The Benitez group of Philippine Women’s University on Tuesday asked STI Education Holdings Inc. of businessman Eusebio Tanco to withdraw a petition to foreclose the campuses in Manila, Quezon City and Davao City.
PWU media director Lydia Benitez-Brown said in a statement the foreclosure move against PWU and Jose Abad Santos Memorial School campuses could affect student enrolment in the 96-year-old institution.
“Since the problems with STI began, we have seen a slight decrease in enrollment. However, the moves to foreclose on the school campuses rather than find an amicable resolution to the problem are clearly inimical to the interest of the school,” she said.
STI early this month filed separate foreclosure petitions against PWU properties on Taft Ave. and Indiana Street in Manila, the JASMS Quezon City campus and a property in Davao City under the name of Unlad Resources Development Corp., which serves as the corporate arm of the Benitez family.
STI said the Benitez group failed to settle its obligations worth nearly P1 billion. Brown said by moving to foreclose the PWU campuses, STI Holdings was putting “business ahead of education.”
“This foreclosure issue merely highlights the concerns we had last year, concerns shared by the PWU-JASMS community, that the not-for-profit character of PWU and JASMS would be in conflict with STI,” she said.
