JEDDAH, 31 July 2003 — “What have we done to deserve your anger and fury?”
The so-called “Interim Board” of the International Philippines School in Jeddah (IPSJ) threw this question to Consul General Kadatuan Usop yesterday as they justified their move in “reasserting their duties” as officials of the troubled school.
Writing as chairman of the board, Fidel Hernandez said Usop’s letter to them on Monday raised more questions than answers.
Usop wrote that the school’s bank account is not under his name and that it is intact, the school’s finances would be audited soon and made known to parents, and the 45 excess school employees were largely hired by Hernandez’s group.
Usop attributed the delay in payment of teachers and staff on low collections, the failure of the ousted school board to turn over funds under its control, and the collection of honoraria by “Interim Board.”
In his reply, Hernandez said Usop should disclose who the authorized signatories are and issue a simple financial statement just to prove the school funds are intact. He said “low collection” was not a valid reason because even the collection of SR500 as miscellaneous fee alone for 1,000 students enrolled at IPSJ would show at least SR500,000 collected.
Hernandez said it was not his group that initiated the giving of honoraria. “It just came suddenly to us through a committee you have created. All our actions were not made in an illegal manner but supported by a board resolution, which you approved as chairman of the school board,” he wrote.
Contrary to Usop’s claim, he said, it was not his group that hired the new teachers. “Remember you took over control of the school board before we could implement our policy and programs...,” he said.
Hernandez said what surprised them most was Usop’s recent statements denying the legality of “interim board.”
“You once supported our legal status. We have letters and documents proving that,” he said, citing Usop’s letters to local police authorities and a Saudi court attesting that Hernandez’s group was the legal school board.
Hernandez said Usop’s recognition of the interim board is “still valid and effective” since Usop has not issued any official document dissolving it.
Hernandez also clarified that their return to the school was not a case of a “takeover,” because “we were just reasserting our rights as parents elected to govern.”
He clarified that there was no firing in the case of the 12 security officers and that there also was no hiring. “Their contracts expired and we did not renew them precisely because we wanted to cut down on staff,” he said, adding that only three or four guards are needed by the school. He said the only new personnel they hired was a Saudi national to head security force.
Hernandez said his group agrees with Usop that the interest of parents and students should be upheld, but that the consul general should prove his words with deeds. “In our hearts, we will always support and respect you, but as you once said to us, respect is earned, not imposed,” he wrote.