Making a Case for a Historical Founding Date of Bulacan State University

🗹 Reviewed: F. Mac

The search for the historical date of the founding of the University aims to spark discussions on how a humble “trade school” developed into the progressive University it is today. Traditionally, BulSU upholds that it was founded in 1904 and started as an intermediate school. Both claims are inaccurate based on extant documentary evidence. The discussion seeks to rectify these inaccuracies using primary sources and tries to make a case for a historic founding date.

Early Years in Baliuag, 1902-1905

To understand the beginnings of the University, one must recognize the shared history of BulSU with the Bulacan High School (now Marcelo H. del Pilar National High School). They were one and the same during the first decade of the 1900s.

Bulacan (Provincial) High School was first organized in the town of Baliuag in 1902 in a rented house during the time when no suitable site for a school could be used in Malolos. The first day of classes was on July 13, 1903, after it was moved from June because of a cholera outbreak. Even though it was a “high school,” actual instruction provided was equivalent to second and third-grade levels only, which by the following school years were upgraded to grades 4, 5, and 6, until it finally offered a high school-level course by 1906 (might be 1905 based on the 1905 Report of the Superintendent of Education, and by counting backwards four school years from the first high school graduation in 1909).

The first teachers were three Thomasites: Miss Ella King Vogel, Mr. James A. Fairchild, and Mrs. Lillie Turner. Mr. Fairchild served as the first principal. They were under Mr. E. G. Turner's supervision, the provincial superintendent.

The enrollees grew from 87 to 227 pupils during the school year 1903-1904. At the time, a plan for a high school building in Malolos was already approved and funded with P32,000 from the provincial government. The province had to financially support the high school as prescribed by the Philippine Commission Act of March 7, 1902 (Alzona, 1932, p. 228). At the same time, money had been apportioned from insular funds for constructing an industrial school in Malolos in connection with the provincial high school (Bureau of Insular Affairs, 1906, p. 485).

Journey to Malolos, 1906

The high school building in Malolos was erected in the capitolio (Guinhawa). Construction began in July 1905, was finished by February 1, 1906, inaugurated by March, and was occupied at the beginning of the school year in June 1906. This high school building, located beside the identically designed provincial capitol, was primarily for academic instruction,thus called the “academic building”. Separate buildings for industrial education were to be constructed later in 1908 and 1910. [show pics]

Lobbying for a “trade school”

As early as 1903, the recommendation to establish a manual-training school was put forward by the provincial board of Bulacan to the Philippine Commission (Bureau of Insular Affairs, 1904, p. 708). In 1905, money from the insular funds was allotted for the construction of an additional building for the high school. It was referred to by the Philippine Commission Report as the “industrial school in Malolos” to function in connection with the high school. Woodworking, metal working, and mechanical drawing and designing were to be taught in the planned industrial school (Bureau of Insular Affairs, 1906, p. 480). Again, by 1906, it was reported to the Philippine Commission that the greatest need of the province of Bulacan was “the opportunity for doing industrial work.” It was lobbied that there should be a trade school for woodworking and iron working in the provincial high school (Bulacan High School) (Bureau of Insular Affairs, 1906, p. 211).

In the Philippine Commission Report of 1907, the establishment of a “school of arts and trades” as part of the provincial high school was reported as finally approved (War Department, 1908, p. 290). Governor Teodoro Sandiko said that the plans for the arts and trades school had been already prepared and funded. “The province will soon have, besides the schoolhouses and dormitory, a school of arts and trades,” the governor wrote in his correspondence (War Department, 1908). [insert here details of the fundraising and efforts reported in the Plaridel about the Escuela Industrial]

What Gov. Sandiko described in the 1907 report was a one-storey trade school approved to be built at P19,000. It was a machine room with dynamo built with it to provide electricity for the high school. The “Trade School” building was completed by 1908.

In addition to the said trade school building, the high school’s manual training department building was completed in 1910. While it was appropriated as “Malolos Trade School” in the Annual Report, it operated as a part of the Bulacan High School (Bureau of Education, 1910, p. 78). By 1910, Bulacan High School had an Academic Building, a girl’s dormitory, a “trade school” building and a manual training department building. The Trade and Manual Training buildings were of the same design.

Bulacan Trade School was separated from the Bulacan High School, 1911

As new subjects were introduced in the school year 1911-1912, the Trade School was separated from the High School (Figueroa, 1918, p. 28). It was then in 1911 when the precursor to the present Bulacan State University was finally made to stand on its own.

The curriculum of the trade school focused on trade and manual training. Students had to take academic subjects such as English, arithmetic, and Philippine history and government minus U.S. history and science subjects. The high school was meant to prepare students for higher education while the trade school was for the preparation in trade and manual occupation. Both were four-year programs. (source)

Mr. David G. Gunnell was the principal of BHS, wherein the “trades school” was part of and under the high school (Before him was WW Pettit, after him was Mr. Mcvey, then Mr. Milligan [about Mr. Milligan, see Plaridel June 28 1913]) (Philippine Education, October 1909) (Gunnell retired 1911 [farewell party at BHS held Oct. 6 1911], joined Philippine Education Pub. Co – Philippine Education November 1911)

David G. Gunnell became principal in 1909 (page 17, Philippine Education Aug 1909)

When Mr. E. G. Turner resigned from the civil service to practice law in Pangasinan, the principal of BHS, Mr. W. E. McVey was appointed acting superintendent of the province, (page 262, Philippine Education Dec. 191), and Mr. S. S. Milligan took charge of the high school. (page 262, Philippine Education Dec. 1912). McVey was then assigned as permanent superintendent to Ilocos Norte, he will be replaced by Mr. Harry Borgstadt as superintendent (page 427, Philippine Education April 1913)

McVey as principal of the High School (Philippine Education, October 1912 page 167)

Mr. Walter M. Guedel, in charge of the Bulacan trades school (Philippine Education page 24, June 1909), resigned and returned to US in August 1, 1909. (Philippine Education, June 1909 page 67)

Mr. David C. Loveland in charge of the “Malolos trade school” (Philippine Education, December 1910 page 234)

A week before the opening of classes in June 1911, E. G. Turner was reassigned to Bulacan. There was a belief that his reassignment will help in advancing the study of the trades (pag-aaral ng mga gawain) in the division. (June 14 1911 Plaridel)

June 14 1911, turner bumalik para sa pagbibigay tibay ng pagaaral ng mga gawain. Mr. Edward Ayres was the BTS principal SY 1913-1914 (Plaridel June 28 1913), SY 1914-1915 (Phil Craftsmen- search ayres in BTS file) (Mr. Milligan was the BHS principal)

Mr. Ayres (sometimes spelled Ayers) was assigned to trade school at Malolos (Philippine Education August 1911, page 71)

There were 53 students who were enrolled in the trade school. (May 53 na nagaaral sa paaralng pangangalakal) (Plaridel, Sept 6 1911)

Bulacan Trade School participated in the woodwork and trades exhibit at the Bureau of Education Exhibit of 1912 (page 378 Philippine Education, March 1912). It was described as a regularly organized trade school (364 Philippine Education March 1913)

An announcement published at the newspaper Plaridel dated March 23, 1912 referred for the first time to the “Trade School”. The school was to be used as venue for a celebration which was to be held for the closing of the school year.

Philippine Education magazine of November 1913, page 203, reported that the Malolos intermediate school volleyball team defeated teams of the high school and the trade school. Also, a teacher Miss Maria Santos of the Malolos Intermediate School was transferred to the Bulacan High School (page 242 Philippine Education Dec 1913). [BHS by this time still had intermediate grade levels, page 241] This meant that BTS did not come from the intermediate school as by 1913 there was still in operation an intermediate school, which could have been integrated with the primary central school later. The two schools were most likely at adjacent locations as there was a “garden” which had been fenced by the “garden boys” of the two schools being described in the Philippine Education issue of November 1913, page 203.

Mr. S. S. Milligan, principal of the high school, resigned last month, September, and left September 8 for the US. Mr. Edward M. Ayers, in addition to his duties as principal of the trade school, has been made acting principal of the high school. (Oct 1914 Philippine Education, page 151)

Mr. Michael H. O’Malley of Manila was assigned as principal of the Bulacan High School (page 340, Philippine Education Feb. 1915) By 1915, it was Mr. M. R. Cort who was the BTS principal (Philippine Craftsman- search ayres in BTS file)

A certain Basilio Abiano (feat8 (oocities.org)) (see also Domingo Abiado from PE) served as the first Filipino principal of BTS when the last American principal Mr. Marcus R. Cort turned over the school by virtue of the Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916, in 1918 (Philippine Education, 1917, p. 19). Mr. Abiano was succeeded by Mr. Dionisio Patag, a teacher of shop-work and drawing. Juan Lopez, BTS principal, Jose Catindig, BHS principal (page 172-173, Philippine Education, vol 17, 1920) (only snippet, so not sure). Other principals found on record were Mr. Gonzalo Villaverde in 1928, Mr. Isaias Maclang in 1929, and Mr. Melanio Orbeta from 1938 to 1945.

BHS ito: Mr Faye Charles Hare as BHS principal, 1917 (page 21, Philippine Education July 1917)

In 1927, the Vocation Act (No. 3377) was enacted by the Philippine Legislature to promote agricultural and vocational education. The law provided funding for all secondary-level arts and trades schools and ensured free tuition for all students. By 1938, the National Assembly enacted the Commonwealth Act No. 313, which supported establishing vocational trade schools patterned after the Philippine School of Arts and Trades. Not long after, in 1941, the Commonwealth, through Act No. 658, allocated P10,000 for a “vocational school” in Malolos, most likely referring to the Bulacan Trade School. Months later, the Japanese occupied the Philippines, and education at the Trade School was disrupted.

The War and the Reconstruction After

A site map sketch of Engr. Alfredo Aldaba (BHS ’38) of the 1938 capitol compound illustrated the pre-war location of the BHS/BTS campus. Revise this. During the liberation in 1945, the renowned library and the Senior Building of the Bulacan High School were burned. Reconstruction was carried out post-war. An agreement between the United States of America and the Provincial Government for the construction of a radio transmitter described the exact location and description of the pre-war BTS buildings at the Voice of the Philippines transmitter site compound adjacent to the university, which today is occupied by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA). (Department of State Publication, 1974, p. 112)

In exchange for the use of the pre-war BTS site for the transmitter and as payment for the lease, the United States erected two Quonset huts (we have pics of these) for the Malolos School Board measuring forty by one hundred feet with concrete floors (Department of State Publication, 1974, p. 112). Those were to house the Trade School temporarily holding classes in Malolos Casa Real. According to the local historian Francisco Calalang, buildings of the Bulacan High School were also turned over to the Bulacan Trade School when the high school moved to a new site in the capitol at the site behind Uniwide today (Calalang, 1971, p. 72). Mr. Deogracias Flores, a graduate of PSAT and formerly a shop teacher at the Bustos Elementary School, who was with the trade school since 1925, served as the trade school principal after the war (Philippine Education Vol. 22, 1925, p. 27).

From Bulacan Trade School to Bulacan State University

Series of laws were to change the BTS into the modern BulSU today. A quick rundown of legislations is enumerated below: 1. Republic Act No. 908 of 1953 converted Bulacan Trade School into Bulacan National Trade School (BNTS), approved June 20, 1953. 2. Republic Act No. 1800 of 1957 turned BNTS into Bulacan School of Arts and Trades (BSAT)* 3. Republic Act No. 4470 of 1965 converted BSAT into a college to be known as Bulacan College of Arts and Trades (BCAT), approved June 19, 1965.** 4. Republic Act No. 7665 of 1993 raised the status of BCAT into Bulacan State University, approved December 30, 1993.

• There is no congressional record found as to the conversion of BNTS to Bulacan School of Arts and Trades (BSAT) on July 1, 1957 by virtue of RA No. 1800 as claimed by the BulSU website (https://www.bulsu.edu.ph/about/history). The Republic Act used as a basis does not refer to BSAT as it was an act appropriating funds for the operation of the Philippine government.

• • RA No. 4470 referred to the school as BSAT, which was then converted to BCAT, but no congressional record is found on how BNTS became BSAT.

Conclusions and Recommendations

This exposition hope to have achieved two things. Firstly, it debunks the claim that BulSU started as an intermediate school in 1904. Historical records show that the University originated from the Bulacan High School where trade and manual training were initially provided to students alongside academic instruction. By 1911, as a product of the long desire for a trade school in the province, the Bulacan Trade School was finally separated from the Bulacan High School with its own principal and a different curriculum. Secondly, this account favors 1911 as a more historically acceptable date if the basis was the separation of the trade school from the high school in terms of administration and curriculum. An accurate founding date serves as a historical benchmark in which we can appreciate the length and meaning of the institutional journey of the University from 1902 as Bulacan High School until it became a trade school independent from BHS by 1911 and as it charted its way to become a college, and later as a full-fledged state university.

It is desired that more historical research be done about BulSU. The organization of the University Archives and Museum must also be considered to serve as repositories and places to promote the history of the University. Subsequently, BulSU may soon seek a well-deserved and long overdue historical marker from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, recognizing the history and contributions of the University as an institution.