CEBU, Philippines - The Lapu-Lapu City council has approved a resolution that requests City School Division Superintendent Eduardo Ompad to assign for the meantime School Teacher Marilou Sulabo from Mactan Air Base Elementary School to the division office while the death of a grade 4 pupil under her is being investigated.
Obviously, the council's intention is to prevent Sulabo from influencing witnesses.
The 9-year-old pupil's parents blame Sulabo for their son's death.
As alleged, last October 5, Sulabo sent home Jason James Vidal and two classmates who reported to class without bringing with them excuse letters, they being absent the previous week.
The three boys, instead of going home, went swimming under the Marcelo Fernan Bridge where Vidal drowned.
But Sulabo denies the accusation.
The Lapu-Lapu Police said people who were strolling under the bridge saw the boys struggling in the water. Vidal's two classmates were pulled out of the water just in time Vidal was already underwater when help came.
The boy's parents, Seigfred and Yoly Vidal, said that based on the testimonies of the victim's classmates, Jason and his two classmates, left their classroom after Sulabo told them in the vernacular "kadtong way excuse letter, pauli."
But Sulabo has denied the accusation saying Jason did not report for class that day as the Form 1 attendance sheet would show.
The teacher said it is her custom to ask for an excuse letter from any of her pupils who report back to class after missing classes the previous day.
Sulabo said the last time she saw the boy in her class was in October 5 yet and records would show that Vidal was absent last October 7 and 10, the day the boy drowned.