A small campus here peacefully resumed classes on Tuesday despite threats from property claimants of disruptions due to a land ownership dispute. With policemen deployed near the school gate to secure the first day of the academic year, no one attempted to disrupt classes, said school principal Herbert Del Pilar. ‘This is not expected, since, during vacation, there were instances of confrontations between the claimant, Pacala Family, and Department of Education (DepEd) personnel. The family also destroyed some school properties and built a fence in some parts of the school to block passage,’ Del Pilar said in an interview. On Monday, the clan held a birthday party at the school grounds and cleaned up event early Tuesday, according to Del Pilar. The official, however, is saddened that enrollment has dropped from 160 to 140 learners this year as some parents decided to transfer their children to other schools for fear of possible closure. During her visit on Tuesday, DepEd Leyte Schools Division superintendent Mariza Magan assured pupils her office is using all legal means to settle the ownership row. ‘Just continue with your studies and not transfer to another school since we are doing our best to resolve the problem. Don’t be bothered with what you heard outside,’ Magan told Grade 6 learners. The land ownership row started in 2021 when the Pacala siblings claimed DepEd does not legally own the 1,800 square meter lot where the school stands. In September 2022, the family padlocked the school three times, prompting the Education department to file an unjust vexation against a clan member. In an interview Tuesday, Rebecca Pacala, a public school teacher assigned in the town’s upland village, said her father, Vicente, donated the lot for educational purposes in 1966. The Pacala patriarch and local government officials signed a memorandum of agreement 57 years ago on conditions that his wife would be hired as a teacher and the school should offer classes to all grade levels within three years. ‘The agreement is already void since the two conditions were not followed. In recent years, we were bothered when the school built more classrooms outside the donated property,’ Rebecca told the Philippine News Agency (PNA). She said they did not destroy school properties but are just claiming what belongs to their family. For Magan, the property is legally owned by DepEd since the local government issued the deed of donation in late 2021. The land ownership case is now under litigation. DepEd official said both parties should wait for the court decision. The campus is along the primary road in Maghubas village, about 44 kilometers south of Tacloban, the provincial capital. In a press briefing on Aug. 25, DepEd said they expect smooth class opening in all schools in Eastern Visayas, except in Barangay Maghubas.
Source: Philippines News Agency
