KRISEL MALLARI, who caught public attention when she criticized her school during her graduation speech, has sought relief from the Court of Appeals (CA) for the immediate release of her certificate of good moral character, a requirement for her college admission.
In her petition for mandamus filed through lawyer Persida Acosta, chief of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), Mallari and her father Ernesto asked the appealate court to direct the Santo Niño Parochial School (SNPS) in Quezon City to release her certificate of good moral character.
Petitioner said she needs the certificate in order to qualify for admission in the University of Santo Tomas’s (UST) accountancy program where she already has a reserved slot.
“Without a certificate of good moral character from my high school, I cannot enroll. Hence, private respondents’ continued unjustified refusal to issue the said certificate would result in the denial of my application for admission in UST and forfeiture of my reserved slot in its accountancy program. It will put my education to a halt and my future in jeopardy,” the petition read.
Named respondents in the petition are Judge Alfonso Ruiz of Branch 216 of the Regional Trial Court in Quezon City, SNPS and school registrar Yolanda Casero.
The 16-year-old graduate also asked the CA to reverse an earlier ruling of the RTC in Quezon City dismissing her complaint for injunction with damages against the high school.
She accused Ruiz of grave abuse of discretion when he allegedly prejudged the case.
Owing to her school’s refusal to issue the certificate, the Department of Education (DepEd) issued a certification dated June 9, 2015, stating that she has no derogatory record or any complaint filed against her.
But UST declined to honor the DepEd-issued certificate and instead extended the deadline for Mallari to complete all requirements until July 15.
Mallari became controversial in March after a video recording of her graduation speech criticizing the school “for its dirty and dubious” system went viral in the social media.
School officials cut short her speech and forced her to leave the stage.