MANILA, Philippines -- Students of the Quezon City Science High School are planning to circulate next week a petition questioning what they called ?irregular policies? of the school administration.

In a press conference, student council chairperson Jizzer Laurence Co said they will also present the letter to school authorities.

?We want to point out that we are against the sanctions imposed upon our fellow students who wrote blogs about our school's questionable policies. The school should instead look for solutions instead of punishing them,? Co told reporters.

The petition raised several points, such as the collection of a P50 fee for the notarization of a pledge of accountability which was required of students.

The petition also questioned the arbitrary changes in the elective subjects offered, and claimed that the students were assigned electives to take instead of allowing them to choose.

?Many of us feel that the other electives that are in the handbook list but were not offered are more suited to our needs and inclinations,? part of the two-page letter read.

Four students of the QCSHS recently came under fire from the school administration after they wrote comments on their blogs which were critical of the principal, Dr Zenaida Sadsad.

The students' petition also criticized the sudden replacement of the school paper adviser, Rex San Diego, who for 14 years was adviser of the Electron and Banyuhay.

But the students decried what they called the invasion of their privacy, pointing out that their blogs, although published on the Internet, were solely for their friends.

?Our blogs are supposed to be read by our friends who have permission to do so, no outsiders can access them. It's an invasion of our privacy,? said a male student, who declined to be identified.

He also denied having written the blog, scientiaetvirtus.multiply.com, claiming that their blogs were not publicly accessible.

?We did not write that. Our blogs were private,? he added.

His other classmates complained that they have been stigmatized by classmates and teachers alike after the issue.

?Sometimes, I try to greet my old teachers but they ignore me. They have grown cold towards me. I can't even focus in class,? a female student related.

Another student who was almost suspended for ten days complained that he even fell ill and could hardly sleep because of restlessness about the incident.

?It's not true that there was due process. We were asked to submit letters of apology and we thought that was it. Next thing we knew, we were suspended for ten days,? he added.

The QCSHS submitted a recommendation that the four students be suspended for ten days, which the Department of Education's division earlier approved. The DepEd has revoked the suspension and ordered an investigation.

Student council vice chairperson Patchi Dela Cruz pointed out that the students' constitutional rights to freedom of expression and to privacy were violated with the sanctions taken against them.

?We believe that the ten-day suspension they tried to impose on our schoolmates is not fair,? she added.

One of the male students said he would consider enrolling in another school should higher authorities fail to resolve the issue.

?If we don?t get justice, I might just move to another school,? he added in Filipino.