UNACCOUNTED CONTRIBUTIONS
Teachers in custody of contributions of pupils and students in both public and private schools should have complete records of amounts received and all disbursements to avoid the predicament now a hounding school head in Caramoan, Camarines Sur.
Mrs. Evelyn I. Bonagua, Principal of Tabgon High School in Tabgon, Caramoan, Camarines Sur has been charged before the Ombudsman with violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for alleged failure to account for various contributions of students for the last 19 years which should have totalled Php 435,300.00.
If found guilty she might not only lose her job but she might be sentenced to a prison term.
In a complaint before the Provincial Prosecutors Office, former Tabgon barangay captain Angelino Cornelio claimed that each year for the last 19 years students each paid P285 for athletic quota (Php 120), school paper (Php 50), BSP (Php 10), GSP (Php 16), PNRC (Php 15), Supreme Student Government (Php 25), ID (Php 80), Miscellaneous Fees (Php 16) and Anti-T.B. (Php 5).
But in his affidavit, out of a total of Php 250,500.00 collected for the school paper the school had only two issues costing Php 12,000.00, Cornelio said.
Although there was supposed to be sufficient funds collected from the athletic quota, Tabgon High School had not been able to pay its obligation to Bikal High School and Guijalo High School which had been hosts of previous athletic meets, Cornelio’s affidavit also stated.
Even the money advanced by parents for the purchase of its own school site and contributions for class memorials are also missing, Cornelio also said.
Ms. Bonagua, according to the complaint, could not also explain how Php 131,250.00 collected for the Supreme Student Government was spent.
When pressed to disclose where the money is, Ms. Bonagua allegedly said it was deposited with the PNB Branch in Goa, Camarines Sur but a certification by PNB Goa Branch officers Fanny Halili, Sales and Service officer, and Michael Amador, Sales and Service Head, showed that Tabgon High School has no account with the bank.
In her counter-affidavit, the respondent denied all allegations of the complainant saying it was due to the resentment of the complainant’s wife, Cynthia Cornelio, whom she replaced as teacher of Filipino IV subject.
She denied having misused any amount and claimed that amounts cited by complainant were bloated as some contributions were not actually collected.
She claimed she was able to put up eight (8) issues of the school paper and that the publication fee was not for printing alone but for the participation of students and teachers in division press conferences.
She said she had with her Php 35,000.00 representing the balance of contributions but she had no receipts or documents of disbursement.
Meanwhile, 124 parents of Tabgon High School students have signed a petition asking for the relief of Ms. Bonagua.
