UPLB: School told of eviction in 2012

A 91-YEAR-OLD school facing eviction from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) campus in Laguna province has long been notified about the university’s plan to convert its property into a modern academic zone by next year, according to a UPLB statement.

As early as 2012, officials of Maquiling School Inc. (MSI) have been told that the school should relocate once its lease agreement with UPLB expires in April of 2016, said the statement, posted on its website on Tuesday.

The Inquirer last week came out with a story about the looming eviction of MSI, which could be the oldest basic learning institution in Los Baños.

MSI currently leases for P3,000 a year, a 1.2-hectare property inside the main campus, The university plans to build on the site a “global academic zone” to house a modern library, classrooms and buildings for its institutes of Statistics and Computer Science.

“This move is not intended to displace MSI students who are part of the UPLB community. The university will remain their home, albeit in another part of the campus,” the statement said.

The school, with 734 elementary and high school students and 79 faculty and staff members, is racing against time to pool funds for the construction of a new building with only months left before next year’s school opening. Without any building being put up yet, some parents worry that the transfer may force the school to shut down.

In the statement, UPLB said it had “long apprised MSI of the plan to utilize the leased area to give the latter sufficient time to relocate and avoid disruptions in school operations.”

It said it had even offered MSI an alternative location—a 1-ha space across UP Rural High School in Bay town—as well as assistance in the physical planning and probably a new lease contract. “Since 1924, UPLB has been a fair and generous host to MSI,” it said. Maricar Cinco