The Heritage Conservation Society

By Gemma Cruz Araneta

PUBLIC
schools were to the American colonial regime what Baroque churches were
to the Spanish period. In their time, both were the most imposing
structures in all our provinces, cities and towns. As Spain used
religion to colonize and Hispanize, the United States of America
established the public education system for "pacification" and
Americanization.

Lamentably for heritage conservation, most of the school
houses built during the Spanish colonial period were reduced to rubble
during the Philippine-American War (1899-1911) and when the Philippine
Commission sent the American Secretary of War a telegram about the
"pacification" strategy, Eng. Edgar K. Bourne was instructed to go to
Manila. Daniel Burnham, famous city planner, and other American
architects soon followed.

Acting rapidly, the Philippine Commission passed Act No. 268
creating the Bureau of Architecture and Construction of Public
Buildings, with Mr. Bourne as its head. The construction of
schoolhouses in Manila and the provinces began and this activity was
viewed as the most important work of the Bureau.

No sooner was the Philippine Assembly formed after the
elections of 1907, when Act No. 1801, authored by Assemblyman Isauro
Gabaldon of Nueva Ecija, was approved and became widely known as
GABALDON ACT . This appropriated Php 1 million between 1907 to 1915 for
the "construction of schoolhouses of strong materials in barrios with
guaranteed daily attendance of not less than sixty pupils…"

Funds for each school could not exceed Php 4 thousand unless
the municipality contributed a counterpart sum of not less than fifty
percent of the total amount granted to it by virtue of the Gabaldon
Act. The municipality was authorized to appropriate its own funds,
receive voluntary contributions in cash, kind, or in manual labor, for
the construction of schoolhouses.

The Gabaldon Act stipulated that only on land owned by the
municipality could schools be constructed. Because proposed sites had
to be surveyed and registered with the Court of Land Registration, very
few schools were erected in the first three years. As separate planning
for each school was burdensome, the Bureau of Public Works and Bureau
of Education soon came up with standardized designs. These were known
as "Gabaldon School Buildings" or simply "Gabaldon," long after the
expiration of Act 1801.

Fifty-one "Gabaldons" were completed by 1911 and by 1916, four
hundred five more were constructed bringing the total number of
classrooms to one thousand eight hundred fifty-two. Three hundred
twenty seven of these "Gabaldons" were made of concrete. In the
Gabaldon-style school, there was architectural harmony between the main
building and other accessory structures. As it turned out, an
elegantly-designed school instilled in both teachers and students a
certain pride and an appreciation for the finer things in life. (
gemma601@yahoo.com)

 

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