JEDDAH, 16 January 2004 — “Finally, the power struggle had come to an end. After this, we hope for reconciliation to dawn on the school. I am optimistic that we can still regain the good name of IPSJ,” said Mrs. Ameerah S. Ali, the school principal as she expressed her gratitude at the peaceful conduct of the recently concluded school board elections.

“In behalf of the IPSJ management, I would like to extend our gratitude to the Saudi Ministry of Education, the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, IPSJ staff and lastly but not the least, the parents,” she said

Mr. Hassan Basman, the chairman of the Board of Canvassers said that the low election turnout was probably the result of the strict ‘no-standing account’ ruling set by the Saudi MOE on parents who would be allowed to vote.

Only 275 out of the 459 qualified voters were able to vote.

During the Jan. 6 meeting with MOE Executive Director of English Curriculum, Dr. Al-Mansour Ghazali, the candidates requested Ghazali to reduce the number of votes to at least one thousand by not allowing parents with standing accounts to vote. Ghazali said he was aware of the unpaid salary of teachers so he placed the matter under the discretion of the principal who decided in favor of the measure.

The cashier’s office was relocated at the parents’ quarters purposely to serve parents who wanted to settle their outstanding accounts. Some sixty parents were able to vote after paying their dues, according to Mrs. Norhaya A. Limbao, who chaired the registration committee.

The Saudi MOE and Philippine Consulate in tandem proclaimed the nine elected Board Members as Mr. Angelito B. Lazo, Mr. Mardy Dimalotang, Mr. Ricardo S. Briones, Mrs. Josefina V. Gavierez, Engr. Mokalid Diagao, Mr. Bernardo Tan, Mr. Edris Tamano, Engr. Yusoph Taha, and Mr. Leonilo T. Lucena from the pool of 11 candidates with the last two winners being on stand-by mode.

In a message, Mr. Ghazali reminded the elected board members to be mindful of their obligation to the school adding that they are not going to receive any honorarium or to reimburse any expenses incurred in the exercise of their obligation to the school.

He added that their duty will purely to be of service to the community.