Krisel Mallari with PAO Chief Persida Acosta at the Court of Appeals. TETCH TORRES-TUPAS/INQUIRER.net
The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) asked the Court of Appeals to cite in contempt the Santo Niño Parochial School (SNPS) and issue a bench warrant against the school Principal Yolanda Casero and other school officials for refusing to issue Certificate of Good Moral Character (CGMC) to its salutatorian Krisel S. Mallari.
In their urgent motion filed July 30, Mallari through PAO Chief Persida Acosta said despite the order of the Court of Appeals, SNPS still refused to comply with the court’s ruling.
The school earlier said they have yet to receive a copy of the court of appeals’ ruling.
READ: School wants to see CA order before issuing certificate to Mallari
The appeals court, in its July 29 order, said SNPS’s refusal to issue CGMC shows its “chronic lack of concern to a child who it has reared for 11 years.” The appeals court order is immediately executory because “time is of the essence.”
It added that it issued the order to the school because “Krisel’s welfare is of paramount interest and of primordial consideration and the State is mandated to act on her behalf to ensure that her rights are protected and her dreams and hopes are not put to waste.”
Acosta said, contrary to the school’s claim that it has yet to receive a copy of the court’s order, SNPS has already received from the Court of Appeals’ process server a copy of the decision.
“Up to this time and despite receipt, there is no effort on the part of respondents to comply with the writ of preliminary mandatory injunction. Thus, it is clear that respondents continuously, deliberated and stubbornly refuse, without any valid reason, to comply with the Honorable Court’s directive,” the urgent motion stated.
“This only goes to show that all along, they are bent on denying petitioner Krisel of her bright future,” the motion further stated.
The motion also urged the court to order the arrest of the school Principal and its officials until they complied with the order.
In March, a video of Mallari delivering her speech before she was stopped by her class adviser and school officials went viral after it was uploaded on social network sites. She later said in subsequent media interviews that her speech would have touched on alleged irregularities in the computation of her grades. The school, however, denied her claim and accused her and her father of being difficult.
The school refused to issue the CGMC, arguing that it is not required by law.
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CGMC, however, is a requirement among entering college freshmen.