JEDDAH, 23 February 2004 — Barely have the new trustees of the International Philippine School in Jeddah (IPSJ) warmed their seats and a power struggle is brewing.
Board member Edris Tamano wants Angelito Lazo ousted as chairman on grounds of absenteeism, dereliction of duty, relegation of position, breach of procedure, harassment and discrimination, ignorance of the law, among other alleged wrongdoings.
Tamano dropped his bombshell during a flag-raising ceremony at the school on Saturday, astounding students and teachers who have just been through years of infighting.
In his 12-point Articles of Impeachment which he planned to submit Philippine Consulate and the Saudi Ministry of Education (MoE), Tamano demanded that Lazo steps down “to facilitate a smooth transition for a more responsive leadership that does not harbor any ill-feeling and enmity.”
“We failed to have board meetings because of Lazo’s excuses, including his rhetoric harassment and intimidation complaints apparently coming from some disgruntled groups. Those are just artificial threats and the products of his own wild imagination,” Tamano told Arab News.
Lazo denied Tamano’s charges.
“I will not step down for the interest of one person. I am duly elected by the parents and duly recognized by the MoE. I will continue to function as chairman of the board,” he said.
Lazo, Tamano and five other parents and teachers were elected to the IPSJ board early this month, ending two years of fighting between the boards of trustees led by accountant Efren Rodriguez and engineer Fidel Hernandez.
Trouble began when the MoE extended the one-year term of the Rodriguez board — which took office in early 2000 — to three years.
Amid charges of mismanagement and lack of accountancy and transparency against the Rodriguez board, a group of parents led by Hernandez seized control of the school in November 2002 with the help of then Consul General Kadatuan P. Usop.
The group of Hernandez and the consulate later had a falling out, with Usop himself taking control of the school.
Faced with complaints from both the Hernandez and Rodriguez groups, Usop was recalled from his post by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila.
