Dads oppose transfer of school in land swap

BAYAMBANG, Pangasinan—Members of the town council here said they will not support plans to permanently transfer the 100-year-old Bayambang Central School (BCS) to a private property.

During a meeting with the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) on Monday at the old school site, the councilors joined the symbolic painting of a classroom which had been ransacked since the school was relocated in November last year.

Last year, the council filed a resolution for a “temporary transfer” of the school, based on a letter from the former PTA president and the school principal, citing a dengue outbreak and flooding on campus.

But Mayor Ricardo Camacho, who approved the school’s transfer, said the return of BCS to its old site will only happen if the Court of Appeals decides in favor of the Department of Education (DepEd).

Defied directive

Camacho said the regional trial court in San Carlos City had upheld his decision to transfer the school to its new site in Barangay Magsaysay by issuing an injunction against a DepEd order defying his directive. DepEd had filed an appeal at the CA.

“If the CA decision will not be favorable to us, we will abide by it. But we have to be realistic,” he said.

Camacho transferred the school last year to its new site, which is about 300 meters from the old campus, on the request of parents and teachers because the old site, they said, was no longer conducive for learning.

The new campus, which has 69 classrooms in quadrangle-shaped two-story buildings, was built by businessman William Chua in exchange for the school’s old site.

Ultimatum

Chua had issued an ultimatum to the town government to order the DepEd to vacate the new school site if the old school site is not transferred to him within 15 days.

Chua’s lawyer, Nelson Gayo, said if the local government cannot turn over the old site, “they (students and teachers) might as well go back to what they call a better site, which is the old site, and then we will take over the property at the new site.”

The PTA also asked Congress to investigate the propriety and legality of the local government’s agreement with Chua to swap the school site with a private property. Yolanda Sotelo and Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon