Palawan Provincial board seeks for “a new, competent, and full time Schools Division Superintendent”

The Palawan Provincial Board appealed to Department of Education Secretary Leonor Briones thru the DepEd regional office “to appoint, designate and assign a new, competent, and full time Schools Division Superintendent (SDS) in Palawan” to effectively manage delivery of basic education services in the province.

On its regular session last Tuesday, January 5, 2021, the local legislators unanimously approved resolution no. 435-20 authored by board members Ryan Maminta and Cherry Pie Acosta entitled “Requesting DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones thru DepEd MIMAROPA Regional Director Nicolas Capulong to appoint, designate, and assign a new, competent, and full time Schools Division Superintendent in Palawan.”

“I believe that the OIC (officer-in-charge) is competent enough to handle DepEd Palawan but we have a Palaweña who is qualified for the position of SDS in the person Dr. [Loida] Adornado,” said Board member Cherry Pie Acosta during the deliberation of the resolution.

Meanwhile, Board member Cesario Benedito said it is not necessary to pass a resolution as DepEd has its own selection board who scrutinize who to appoint as SDS.

“They set qualifications do’n po sa i-a-appoint nila. For me it is not necessary to pass the said measure because they know what they are doing,” Benedito said.

Education committee chair Sharon Abiog-Onda clarified that despite the resolution, they will respect the decision of Secretary Briones on the matter.

“We respect the Secretary as well as the regional director [Nicolas Capulong] for their future decisions, future appointments as to who will lead the schools division of Palawan,” Onda said.

She added that an officer in-charge must be appointed to oversee the operation of DepEd Palawan and the implementation of its programs while OIC Bayubay is suspended.

The appeal came after DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones placed DepEd Palawan Officer-in-Charge Schools Division Superintendent Natividad Bayubay under ninety (90) days preventive suspension on December 1, 2020, following multiple administrative charges filed against her by several officials for alleged corruption.