JEDDAH, 4 June 2003 — In a new turn of events, the de facto Board of Trustees of the International Philippine School in Jeddah (IPSJ) has ignored an order of Consul General Kadatuan Usop dismissing them from running the school.
“It’s all-systems go. The opening of classes at IPSJ will be on June 7 as scheduled,” board chairman Fidel Hernandez told Arab News in a telephone interview yesterday.
He said more than 800 students, from pre-elementary to high school, have enrolled as of yesterday and they expected the enrolment to hit 1,500 when those on vacation to the Philippines return.
Usop declared the board dismissed last Wednesday, saying they were not recognized by both the Saudi Ministry of Education and the Philippine interagency committee (IAC) in charge of Philippine overseas schools.
But on Saturday, Hernandez and his group met with the school faculty and staff and told them Usop’s dismissal order was invalid.
As learned from teachers who were present during the meeting, and as confirmed to Arab News in an interview, Hernandez cited Board Resolution No. 031 dated April 3, 2003 in which Usop reportedly “relinquished” his chairmanship of the IPSJ board.
The supposed resolution was signed by the seven board members and and Usop himself.
“Since he has resigned from the board, he has no basis for dismissing the board,” Hernandez explained.
The consul general was not available for comment.
The Hernandez board also declared as “invalid” Usop’s order reinstating Carlos Mohammed Issa de Leon as principal.
De Leon was dismissed by the board, replacing him with Marietta Catacutan, a veteran in the long-running power struggle at the IPSJ.
To further consolidate their control of the school, the board replaced the guards installed by the consul general with their hand-picked men, school sources said.
The board also dismissed the financial officer perceived to be loyal to Usop.