‘Parents should be partners of the school’

STC lawyers Bernardito Florido and Joan Largo, in a press statement, said “parents are indispensable partners of the school in carrying out its vision-mission”.

“We thus wish to affirm the overriding responsibility of parents to partner with the school in molding their children into persons of character and dignity.”

Largo, in an interview, said the schoool wasn’t the first part to bring the issue to court.

“We enforced our manual (rules) but we didn’t bring the issue outside the confines of the school’s walls. It’s them (respondents) who took this case to the public by filing a case (against STC),” she said.

Largo said STC was just doing its role in disciplining its erring students.

“The school has done its function of molding the girls to become mature and disciplined individuals. The parents have a corresponding obligation,” she said.

“We are filing the case to put things in the right perspective. Let’s look at who really violated the law,” she said.

In a press statement, STC lawyers said “Christian reconciliation, forgiveness and parental responsibility must go hand in hand.”

They stressed the role of parents and the school in carrying out STC’s vision and mission.

“This is a covenant to which the school and the family agree upon to nurture and to live by. Lest we regress to a culture of juvenile delinquency and errant behavior, the parents and the school need to consciously and constantly take to heart their respective responsibilities,” they said.

STC lawyers said parents are required to keep their children away from vices and harmful acts such as smoking and drinking.

“As Christians we are always ready and willing to reconcile and forgive. But in the same way that we affirm the Christian teachings of forgiveness and reconciliation, we also uphold the primordial requirement of parental responsibility,” they said.