated requirements due to their initial decision to boycott the GA."
When this was raised with Ilagan, she tells PEP: "No. Every Foundation member is free to attend if they want to."
On the boycott claim, Ilagan admits: "I, personally, was hesitant at first because the 2025 membership fee I paid for has not been properly accounted for.
"No audited financial report was shown to us where the membership fees will add up to the remaining money.
"I cannot just let go of my money again if I'm not certain about the Foundation's operations.
"The Dean of CMC, who in the Bylaws is designated ex-officio President of the UPCMC Foundation, Inc., declared that she has not assumed the presidency of the Foundation.
"This non-assumption is grounded on the same unresolved issues of accountability and transparency in fund management."
Attendance at the General Assembly and payment of membership dues are in fact sound moves because, as is common practice in many organizations, when members choose to be absent, these members can be declared delinquent.
Thus, members risk forfeiting not just their vote but their voice. When this happens, they are left on the sidelines during proceedings meant to address accountability for such matters as missing funds.
That said, Ilagan and other walk-in members were still denied entry.
WHO SHOULD BE HELD LIABLE?
The UPCMCFI June 24 statement reveals a "5-step game plan, which included freezing the Agenda after the Call to Order" that it said was instigated by interested parties.
This was supposedly emailed to all CMC faculty members "with intent to disrupt the General Assembly."
PEP asks Professor Ilagan: Did you receive this email, and do you know its source?
Replying, Ilagan gives a clear: "Yes."
Then adds: "And I prepared that email, but addressed it to specific people."
Continuing, she says: "The trustees are violating data privacy law for reading a confidential email not addressed to them."
To PEP, Ilagan elaborates on her proposed game plan, whose rationale is admittedly to question the legality of the General Assembly.
Ilagan says: "Right after the meeting is called to order, our designated spokesperson will raise a Point of Order.
"We will formally object to the meeting's legality because the Board did not serve the notices to some active members.
"The freezing of the agenda is nothing irregular.
"Like any motion, it can be done cordially and collegially."
Tinig ng Plaridel's first post about the issue, on June 22, quotes a paragraph from Ilagan's email to fellow faculty.
It reads:
“We must maintain our voting status by attending and paying UNDER PROTEST so we can legally capture the meeting, force financial transparency, and make the missing funds their personal liability."
Who are referred to in the words "their personal liability"?
Ilagan first sends PEP a PDF copy of the Revised Corporation Code, where Section 30 deals with the “Liability of Directors, Trustees or Officers.”
It reads in part: "Directors or trustees who willfully and knowingly vote for or assent to patently unlawful acts of the corporation or who are guilty of gross negligence or bad faith in directing the affairs of the corporation or acquire any personal or pecuniary interest in conflict with their duty as such directors or trustees shall be liable jointly..."
After which she comments: "Maraming miyembro na hindi alam ang karapatan nila kaya hindi nila alam paano babantayan ang trustees nila.
"Even if they will not allow us to vote, because they won't accept my 2026 membership dues even if we're ready to pay, I should be allowed to observe.
"Locking us out is a violation of the Revised Corp Code."
Ilagan says, as an educator, she sees a silver lining in all this.
"If in the end, this exchange of comments on FB leads to educating our people about non-profit corporations and what their rights are as members, masaya na ako, bawi na lahat ng pagod ko."
Why is she very involved in this matter?
Ilagan says that, very simply, she does not want to be part of “a typical case of bad things prevailing because the good does nothing.”
And, finally, how did the heated exchange caught on video end?
"They just left the CMC premises without fulfilling their promise to email the audit report on the same day."
What is her next step?
"As Fagar advised me, I'm suing her. No, seriously, not just her, but the BOT [Board of Trustees]."
PEP EDITORS: PEP welcomes all further statements from the UPCMCFI.
In the hours after the video aired, PEP got in touch with Malou Fagar. She declined to answer our questions, saying that the Foundation has decided to issue a collective statement. She then sent PEP the June 24, 2026 statement quoted here.