JEDDAH, 6 January 2004 — The much-awaited election of the International Philippine School in Jeddah’s (IPSJ) board of trustees (BOT) will be finally held as scheduled on Jan. 9.
In a letter sent acting IPSJ principal Ameerah S. Ali, the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) director general, Abdullah bin Mohammad Al Howaimel, said only 11 aspirants for the seven BOT seats have complied with the requirements and are eligible to run.
They were identified as Mokhalid Diagao, Misug Hadji Omar, Yusoph Taha, Angelito Lazo, Bernardo Tan, Leonilo Lucena, Saibatol Dalos, Josefina Gavieres, Ricardo Briones, Edris Tamano and Mardy Dimalotang.
“It’s now final and no more additional candidates will be entertained,” Yousef Malibary, the newly installed director of foreign education in the Western Region, said in an interview on Sunday.
Malibary was reacting to a request by parents for the inclusion of more candidates. Many parents who are considered “deserving” of a BOT post by their colleagues, but who have been disqualified from running, complained of “too tight” documentation requirements.
But Mansour Ghazali, whom Malibary replaced, said the rigid screening was “to make sure that the future leaders are competent to run the school,”
“We have given them enough time and we cannot afford any more delays,” he added.
The exercise will be administered by a committee to be chaired by Malibary. The other committee members are Ibrahim Mangotara, vice chairman; Daisy Casuyon, parents’ representative; Vice Consul Jose V. Jacob, Philippine Consulate representative; and Bae Tabao and Erlinda Alzate as teachers’ representatives.
The board of canvassers will be composed of Hasan Basman, chairman; Jose Ramil Jr., vice chairman; and Ronel Sapungan, Mohidin Palti, Lara Zayco and Abdulrahman Mustafa as members.
Saudi and Philippine officials hope the election, to be held from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m., would usher in a new beginning for the oldest and biggest Philippine overseas school.
The last time the IPSJ’s governing board was held since it was converted into a community school from an embassy school was in late 1999. While the school’s rules provided for a one-year term for each board, the MOE extended the elected officers’ term for three years, leading to restiveness among parents who accused the BOT chaired by Efren Rodriguez of mismanagement and abuse of power.