Leadership controversy rocks PCU

Tension is brewing at the Philippine Christian University (PCU) as two opposing parties are fighting over the school presidency.

Members of PCU Board of Trustees are divided as to who between Carlito Puno and Cosmopolitan Church pastor Oscar Suarez had been duly elected president of the University.

On March 20, Puno and Suarez were both named PCU president in separate elections conducted by rival members of the board.

PCU is a joint venture of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and the United Methodist Church (UMC) so the board was divided as such. The school is on Taft Avenue, Manila.

But according to Lawyer Sofronio Larcia, legal counsel of Suarez's group, the election with Suarez as winner was the valid one.

Larcia said that as a policy, UCCP and UMC alternately take the majority seats in the Board. It was UMC's turn in 1999 so UCCP is supposed to take its turn this year.

He, however, noted that the UMP-faction allegedly did not want to honor this so they held a separate election while UCCP conducted its own on March 20. Puno and Suarez were elected PCU president in these elections, respectively.

Larcia added that UCCP occupies eight of the 15-seat Board while the rest belongs to the UMC.

"We already asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to enjoin his (Puno) group to recognize the election of Mr. Suarez. The election during which he (Puno) was elected has no legal basis," he said.

A UCCP member alleged that in April, Puno was placed under preventive suspension by the Board for encouraging the faculty and staff to retire en mass as PCU was to be dissolved.

Puno was allegedly terminated eventually by the Board for failing to appear before an investigating committee on May 25.

But Puno denied these allegations, he, however, admitted that the Board wanted him suspended but he did not recognize it for lack of due process.

Puno maintained that only six Board members participated in the election where Suarez won.

"I was elected by majority of the Board. I got the support of eight Board members while he got only six," he added.