JEDDAH, 20 August 2003 — A fact-finding team from Manila has began its investigation into the power struggle that has bedeviled the International Philippine School in Jeddah (IPSJ).
On Monday night, the team met with the “legitimate” board of trustees chaired by Efren Rodriguez. Last night, the team met with the “interim board” of Fidel Hernandez, which seized control of the school in November, last year.
It will also meet with the faculty, staff and other parents.
The team is headed by Ambassador Petronila Garcia. Its members are Consuls Jet Leda, Ramon Nerida and Lisa Rosanna.
Arab News learned that Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople was compelled to send the team to investigate and recommend what course of action the government may take because of conflicting reports reaching his office.
Last week, Ople ordered Consul General Kadatuan P. Usop to report to Manila, reportedly to give the investigating team a free hand in gathering information. He designated Vice Consul Jose Cacob to take over the consulate in a temporary capacity.
Usop had been accused by IPSJ parents and some lawmakers in Manila of defying Ople’s earlier directives to turn over the school’s management to the Rodriguez board.
Usop helped the Hernandez group in kicking out the Rodriguez board, whose resignation the parents had demanded for overstaying their term and for allegedly refusing to present a financial statement of the school’s accounts.
Claiming his mission was only to restore order at the community school, Usop announced later last year that he would call an election for a new board before the end of January 2003. The promised election never came and the consul general assumed the position of chairman of the governing council until the Saudi Ministry of Education in April issued a warning for the consulate to restore the Rodriguez board to power and to stop interfering in the affairs of the school.
At that point, Usop resigned his position as chairman, prompting the “interim board” to appoint Hernandez as its chairman. In early June, Ople directed Usop to reinstate the Rodriguez board. Usop did dismiss the Hernandez board but failed to restore the Rodriguez board to power.
An initial announcement by consulate officer in charge Jacob to reinstatement the Rodriguez board was met with vehement objections by the group of Hernandez and other factions at the IPSJ.
A proposal to hold an election under the supervision of the consulate and the Saudi MOE is favored by most parents as the most acceptable option.
