Sorsogon
National High School
Sorsogon City
June 17, 2014
The President
Supreme Student
Government (SSG)
Sorsogon National High
School
Sorsogon City, Sorsogon
Ms.
Acosta;
Good day.
This letter is my personal reply and reaction
to the manifesto distributed by your office to all those concerned, especially
the teachers in this school. I said personal because this is my own decision as
a member of the school community and as a concerned teacher, though not
necessarily a teacher concerned.
I personally admire your leadership
and courage, and the united effort of the Supreme Student Government (SSG) of
this school to come up with such a finely crafted piece of document to
encourage, if not remind, the teachers to respect the independence of the
student government and its decisions as an autonomous body within the school.
Though I personally believed in the
purest of your intentions, I am saddened by the tone of the letter and the
manner by which it was disseminated. I
raise, though unsolicited, a few points of interest and clarification in the
said manifesto.
Firstly, in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the same
letter, the issue is about the transformation of the former girls’ comfort room
into a grand edifice standing in its
shining glory, a testament to what the SSG could accomplish if they are
united in their endeavors, and that because it was rehabilitated into a
glorious SSG-AGCC office, it cannot be made into a faculty room but only for
exclusive use of the SSG-AGCC in its transactions.
The
girls’ comfort room was a project of the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) thus
its upkeep is the PTA’s responsibility. It is but fitting and proper for the
SSG-AGCC who worked for its conversion, to use it for their purpose. However,
since it is obvious that only Mrs. Norma Navarro, Head Teacher III of the
Social Studies Department is “squatting” in it, with the consent of the
Principal, then the SSG should have written a separate letter to Mrs. Navarro
requesting her to relocate to a more welcoming office, and not prepare an
all-inclusive letter for all teachers and Department Heads.
Moreover,
since you have shown great courage to keep and use the SSG office for its
intended purpose, I would suggest that you would also display the same zeal in
scrutinizing how the money, derived from various fund raising projects, was
spent in rehabilitating your office and make certain that proper accounting and
auditing is done to dispel any apprehensions of irregularities, as a fitting
action of an Anti-Graft and Corruption Commission.
I
would recommend that a properly documented financial statement be posted in a
conspicuous place in your office or better distributed to all concerned like
the way the manifesto was released and distributed to the teachers . (Article XVIII Section 11 and 12 of the SSG
CBL)
Secondly, on the issue of the generated
negativity, open acrimony, snide and unsavory remarks directed to Mr. Fungo on
his election as the new adviser of the SSG, on my part I have no problem with
his unanimous election as he is my friend and colleague in the Science
Department. I can personally attest to his competence, ability and willingness
as a teacher and adviser of all school organization he handled in the past. His
character and reputation is beyond reproach. The issue, however, is on the
manner and the process by which he was elected as adviser.
a.
Who presided over the meeting to elect the SSG adviser? If it is the principal
then it is not in keeping with your Constitution and By Laws under Article XIII
Section 1 for the role of the principal is merely to designate the SSG adviser.
The SSG President should preside over all the meetings, even in the nomination
and election of the new adviser.
b.
How were the three (3) teacher- nominees determined by the SSG? Is it through
an open, free and independent deliberation by the SSG officers or upon the
behest of the Principal?
c.
Was the list of names of three (3) teacher-nominees submitted to the Principal
done through a resolution as provided by the SSG Constitution and By Laws under
Article XIII Section 1?
d.
Was the removal of the names of Mrs Matilde Dino and Ms Chona Reyes allowed by the SSG CBL because
they have served as SSG advisers in the past? Then why was the name of
Mrs.Fatima Flores not removed from the list, even garnering three (3) votes,
when she has already served as SSG adviser in the past, before the term of the
current principal?
e.
If indeed the nomination and designation of the SSG adviser open to all, then
why the need to specify the preference of Social Studies Teacher or Department
Head before any competent, able and willing teacher in the school?
f.
In paragraph 5 and 6 of the same manifesto, the SSG nominated teachers as
potential advisers and at the behest of the Principal proceeded
to have an election.
Is
this consistent with the your Constitution and By Laws under Article XIII
Section 1 where there is no mention of an election of the adviser of the SSG,
since the advisorship of the SSG is not an elective position, but is merely a
designation by the school head? The SSG is not empowered to elect an adviser. It
is mandated though, by its Charter, to nominate teachers, and after a free,
open and independent deliberation on
their qualities and qualifications prepare a shortlist of three (3) nominees
and with a resolution, submit it to the school head for her discretion and
choice. The “election” of the SSG adviser by the student body is highly
irregular because it arrogates the power and authority of the principal to
designate an adviser who she believes is the best person for the job, whether
or not he/she is the unanimous choice of the SSG. The school head is still the
final authority in the choice of the SSG adviser.
.
Thirdly, the SSG would be doing a great
disservice to all teachers of Sorsogon NHS by not identifying those who have
displayed open acrimony and have expressed snide and unsavory remarks against
Mr. Fungo. If indeed the SSG officers have known the identities of these
teachers, then the letter should be addressed and given to them and not to all
teachers.
Lastly, your teachers are your best ally and
most active supporters of all your programs and fund raising projects. We do
not undermine your freedom to exercise your rights. We are in school not to
demoralize students and the SSG officers. We want you to succeed in promoting
mutual understanding through social, civic, intellectual, recreational and
scientific programs and activities in Sorsogon National High School. (Article II Section 1)
I hope that this letter will not diminish
your view of your teachers as persons worthy to emulate
decency, fairness, justice,
sportsmanship and all the good deeds that you should learn.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely yours,
EDGARDO J. BUNGCAG
