Couple airs gripe over classroom affairs in Toledo school

CEBU, Philippines - A couple has filed a complaint against several teachers of Carmen Elementary School in Toledo City for allegedly selling food snacks and allowing their students to engage in lending and borrowing money in order to have the teachers’ wares sold.

The FREEMAN obtained a copy of the letter-complaint that was received by the Ombudsman from couple Diomedes and Jocelyn Villar on September 8, 2014.

The couple wrote to Acting Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas, Rodulfo Elman, to air their complaint against school principal Hermigilda Basalo Malapitan and teachers Nancy Allarse, Webina Jaranilla, Neone Parame, Philine Carreon and Filomina Tolentin.

The couple, who has two children attending in the same school, alleged that on August 29, 2014, they were informed by their older son that their Allarse was asking him to pay for his debt of P3 for eggplant sauté (ginisal nga talong).

Their son reportedly promised their teacher to pay for it on September 1, 2014. When the boy arrived from school on the same day, they asked him about what his classmate have told them and the boy reportedly admitted that he had outstanding debt for taking the food that was sold by Jaranilla inside their classroom.

They were also surprised that it was the third time he was allowed to take food without paying it as long as he pays for it later. The boy reportedly had an ice candy and hotcake from the same teacher.

The boy also told them there were instances that their class adviser would tell them “dili pagawson sa room kun dili mahurot ang gibaligya nga tinda.” Because of this, some of the students would take the food and promised to pay it the moment they have money.

They also alleged that after recess, the teachers would no longer continue the class as they are busy forcing the students to take the food they sell and pay for later.

Another allegation is that a grade 2 teacher was seen spending time more playing on her laptop than teaching lessons.

Aside from the Jaranilla and Allarse, other above mentioned teachers are reportedly doing the same in their classes, and that the school principal is doing nothing about it.

Because of the complaints, the couple and those named teachers were called for a meeting to resolve the issue with the DepEd Toledo City Schools Division Superintendent Ronald Gutay, Remedios Alfante  and North District Supervisor Chona Juarez on September 5, 2014.

Allarse and Parame reportedly admitted during that meeting that they were selling food and allowing students to take food and to pay for it later.

The school principal and Parame reportedly issued an apology but the couple refused to accept and asked for heavier penalty and to seek justice from the Ombudsman. They received information taunting them to better bring the issue on TV upon learning that they sought help from a local radio station in Toledo.

The couple is asking the graft office if teachers were allowed to sell food inside their classroom, allowing children to have debts, collection of P5 from each vendor outside the school compound in return of not closing the gates so that children can buy their food,  and allowing teachers to play video games instead of teaching during classes.

Malapitan, in a radio interview, denied the allegations and defendants claimed that the complaint against them stemmed from her order to close the gates of the school during classes for safety reasons.

The FREEMAN tried to reach the defendants’ camp for their side of the story but they were not available for comment as of press time. — (FREEMAN)