Pangasinan teachers: Fire ‘corrupt’ DepEd official

By Jaime Aquino

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan -- Thousands of public school teachers assigned at the Pangasinan 1 Schools Division Office, Parents-Teachers Associations (PTAs) and local officials in the first, second and third congressional districts of Pangasinan pushed the immediate transfer of Dr. Sheila Marie Primicias, Schools Division superintendent, outside the province saying this was the best remedy to stop corruption in schools here.

This was revealed to local media by Provincial Board members Margielou Orange Humilde-Versoza (First District), Von Mark Mendoza (Second District) Jeremy Agerico Rosario (Fourth District) and Chinky Perez-Tababa (Fifth District), who initiated the passage of a resolution recommending to the Office of the President through the Secretary of Education the immediate relief of Primicias pending investigation of complaints filed against her by several teachers.

Resolution 791-2020 was principally authored by Mendoza, who asked President Rodrigo Duterte to transfer Primicias outside Pangasinan as complainants have come out in the open denouncing and accusing her of allegedly committing graft and corruption.
           Lawyer Verna Nava-Perez, secretary to the Sanggunian Panlalawigan (Provincial Council), said the resolution was already forwarded to the office of President Duterte, Secretary Leonor Briones of the Department of Education, DepEd Region 1 Director Tolentino Aquino, Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino 3rd and other concerned agencies for their information and appropriate action.

Rosario, chairman of the education committee of the Provincial Council, said the provincial board received an official report that Primicias was facing several criminal cases of graft and corruption and administrative cases for grave misconduct, dishonesty and oppression pending before the Office of the Ombudsman, Regional Office of the DepEd in Region 1 and DepEd central office in Pasig City.

Complainants were teachers and school officials, according to Rosario.

They personally appeared before committee hearings initiated by the provincial board, where they accused Primicias of allegedly “selling” items, promotions and transfers to teacher-applicants.

Rosario and Mendoza said the personal appearances of the complainants and school officials narrating details of their separate complaints were sufficient to remove Primicias from her post.

“Her continuation in the office could influence the witnesses or pose a threat to the safety and integrity of the records and other pieces of evidence against her,” Rosario said.
Earlier, Prof. Salvador Singson-de Guzman, president of the Citizens Movement Against Corruption, Crime, Illegal Drugs and Gambling Inc., denounced the illegal practice and business of Primicias after a female teacher-applicant from Malasiqui town said she was advised by a school principal in their village to give P200,000 to Primicias if she wanted to pass the ranking examination and get a teacher’s item.