City Central coop head: ‘Principal harassing us’

By LITO RULONA
Correspondent

THE head of the Central District Multipurpose Cooperative has cried foul over the City Central School principal’s threat to file administrative and criminal charges against them and 14 teachers before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Cooperative chairman Cornelio Salvaloza Jr. alleged that the principal, Arnold Tejero, has been harassing teachers since he assume office last year.

Salvaloza said Tejero’s calculations that the cooperative incurred P15 million in unaccounted funds was “inaccurate, without basis, erroneous and untrue.”

He said the cooperative could present anytime evidence audited by a private accountant and fully reviewed by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

“It all started in the month of October last year when Deped Order 8 series of 2007 was implemented. It states that the school canteen should be managed and operated by a legitimate teachers’ cooperative. Based on a memorandum of agreement, 20 percent of the gross will become the school income, as royalty,” he said.

Salvaloza said what happened was that Tejero requested for a “cash advance” of P20 thousand on Oct. 7, 2015, and the cooperative only released P10 thousand. The fund was intended for an activity.

He said it was the month when the cooperative released “patronage refunds” to its member-teachers.

“Didto nagsugod nga iya kung gi-memohan to explain why I cannot be charged administratively. Nagsulat na dayun siya series of letters which include one that directed the cooperative to submit documents like the MOA and financial reports,” Salvaloza said.

He said he submitted all the documents that Tejero asked for, including an unsigned MOA made during the watch of principal Celso Pagolon and the standard yearly financial reports for 2012, 2013 and 2014 that were reviewed and approved by CDA .

He said there was an original MOA that was signed in 1996 but it was lost to the Aug. 12, 2012 fire in the school.

In the absence of the MOA, the previous principal and other officers of the board executed an affidavit to manifest that there was already MOA.

“In 2014, wala permaha sa principal on the presumption that they have always collected the royalty. It was already an understanding that the school administration allows the operation. The relation of the cooperative and the principal at that time was very cordial. Wala mi kahibalo ngano nga wala niya pirmahe,” he said.

Tejero refused to accept the financial report and instead issued an order for the cooperative to turnover the canteen. He argued that because of the alleged violations, the cooperative no longer has authority to manage the canteen.

Salvaloza said they requested an audience twice with the principal but the school official allegedly refused to meet with them.