In a statement, the UST Graduate School denied that it broke its rules to favor Corona. It added that Corona had enrolled in all of the requisite subjects leading to the doctorate, attended his classes, passed them and delivered a "scholarly treatise" for his dissertation in a public lecture. UST said that since it has been declared by the Commission on Higher Education as an "autonomous higher educational institution (HEI)" it thus enjoys an institutional academic freedom to set its standards of quality and excellence and determine to whom it shall confer appropriate degrees. It added that issues about Corona's residency and academic honor received were moot because these come under the institutional academic freedom of the university. UST likewise questioned the objectivity of the article citing that Vitug has had a run-in with Corona and the Supreme Court. Vitug supported Associate Justice "Antonio Carpio"'s bid for the chief justiceship in her articles in "Rogue" and "Newsbreak"