Senate probe on closure of Colegio de San Lorenzo sought

Senator Raffy Tulfo is seeking a Senate inquiry into the "abrupt, reckless, indiscriminate, and unceremonious" permanent closure of Colegio de San Lorenzo in Quezon City.

In proposed Senate Resolution 156, Tulfo said there is an urgent need to look into the "abrupt" acts of the educational institution to allow lawmakers to come up with legislation that will govern similar situations.

The senator said the inquiry will determine if there is need to impose appropriate penalties and sanctions to those who may be held accountable for violations of applicable law.

Last August 15, Colegio de San Lorenzo Catholic School announced its permanent closure citing "financial instability and lack of financial viability brought about by the ongoing pandemic and exacerbated by consistent low enrollment turnout over the past years."

The closure was announced by the school officials on the same day when the first day of the academic year was supposed to start "without prior notice to enrolled students and parents."

The lawmaker mentioned that prior to the unannounced closure of the school, it has accepted enrollment, tuition and other school fees from students who were supposed to start face-to-face classes.

"Without regard to the time-honored principle of due process, Colegio de San Lorenzo proceeded with the closure without consultation with the other members of the school community, thereby leaving students and parents in utter quandary and shock," Tulfo said.

Although the school committed to refund the fees that were paid by the parents, he noted that Colegio de San Lorenzo required students and parents to sign a waiver before they could claim and receive their refund.

Tulfo also tagged as "mere afterthought" the action of the school officials to coordinate with other schools which can accept displaced students and assimilate employees who lost their jobs.

"The sudden permanent closure of Colegio de San Lorenzo, despite the...contingency measures adopted...has caused extreme prejudice, physical, psychological and mental anguish to both the students and parents," Tulfo said.

GMA News Online has sought the comment of Colegio de San Lorenzo's management but it has yet to respond as of posting time.—LDF, GMA News