Where and who is ‘Mr. William Chua’?
BAYAMBANG SCHOOL ROW
BAYAMBANG–One year after some 2,000 pupils and teachers of the Bayambang Central School (BCS) were transferred to a new school compound some three kilometers away in Barangay Magsaysay, no one appears to know who the benefactor is, what his motives are and whether a deed of donation has been executed.
While the parents, teachers and pupils are appreciative of the school’s new compound that has new school building, complete with a gymnasium and other amenities in a three-hectare land reportedly owned by a “Mr. William Chua.”
Parents and teachers said they are anxious to see and meet in person “Mr. Wiliam Chua,” the alleged owner of the land who built the school to thank him for his benevolence but until now, he has not personally introduced himself leading them to suspect he may not exist or just being used as a dummy by someone really behind.
Filipina Alcantara, the new president of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of BCS, said they are told Mr. Chua is a businessman from Dagupan and is an owner of a mall in Urdaneta, but wondered why he has not shown himself to them.
Alcantara said that as president of the PTA, voted by a majority of its 15-man board of directors, she will continue to lead the fight to return back to their old school in the Poblacion if nothing is certain about the future of the new location that is still not recognized by the Department of Education (DepEd).
Still, Alcantara said the PTA wants to meet Chua to thank him for his “kind heart for giving home to pupils and teachers” who initially defied an order of the municipal government transferring them to the new compound.
She said the eventual transfer was temporary but nobody knows how long the temporary arrangement will be since there is no known deed of donation of the property to the Department of Education and neither has the DepEd lawyer updated them of the status of the TRO being heard at the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in San Carlos City last year.
When the PTA went to see Mayor Ricardo Camacho last August 27 to inquire about the case, the mayor merely referred them back to DepEd.
“Is there a conspiracy between DepEd and the municipal government against us parents, teachers and pupils? How come Dep Ed has not made any decision yet after one year?”, asked Alcantara, a housewife whose youngest kid is in kindergarten.
Alcantara said the municipal government claims it has the documents to show that it owns the 100-year old Bayambang Central School but has not shown it to anyone.
In the meantime, the abandoned old school in the Poblacion is fast deteriorating at the mercy of the elements. This is one argument being used to justify the transfer of the school to Chua’s property.
Even if they really own it, they have no right to get it back because it was being used by the public until a TRO issued by the court compelled the pupils and teachers to transfer to the school built by Chua, she declared.
Bayambang is rife with the rumor that a group is interested to acquire the three-hectare old school compound, a prime property, for a mall and a central transport terminal. (LVM)
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
