PSU’s Buted declared persona non grata

By October 24, 2016Headlines, News

LINGAYEN—The Sagguniang Panlalawigan made good its earlier threat to declare president of the Pangasinan State University (PSU) as persona non grata.

Fourth District Board Member Jeremy Agerico Rosario, author of the resolution that declared him persona non grata, told The PUNCH in a phone interview that Dr. Dexter Buted, PSU president, snubbed the board’s three invitations to him and other university officials to appear before an inquiry made by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan on the alleged malpractices of the university’s on-the-job-training (OJT) program.

The probe was based on a complaint in May by Dharel dela Cruz, one of the 43 PSU students from San Carlos and Bayambang campuses of PSU, who became ill for almost two months after an OJT program in Laguna.

He alleged that he and his classmates were made to work as “regular workers with salary” in a laboratory company for 12 hours that was not related to their course.

Buted attended only the first hearing in June. But when the new board resumed the inquiry, Buted and the other university officials snubbed the succeeding three hearings in July, August and September, Rosario said.

“This (Buted’s and others’ snob of our invitations) is a bad precedent for future invitations from the body,” Rosario said. He added the board does not want to see a repeat of Buted’s refusal to attend their hearings by others.

Rosario said copy of the approved declaration of persona non grata resolution against Buted will be forwarded to various concerned agencies like the Congress’ and the Senate’s chairmen of the Committee on Education, Commission on Higher Education, Office of the Ombudsman, Office of the President and others for their information and guidance.

Buted was singled out in the declaration of persona non grata “being the captain of the ship and for being the president who has influence on almost everyone (in the university)”, Rosario said.

Meanwhile, Rosario said the ad hoc committee investigating the complaint of the OJT students found a clear case of exploitation of students.

When The PUNCH reached Buted for comments, he said he was in a meeting and instead sent a txt message.

No comment na lang po, hayaan na natin sila. Ipasa-Dios ko na lang. Ty.”  (Tita Roces)

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