Sipocot, Camarines Sur--On the ieght day of their protest action, personnel and parents of a public high school here hit the Camarines Sur Division Office Tuesday for inaction regarding their petition to relieve the principal from her assignment here.

Hernan A. Nieva, president of Parents, Teacher Community Association (PTCA), lamented that the division office has been ignoring their demand to transfer Mrs. Leonor B. Emata, principal of Sipocot National High School (SNHS), even as they had already lost the trust and confidence of the school head.

Nieva said they will continue their protest action and barricade the gates of SNHS until officials of the division office make concrete move to prevent Emata from administering the high school.

On Tuesday, all classes in the SNHS were still suspended because all high school personnel and parents were barricading the gates. The SNHS has 2,700 students and 74 teaching and non-teaching personnel.

Nieva said they petitioned the transfer of Emata because of alleged unauthorized collection of various fees from students and personnel which he claimed violated an order of the Department of Education(DepEd).

He claimed that the principal has been collecting unauthorized fees from students and parents that included library card, identification card, school publication, membership to the PTCA, certification for good moral character and certification of service rendered of personnel.

Nieva said that Emata arbitrarily required the payment of the unauthorized fees on enrollment which he said must be paid voluntarily. He added that the principal also used unofficial receipt and another P110 for miscellaneous fee which the latter provides official receipt.

Nieva further claimed that the PTCA has also found out that the principal had not remitted the portions of the proceeds from the copra harvest of the nine hectare coconut plantation of the 12-hectare compound which the SNHS owned.

But an official of the administrative department, who said she was not authorized to give official information about the case of Emata, clarified that the division office is taking action regarding the petition against the principal.

"I was told by superintendent Cornejo (first name Emma) that Mrs. Emata must report for the meantime at the division office," she revealed.

Alina Salamat, one of the teachers participating in the barricade, was furious that the inaction of the division office on their petition further emboldened Emata.

Salamat said that the principal taunted them and twitted their petition against her would just come to naught.

She said they suspected that Emata is somewhat 'untouchable' that even the officials of division office could do anything about their legitimate complaints.

Bertino Morado Jr., supply officer, claimed that the division office could not even interfere with the alleged abuses of the principal against him.

Morado said that for nine years Emata would not pay him his salary until he filed a case in court which he said is still being heard.

In a letter dated January 10, 2007, Cornejo informed the petitioning parents and teachers that the division office needed a valid complaint "for due process to proceed." She said that since Emata is a permanent employee she cannot be transferred to other assignment "on account of lost of trust and confidence".

"But was the petition that we submitted with documentation of Emata's unauthorized collection does not constitute a valid complaint" Nieva asked.

He said they have sent the same petition to the national office of DepEd because of the inaction of the division office here.


(v.o.dematera)