CA gives Krisel Mallari’s school 24 hours to explain defiance

The Court of Appeals gave the Santo Niño Parochial School (SNPS) 24 hours to explain why it should not be cited in contempt of court for initially refusing to issue Certificate of Good Moral Character (CGMC) to its salutatorian Krisel S. Mallari.

Appeals Court second division issued the order after Mallari through Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) Chief Persida Acosta filed an urgent motion after the school refused to comply with the court’s ruling.

The school has already issued the CGMC to Mallari late Thursday but it has yet to inform the court of its compliance.

READ: School issues character certificate to Krisel Mallari

“In this regard, respondents SNPS and Registrar Yolanda Casero are directed to file comment…within 24 hours from notice, taking into consideration that time is of the essence,” the appeals court through Associate Justice  Socorro B. Inting said in a resolution made public Friday.

The appeals court, in its July 29 order said SNPS’ 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.”

READ: CA orders school to certify good character of Krisel Mallari

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.

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. IDL

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