Krisel Mallari’s alma mater defied court order, says CA

The Court of Appeals has ruled that the alma mater of 16-year old Krisel Mallari has defied court orders when it issued a certification but not “of good moral character” as instructed by the court.

In its three page resolution made public Thursday, the appeals court through Associate Justice Remedios Salazar-Fernando said “indeed a scrutiny of the ‘Certificate of Good Moral Character’ issued by SNPS (Santo Niño Parochial School), thru School Principal Herminida Catud, readily shows that it is not a ‘certificate of good moral character’ at all.”

“It does not contain a statement certifying that Krisel is of good moral character,” the appeals court said.

In an eight-page very urgent manifestation to the appellate court’s Second Division, Mallari through her father Ernesto and the Public Attorney’s Office said a mere perusal of the certificate of good moral character issued by SNPS showed that it intends to block the future of Krisel with the University of Santo Tomas.

“The respondents’ intent to block any future petitioner Krisel has with UST is manifest and their bad faith, patent. There was no need for the issued certificate to state ‘The Regional Trial Court, after hearing both sides, denied a similar application for injunctive relief,’ because this was precisely the order overturned by this Honorable Court through the petitioner’s petition for certiorari and mandamus,” Mallari said in her petition.

Mallari said the SNPS and its registrar, Yolanda Casero, did not content themselves with merely issuing a qualified certification but “one which blatantly questions the wisdom of this Honorable Court and attacks its integrity and credibility in a manner so contemptuous in character.”

This, the manifestation said, clearly violates the CA order dated July 29 which directed the SNPS to immediately release upon receipt of the Court order the certificate of good moral character in favor of Mallari.

The appeals court last July 29 issued a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction compelling her school to release the certificate which is a requirement for incoming freshmen at the University of Sto. Tomas where she is planning to take up accountancy.

In granting Mallari’s plea, the appellate court explained that her speech critical of her school is a mere exercise of her constitutional right of freedom of expression and as such she should not be penalized.

While the appeals court noted that the act of the school is “in derogation of the court’s order,” it noted that it would be prudent to wait for SNPS to comment on the main petition filed by Mallari and denied the very urgent manifestation that she, through the Public Attorneys Office, has filed given that she was already accepted at UST.

School authorities stopped Mallari from completing her salutatory speech during her school’s 13th Commencement Exercises last March 21, 2015 where she criticized the process by which the school chose its honor students.

A video footage of the incident circulated on the Internet, particularly on Facebook, where the school was roundly lambasted for its decision to cut off her speech. JE