Envoy blames ‘illegal school’ for ouster moves

Outgoing Philippine Ambassador to Greece Rigoberto Tiglao on Friday denied allegations of a lavish lifestyle while neglecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers in his foreign post, and instead accused the owner of an “illegal" school in Athens of instigating a smear campaign against him. The extended term of Tiglao, a political appointee of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, officially ended on September 30 and Consul General Constancio Vingno assumed position as Chargé d'Affaires on October 1, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Eduardo Malaya said. In a text message to GMANews.TV, Malaya said Tiglao’s term as ambassador to Greece and Cyprus, which started in October 2005, will no longer be extended and that he has been notified about the matter. Tiglao is a multi-awarded former journalist who also served as press secretary and Presidential Management Staff chief in Mrs. Arroyo's cabinet. President Benigno Aquino III had extended the terms of political ambassadors after assuming office last June 30 to avoid disrupting relations with countries where they were posted. On October 11, members of the Kaisahan ng mga Migranteng Pilipino sa Greece (Kasapi-Hellas) and Akbayan picketed the Philippine embassy in Athens to oppose Tiglao’s possible retention. (See: Pinoy protesters in Greece demand ouster of envoy) In their statement, Kasapi-Hellas said: “Filipinos are strongly concerned that, despite the lapse of extension of three months for political appointees, Mr. Tiglao is exerting his influence within the Aquino administration for his re-appointment as ambassador to Greece." Tiglao initially refused to comment on the matter, but later, he emailed a statement to GMANews.TV saying the picket "was a perfect case of the prostitution of protest." He also denied allegations that he lived an extravagant lifestyle by renting a lavish house and touring the country’s islands, saying his residence is “the smallest among (the) envoys’ residences in the area." He added that his visits to several islands were done during his vacation leave and that he used personal money while on holiday. Refuting claims that he had accomplished nothing, Tiglao pointed out an achievement that he says eluded his four predecessors for nearly 20 years: "Barely six months after I arrived in 2006, I managed to convince the Greek government to set up its Embassy in Manila," thus correcting a “diplomatically anomalous situation in which our country has an Embassy in Athens, but Greece didn’t in Manila." He also said he was able to set up honorary consulates in Patra, Crete, and soon in Piraeus, to serve the needs of Filipinos working in those territories. PCEA not recognized Tiglao claimed that the protest was set off by the owner of the Philippine Cultural Educational Academy (PCEA), a school for Filipino children which he said has been operating “illegally" since 2006. He said PCEA owner Imelda Goutas had persuaded Filipino groups in Greece to stage the protest against his re-appointment, hoping that she could secure recognition for her school from the incoming ambassador. Tiglao said he did not recognize the new school because there was already one operating in Athens since 1993 and also because it did not meet the standards set by both Philippine and Greek education authorities. “I have repeatedly told Mrs. Goutas that I cannot (give recognition to her school), as it is our Department of Education (DepEd) or Greece’s Ministry of Education that has this authority," Tiglao explained. Parents of the school’s students had complained with the embassy when they belatedly realized that their children’s schooling at PCEA was not recognized by both the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) and Philippine schools, he said. In a letter to Tiglao dated May 5, 2009, a copy of which was sent to GMANews.TV, former Education Undersecretary Ramon C. Bacani said PCEA was not accredited with the DepEd. DepEd application ‘pending’ Reached for comment, Goutas said she is only board president and not the owner of PCEA, which she maintained is legal and recognized by Greek authorities. “We have a protocol number from the Ministry of Education and we have a pending application for accreditation with the DepEd," she told GMANews.TV. Goutas said they are just awaiting ocular inspection of the school by Philippine authorities and that the curricula and materials they use for teaching preparatory to secondary education are all provided by the DepEd. A check with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, however, showed only the Philippine School in Greece (formerly Katipunan Philippines Cultural Academy or KAPHILCA) as the recognized school in the European country. It could not be verified if PCEA has a pending application as of posting time. According to Goutas, a Filipino national married to a Greek lawyer, they have been applying for accreditation for several years now but Tiglao has been blocking their application. This prompted her to personally process the school’s papers in Manila in December last year. “Gusto niya Kaphilca lang ang school dito. Kung wala siyang connection doon, bakit pilit niya kaming ipinapasara? Bakit ‘di niya kami kilalanin bilang mga Pilipino rin," she said. (He wants only Kaphilca to be the recognized school here. If Tiglao has no links to that school, why does he insist on getting us closed? Why won’t he recognize us who are also Filipinos?) Joe Valencia, president of Kasapi Hellas which spearheaded Sunday’s protest action, also denied they were being used by Goutas when they staged the picket, a claim made by Tiglao in the official website of the Philippine embassy in Greece and Cyprus. “Kasinungalingan ‘yan. Wala kaming kinalaman sa eskwelahan na iyan. Nagprotesta kami dahil gusto naming iparating ang aming mga lehitimong hinaing," Valencia said in a separate. (That’s a lie. We don’t have anything to do with the school. We staged a protest to let the public know about our legitimate concerns.) —JV, GMANews.TV