DHSBNHS’ 75th Founding Year: Revisiting our alma mater through Gabaldon Buildings

DHSBNHS’ 75th Founding Year

Revisiting our alma mater through Gabaldon Buildings

By Gerlie M. Uy

Have you visited your alma mater lately? If so, your eyes had surely feasted on the newly-painted old buildings of the school, and such a visual feast surely turned into walking back to the memory lane. This happened to me twice this year when I requested for my high school diploma in August and saw the main building of Dona Hortencia Salas Benedicto National High School and then later in October when I accompanied my mother who is a current PTA officer to a meeting and saw the HE (Home Economics) building. The latter is located behind the main building so I haven’t noticed it the first time.

What are Gabaldon Buildings?

The Gabaldon buildings are school buildings built under the authority of Act 1801 of 1907 or what is called as Gabaldon Law as it was authored by then Philippine Assemblyman Isauro Gabaldon. The said law appropriated P1 million for the construction of modern public school buildings across the country which spanned from 1908 to 1915. Thus, chances are, your alma mater has one or two subsisting Gabaldon buildings.

Cultural Heritage under RA 11194

Republic Act 11194 or known as the Gabaldon Buildings Conservation Act is the law passed in 2009 which declared that “all Gabaldon school buildings shall be recognized as built heritage and therefore be included as part of cultural properties under Republic Act. No. 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.”

Under the said law, the Department of Education (DepEd), in consultation with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), and the National Museum (NM), is the program implementor for the identification and conservation of all Gabaldon school buildings nationwide.

Why declare Gabaldon Buildings as cultural heritage?

The Gabaldon buildings were built under the American colonial government with American architect, William E. Parsons as the blueprint designer, with a standard size of 7 by 9 meters regardless of the number of classrooms for swift construction of public schools. The Gabaldon buildings are raised 1.2 meters on a platform made of wood or concrete and feature large windows and high ceilings for ventilation and lighting purposes.

Gabaldon buildings may have been modern in design in its time but it was said to be inspired by bahay kubo and bahay na bato common in most towns at that time. 

The Bahay Kubo structure stands on a platform and has leg posts as support, and the space created by the legs can be made into a ground floor room and is usually utilized as animal shelter when the storm comes by. The leg posts also serve as an easy transport system during the transfer of the hut from one place to another, as we can usually see in most “bayanihan” paintings or pictures. Later, the Bahay Kubo is also the inspiration of Bahay na bato. The Bahay Kubo may only be mentioned when sung in the kid’s song nowadays but this structure has been historically lauded as the inspiration of modern skyscrapers. 

In 1850, American architect and engineer William Le Baron Jenney visited the Philippines for three months and during such visit, he noticed that during a storm, the nipa hut structures are very light and flexible that it only dances and sways through the storm. This observation inspired him to copy the flexibility of the frame of the nipa hut so that in 1879, he built the first lighter building. In 1884, he built the first ever metal-framed skyscraper in the United States, the Home Insurance Building in Chicago which earned him the reputation as "The Father of Modern American Skyscrapers." Who would have thought nowadays that the model of all the modern skyscrapers in the world was modeled after a bahay kubo?

The bahay kubo also inspired Filipino architects such as Francisco Mañosa and Leandro Locsin by incorporating elements of the bahay na bato into their own designs such as in the Cultural Center of the Philippines, National Arts Center, Coconut Palace, and Light Rail Transit stations.

Renovation Efforts under the law

While we can only widely observe the fruits borne by the said law in nation-wide scale now, it is worth noting that since its passage 13 years ago, the implementors were busy in the inventory of all Gabaldon school buildings across the country in order to document their existence and their structural damage. Further, local government units (LGUs) were directed under the law to adopt measures for the protection and conservation of the identified structures.    

It must be emphasized though that, “any modification, alteration, destruction, demolition, or relocation of Gabaldon school buildings shall be strictly prohibited.” However, in cases where conservation measures are necessary, the implementors  “shall provide proper technical assistance to school heads to ensure that the original architectural design of the school building is maintained: Provided, however, That, subject to the issuance of a permit from the NCCA, any modification or alteration of the original architectural design of Gabaldon school buildings may be allowed in public elementary and secondary schools where the exigency of constructing new school buildings is a priority in anticipation of the increase in student population by virtue of the implementation of Republic Act No. 10533, or the "Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013": Provided, further, That the façade and other distinct features of the original Gabaldon school buildings shall, as much as possible, be preserved.”

Thus, we have newly painted Gabaldon buildings which are not just for beautification or preservation purposes but also functional buildings where classes are actually held daily. 

My alma mater

The Gabaldon building of DHSBNHS, formerly called La Carlota High School, is one of the 1,852 Gabaldon Buildings constructed in the whole Philippines from 1911 to 1916. Because of the surge of students wanting to enroll after the Second World War in 1945, the La Carlota Provincial High School opened in 1947, leading to the reconstruction of the main building in 1949.  

TLE/STVEP Head Teacher Mrs. Emily Rojo shared some of the interviews her team had when they were documenting the HE Gabaldon Building of DHSBNHS in La Carlota City.

Feisty 75-year-old Ms. Flora Sauce is one of the first graduates of the vocational education program who later became a Home Economics-Cosmetology teacher in DHSBNHS. She shared that during rainy seasons, the undersized elevation between the ground and the floor of the HE Gabaldon building that served as a classroom during her time, or the much known as “dalum-balay” would flood. She said that aside from walking on top of the chairs and the temporary suspensions of classes during these days, their heads got bumped on the floor beam of the building. It was a happy memory for her though.

Meanwhile Mrs. Dela Peña Rojo shared a fascinating story when she was transferred to the Baking Laboratory Classroom of the building. It was a great mystery for her to always find a peso coin on her table every morning that she would habitually collect. If there is a student who got a stomach ache for missing a meal, she would take out those and buy an “arroz caldo” for her hungry student out of those wondrous peso coins. Even now, it is still a wonder for the kind-hearted teacher but she was never frightened of the experience that brought hope instead.

In a recent sharing on HE Gabaldon building memories, Lyra, a graduate of Batch 1996, shared that “I spent two years going in and out of that building during my HS years. Entrepreneurship class under Ma'am Elsie Castañeda and Cooking class under Ma'am Lolit Del Monte. We're educated on how to start small business ventures like selling candies and other stuff. Another thing I've learned was about proper manners and behavior in dining.”

Meanwhile, Jen of Batch 1981 shared that she recalled all of her teachers when she saw the photos of the renovated Gabaldon main building and the HE building I showed her. She also recalled that during her time, the electives were cosmetology, dressmaking,  baking, agronomy and even health aide.