Duterte signs law to protect Gabaldon school

buildings
Dharel Placido, ABS-CBN News
Posted at Feb 07 2019 07:38 PM

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte has

signed a law that mandates the
conservation of Gabaldon school buildings
nationwide.

Duterte signed on Jan. 18 Republic Act

11194, which seeks to preserve the
architectural, historical and social
significance of Gabaldon school buildings,
heritage school houses built in the
Philippines from 1907 to 1946.

The school buildings were those designed by American architect William Parsons and funded
through Act. No. 1801, authored by Isauro Gabaldon.

Under the law, all Gabaldon school buildings shall be recognized as built heritage and, therefore,
be included as part of cultural properties under the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.

The law states that the Department of Education, in coordination with the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts, National Historical Commission of the Philippines, and National
Museum, shall implement a program for the identification and conservation of all Gabaldon
school buildings nationwide.

An inventory of all Gabaldon school buildings, whether fully functional or condemned, shall be
jointly undertaken by the DepEd and the NCCA.

Local government units that have Gabaldon school buildings under their jurisdiction shall likewise
adopt measures for the protection and conservation of these structures and shall aid DepEd in
conservation efforts.

Sen. Loren Legarda, the bill’s author, said there are about 1,446 Gabaldon heritage school
buildings all over the Philippines.

“These structures symbolize the first foundation of the Philippine public school system during the
American period, in which each Filipino child, even from the most remote areas of the country,
had access to formal education,” Legarda said in the explanatory note of her then proposed
measure.
Reaction
Gabaldon Schools changed our education system here in the Philippines. With the help of the
Americans, these schools were able to provide Filipinos quality education on remote and
impoverished areas. It is in the Gabaldon schools where every Filipino child has the chance to
acquire a formal education.

This Public School System was laid down by these schools, though designed by American
Architect William Parsons (a consulting architect of the Bureau of Public works from 1905-
1914, more known for his works on the Manila Hotel, Philippine General Hospital, and The
Mansion House in Baguio City), form an important part of Philippine architecture. The
standard design for the Gabaldon schools, particularly, the one-story buildings, has an H or U
plan, with classrooms along one side of an open gallery, lifted off the ground. Gabled nipa
roofs (originally, but have since been replaced with GI roofing) and the large swing-out
windows with capiz panels recalls the Bahay Kubo. The overall design and orientation allow
for maximum ventilation and acoustical requirements ideal for learning spaces in a tropical
environment. At the same time, it's architectural aesthetic and structural elements like the
calado, exposed beams, awning windows, fascia have designs that range from geometric
minimalist to intricate - adding to the whole character of the Gabaldon building as a bastion
for learning. The Gabaldon schoolhouse is not only a living canvas of the evolution of the
Philippine educational system but a study on the creativity and the craftsmanship of Filipinos
that, to this day, still runs through our veins.

The Republic act 1114, signed by our current President Rodrigo Duterte, aims to preserve the
architectural, historical and social significance of Gabaldon schools. With the historical
imprints planted on these buildings, I believe it is a valuable asset to teach students the
historical value of these buildings. I also graduated from a school who uses Gabaldon
structures as classrooms. It taught me how to value my own heritage and to have a
nationalistic pride as a Filipino. This is also a chance for younger architects to see the beauty
of these schools because achieving sustainable design is not a common modern practice, it is
practiced by the pioneers way back centuries ago. It is where we could challenge these
concepts and find new unconventional alternatives for the latest tropical design in the
Philippines.

Panotes, Venice Angelic A.

4AR-1
February 8, 2019
Reaction Paper No.2