JEDDAH, 9 May 2006 — Two rival groups of Filipino parents and educators in Jeddah yesterday sought President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s urgent intervention to prevent the closure of the oldest Filipino overseas school.
Both groups said only the government could save the International Philippine School in Jeddah (IPSJ), now in a very bad state after years of fighting by factions seeking control of the school.
One group wants the president to restore management of the community school to the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh or the Consulate General in Jeddah.
Another group said they prefer government assistance — not control — to their move to rehabilitate the school dying school.
In a letter to the president, Mokalid B. Diagao, an engineer and former chairman of the school’s Board of Trustees, complained that the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had not acted upon a petition for government takeover that he and other parents sent early this year.
In a press statement, the group said the IPSJ’s faculty and staff had not been paid their salaries since February and the owner of the compound is threatening to evict the school for non-payment of rent.
“Parents are hesitant to enroll their children and are inclined to transfer them to other schools unless the IPSJ is returned to the management of the Philippine Consulate,” said Diagao’s group.
Still Alive
School officials involved in the rehabilitation work confirmed that the IPSJ is broke and that the school’s funds had been totally drained due to mismanagement by the past administration.
They said the school could not pay its obligations to more than a hundred teachers and staff.
However, the officials said the school will definitely open next month for its 25th year of operation.
“Enrollment is going on and classes will start on June 10,” said Dr. Reinita Respicio, who was recently appointed principal of IPSJ by the Saudi Ministry of Education (MOE) as part of a move to rebuild the school.
The MOE also appointed Bae Tabao as assistant principal and Zubair Macabanding as administrator.
In their own letter to President Arroyo, the group said the IPSJ still needs government help in the rehabilitation work, including the recruitment of qualified teachers. A number of teachers who have transferred to the other schools have reportedly applied with the new IPSJ management.
Arab News learned that four former parent leaders, who are financial managers in their respective companies, have been tapped to form an advisory council and help plan the rehabilitation of the school.
One of them said they have agreed to help out of love for the former school of their children.
“We have made it a condition not to enroll our children at IPSJ so that we won’t be accused of having ulterior motives,” said the adviser, who declined to be named.
Under the rehabilitation plan, the adviser said, the owner of the compound has agreed to allow the school to continue operating and agreed to a gradual payment of unpaid rental. “The school is totally under new management. We’re starting from zero,” said the adviser.
Told of the petition for government takeover, the adviser said it would be better for the government to just provide moral support and some financial assistance for the rehabilitation work.
Tumultuous History
Founded in 1982, the IPSJ used to be the biggest Filipino overseas school with an average enrolment of 1,200 students (from preschool to fourth year high school).
It used to operate under the supervision of the consul general in Jeddah, representing the ambassador in Riyadh.
Acting on the demands of parents, the DFA and the Saudi MOE agreed to transform the IPSJ into a community school managed by a Board of Trustees whose members were elected.
In March 2000, the consulate formally turned over management of the school to the first elected board chaired by Efren Rodriguez.
As noted in the petition written by Diagao’s group, the IPSJ flourished in its first year as a community school, with parents “becoming proactive” that the enrolment reached a high of 1,300 students in school year 2000 to 2001.
Trouble began in 2002 when a group of concerned parents conducted an internal audit and found irregularities, mismanagement and misappropriation of school funds. Some members of the Board reportedly made huge cash advances, depleting the school’s funds.
Instead of defusing the controversy, the MOE cancelled the regular election and extended the term of the Rodriguez board by a year.
Acting with the alleged blessings of Manila, Consul General Kadatuan Usop threw the weight of the consulate behind a group of parents led by Fidel Hernandez and forcibly seized control of the school. Hernandez was made chairman of the school board but Usop appointed himself as overall administrator.
It did not take long for the Usop and Hernandez camps to begin fighting each other, ending only when then Foreign Secretary Blas Ople sacked Usop from his post in August 2003.
With Usop out, the consulate and MOE called an election of a new board, which then chose Lito Lazo as the new chair. The members of the new board had barely warmed their seats when they started quarrelling among themselves. This came to a head when “goons” attempted to kill Lazo by trying to run him over with a car outside his apartment in 2004.
The backlash was swift and unforgiving. Many parents, including those who have been active in raising funds for the school, transferred their children to other schools, slashing the IPSJ’s enrolment by half from the previous school year.
The exodus also resulted in the creation of three new schools, one called Sunrise International School, another called Gems International School, and a third one called Pearl of the Orient International School. These were in addition to the existing Al- Hekma International School, now the biggest in Jeddah, and the Bader International School.
