JEDDAH, 5 November — The group backed by the Philippine Consulate General here has effectively taken control of the International Philippine School in Jeddah (IPSJ), in defiance of a warning by a Ministry of Education (MOE) official.

Arab News sources said that as of yesterday, the takeover was complete that even the school’s bank account had been frozen upon the new group’s request.

"We had the account frozen to prevent anymore pilferage," said Fidel Hernandez, who was sworn in last week by Consul General Kadatuan P. Usop as chairman of the school’s "new" Board of Trustees (BOT).

In a telephone interview with Arab News, Hernandez urged parents and students not to worry because their only concern is to restore order and good management in the school.

"They should not worry because we are only following the IPSJ Constitution and By-laws," he said.

A parent supporter of Hernandez’s group also claimed that the new team has so far learned that the school has only 200,000 riyals left in its account.

"An investigation is one of the first things that we will do to find out where the school’s money have gone," said the parent, who declined to be named.

Test of wills

Information gathered by Arab News from parents, faculty, and staff, showed that the members of the MOE-recognized BOT chaired by Efren Rodriguez were nowhere to be found when the Consulate-backed team asserted its power on Sunday.

Policemen were reportedly sent to the school during the takeover but they didn’t arrest anyone because there was no complaint of violence being committed.

"Whenever the Hernandez team comes, the Rodriguez group scampers away," one "confused" school staff said by telephone. "It’s a test of wills and it seems that the new group is getting the upper hand."

Yesterday, Consul General Usop reportedly visited the school and talked with the principal.

It was not known what they discussed as none of the consul general and the principal were immediately available for comment.

But sources said the visit had a "powerful effect" in favor of the Hernandez group.

Asked to confirm if there was indeed a takeover, "old" BOT chairman Rodriguez on Sunday night would only say "they are there (nandiyan sila)."

But he said the dispute is now between the Consulate group and the MOE.

Double standard?

On Saturday, Director Mansour Ghazali of the MOE’s foreign education division, said the ministry was not honoring the team of Hernandez and warned that their attempt seize power was a violation of Saudi law.

A Philippine Consulate official, on the other hand, said Ghazali was practicing double standard, one for the Philippine school and another for other foreign schools in Jeddah.

The official, who asked not to be identified, said when the Rodriguez BOT was elected in 1999, it was made clear that their term was only for one year. But the term had been extended by the MOE, and that this extension is a cause of disenchantment among parents.

"Moreover, this is a community school and the community has every right to change the school BOT, especially after the existing one had exceeded its one-year mandate by two years. Additionally, there was no evidence of the existing body calling for fresh elections. It was also allegedly embroiled in financial embezzlement," he added.

"One good thing is that the community is alert and is ever ready to act in the interest of smooth running of the school," he said, adding that in a democracy the voice of the people was supreme.

"Nobody, no external force could stifle the voices of parents when the legality and principles of the school were being eroded," the official said.

He added that although the community ran the school their country’s mission had a role in overseeing its operations in the interest of its smooth functioning.

Asked about the validity of the Hernandez group as a BOT, which, according to the MOE, the Rodriguez group, and a third party of parents, was not elected, the official said he was of the impression that they were elected.

"They claim they have been elected. I was on vacation but I do believe that they are an elected body," he said.

Like a broken record

Hernandez yesterday maintained that they were elected by a parents’ assembly on Oct. 11 in front of the IPSJ compound on Gornatah district.

Ghazali and Rodriguez had earlier refuted that, saying for a BOT to be validly elected, the election has to be first allowed by the governor of the Makkah region, and it has to be supervised by the ministry’s representatives.

Parents who aspire for seats in the Board have to pass certain criteria, such as proving that they are bachelor’s degree holders, a gainfully employed in the Kingdom, and have a no-objection certificate from their sponsors.

Ghazali further promised that the ministry was arranging for an election probably in January or February.

Hernandez yesterday said they don’t want to hear anymore of "recycled" statements.

"If you read the papers, that’s what they have been saying a year ago when we first clamored for an election," he said.