REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

CENTRAL LUZON STATE UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF GRADUATE STUDIES SCIENCE CITY OF MUNOZ, NUEVA ECIJA

A Brief History of Abar 1st Elementary School

INSTITUTION BUILDING (ED814)
Researched by: ARNOLD G. ONIA MSED Submitted to Dr. Eden G. Agcaoili Professor

APRIL 13, 2011

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BARANGAY ABAR 1ST : THE EARLY BEGINNINGS

Barangay Abar derived its name from the giant Abar Trees that were lushly abounding in the banks of the river traversing the barrio. Its first name was Union Moncada, because the first settlers came from Moncada, Tarlac. During the Spanish Regime, Barangay Abar was a hunting ground due to the abundance of wild boars in what was then a forested area. It was also once a refuge for Filipino resistance group led by Kapitan Cirilo Gomez struggling against Spanish domination. It was during the American occupation in the 1930s when the residents started to pour in the barangay. The first ricemill was constructed in the area from 1936 to 1940. It catapulted the prominence of the barangay in the municipality as its coffers increased so as the income of its residents, and the population grew even bigger. As a result of the fast migration of people, Barangay Abar was divided into two the eastern part towards the townhall was named Abar Primero and the western part going to Cabanatuan was named Abar Segundo. During the Japanese War, the whole municipality of San Jose was razed into the ground as a result of the bombings. Residents fled into the nearby towns to seek refuge from the devastating effects of the war. It was during the liberation after the war when the residents returned into Barangay Abar 1st. The war brought unprecedented changes in the barangay. The previously uninhabited, woody and forested area now teemed with people with bright prospects of the near future. The leaders who brought Barangay Abar 1st to what it is today includes Rufino Tagarino, Melencio Estillore, Aurelio Gabriel, Camilo Rigos, Placido Aquino Jr., Cornelio Tagarino, Eliseo Abello and Apolinario Buenaventura (from 1946 to the late 1970s).

The Present Barangay Hall of Brgy. Abar 1st

ABAR 1ST PRIMARY SCHOOL: TRACING THE PAST

Atty. Arturo Pascual, during his incumbency as the Alcalde Municipal in 1952 to 1963 (now the position is known as Municipal Mayor), initiated the establishment of intermediate level schools in strategic barrios with at least a primary school in smaller barrios. It was then in 1952 after the liberation that Abar 1st Primary School was brought into being. During that period, classes were held in private houses. The American

Missionaries known as the Thomasites were the first teachers in the barangay. The curriculum then focused on the three Rs reading, writing and arithmetic. In 1968 to 1972, Atty. Arutro Pascual returned to local politics. It was during his second term as ayor but his 1st term as City Mayor that he led the construction of Army Type, Pascual Type and Marcos Type school buildings throughout the municipality. These were two classrooms buildings made of concrete and galvanized iron roof. (It was in July 17, 1969 when then Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Republic Act No. 6051 also known as The Charter of San Jose City authored by then congressman Angel D. Concepcion. In August 10, 1969, Pres. Marcos formally organized the City Officials of San Jose City). It was also during these years that Abar 1st Primary School was elevated to a complete elementary school.

It was in the year 1971 when the first school building was constructed in Abar 1 st Elementary School through the initiative of the then Barangay Captain Camillo Rigos and his councilors Lou Aquino, Romeo Villaroman, Ricardo Marquez, Remy Dela Cruz, Eliseo Cabatit and Pedro Sanchez through the help of a civic-spirited couple - Dr. Vicencio S. Del Pilar and Julita Velayo (now both deceased) who donated an elongatedtriangular lot measuring 5,197 sq.m. The said lot, forming part of the Marianas subdivision owned by the couple, was donated in favor of the City government of San Jose City under the administration of Mayor Arturo Pascual who initiated the construction of a two classroom school building to house the classes. (The same lot donated by Spouses Dr. & Mrs. Vivencio Del Pilar is still the present site where the school is located.)

Dr. Vivencio Del Pilar

ABAR 1ST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL : THE METAMORPHOSIS

In 1977, a three-room Bagong Lipunan School Building (BLSB) was constructed to accommodate the increasing enrollees of the Abar 1st Elementary School. After two years in 1979, another three-rooms Bagong Lipunan School Building was added to the structures in the school. It was during the Martial Law and the incumbency of the then President Ferdiand E. Marcos and Mayors Arturo Pascual (1969-1977), Demetrio Pascual (August to November 1977), Rogelio Arevalo (November to December 1977)

and Benjamin Saturno (1977 to 1979) when the classrooms were built. Schools were administered then by the Secretary of the Department of Education under Presidential Decree No. 1081 singed on September 24, 1972. On June 2, 1978, then President Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 1397, renaming the Department of Education to Ministry of Education and Culture headed by the Education Minister.

During the incumbency of the then Mayor Amor B. Belena, a former BIR tax man who succeeded Mayor Saturno from December 11, 1979 to May 15, 1986, two more school buildings with five classrooms were built at Abar 1st Elementary School. In the year 1984, a three classroom BLSB was erected. In the year 1985, a two-classroom Kalayaan Building was added to the school. From 1977 to 1985, four concrete buildings housing eleven classrooms were the main facilities of the school. In the year 1984, by virtue of the Education Act of 1982, the Ministry of Education was reorganized into Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.

The entire Philippine Archipelago then witnessed the assignation of Senator Benigno Aquino in August 21, 1983. And in 1986 his widow was put into office by a bloodless revolution known worldwide as People Power 1. Then President Corzon C. Aquino decreed that all government position be vacated. President Aquino appointed into office Dr. Eleuterio Violago who replaced Atty. Amor B. Belena from May 16, 1986 to May 15, 1987. The city was left without a formal leader from May 16, 1987 to December 2, 1987 until the appointment of as Atty. Antonio Paguia as city mayor from December 3, 1987 to January 1, 1988. During the period of the revolutionary government of the then President Cory Aquino, no structure was ever built at Abar 1 st Elementary School. The election in 1988 brought back Amor B. Belena in the helm of the mayoralty in San Jose City. In 1989, a Home Economics building finance thru the Country Wide Development fund of the then Congressman Simeon E. Garcia was added to the existing structures of the school to serve the needs of the pupils in home economics.

It was during the incumbency of the then City Mayor Atty. Jose C. Felimon from July 1, 1992 to June 30, 2001 when the number of classrooms at Abar 1st Elementary School mushroomed. The administration of then Mayor Felimon, through the funds of the Local School Board, constructed 2 two-story school buildings totaling 12 rooms in the school. In the year 1993, a six-classroom two-story school building now housing the grade three pupils was constructed on the easternmost part of the school. In the year 1994, another six-classroom two-story school building was constructed and now houses the office, one class each from the grade four and five, and three classes from the grade six. In the same year also in 1994, the covered multi-purpose gymnasium where various activities in the school are held was constructed. The multi-purpose gymnasium was constructed through the Conutry wide Development Fund (CDF) of Congressman Dr. Eleuterio Violago. In the year 1998, another classroom was built in the school funded by the CDF of Cong. Eleuterio Violago. And in the year 1990, a two-classroom

Aquino Type building was again constructed. The building now houses the school canteen and a class from the grade 1.

Felimon Type School Building built in 1994

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The Multi-Purpose Gymnasium built in 1994 thru the CDF of Cong. Violago

The mayoralty of Atty. Alexander S. Belena July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2007 added another two buildings totaling nine classrooms at Abar 1 st Elementary School. The school buildings were funded using the Local School Board fund derived from the Special Education Fund (SEF) of the tax collected from real property.

Maharlika Type School Building constructed in 2006 under Mayor Alexander S. Belena At present, the school has 12 academic buildings with 33 classrooms. Each classroom is with complete electrical and water installations, and is fitted with toilets to

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cater to the needs of the pupils. The school also has a stage built in the early 1980s during a fund raising activity conducted to serve that purpose of building a decent stage for the school. A multi-purpose gymnasium was constructed during the term of the then congressman Dr. Elueterio Violago. The gym now covers the stage and is the spot where the various academic, extra-curricular and various ceremonies and activites are being conducted. The school also has a library, a science laboratory, a math room, home economics cottage and a school canteen.

The Structures at Abar 1st Elementary School in Miniatures

THE FOUNDING FATHERS: THE LEADERS WHO STEERED INTO A SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE

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Abar 1st Elementary School can be called a cradle of leaders in education since it produced four District Supervisor from its roster of Principals. The earliest known

Principal of Abar 1st Elementary School was Mr. David Datayan who served in the late 1960s to the early 1970s. During that time, San Jose City West District, the school district under the Division of Nueva Ecija where Abar 1st elementary School is clustered, was then headed by Mr. Buenaventura Eugenio. Mr. Vicente Pascual succeeded Mr. Datayan as Principal in the early years of 1970, but was promoted as District Supervisor from June 1975 to May 1983. Came after him as a principal was Mrs. Leonila Elisango from 1978 to 1983 and like Mr. Pascual, she was promoted as District Supervisor of San Jose City East District in the succeeding years. During that time, students were nearing a thousand and the numbers of teachers were more than twenty. Classes during that time were already departmentalized and there were multiple sections per grade level.

In the years 1983 until 1989 for a period of six years, the school was under the administration of Mr. Eduardo Martinez. His immediate superiors then were District Supervisor Hilaro G. Mengala who hold the helm at the San Jose City West District from July 8, 1983 to August 10, 1985, and Cipriano B. Pacubas who stayed at the District Office as Supervisor from January 1988 to Janaury 1990. Mr. Gregorio Eugenio replaced Mr. Martinez after the latter retired in 1989. Mr. Eugenio served for 4 years until 1994 under the then District Supervisor Angelita Dela Cruz. After Mr. Eugenio came Mr. Eliseo Cabatit. Mr. Cabatit as Principal II. Mr. Cabatit, a proud Boy Scout and outstanding leader, was also part of the Barangay council who initiated the construction

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of the first school building at Abar 1st Elementary School in 1971. Like his predecessors Mr. Pascual and Mrs. Elisango, Mr. Cabatit also rose from the ranks and became the District Supervisor of Lupao District. There were thirty two personnel then the principal and the utility worker, and around one thousand two hundred (1,200) pupils.

Following the administratorship of Mr. Cabatit for one and a half years from 1994 to 1996, came Mrs. Catalina Pascual who served for years from 1996 to 1999. She worked under the supervision of then District Supervisor Celia Toledo, who hailed from LLanera. Mrs. Toledo worked at the District Office from August 5, 1996 to February 1, 2002. After Mrs. Catalina Pascual at Abar 1st Elementary School, Mr. Elpidio Santos serve the school for a period of ten (10) months, after which he was appointed as District Supervisor of Pantabangan District. His replacement was Mrs. Pricilla Ordinario, who stayed at the Principals Office for almost five years from 1999 until 2004. She worked under District Supervisor Clarita V. Abinales who stayed at the District Office from September 11, 2002 until June 2007. Ms. Luisa G. Divina is the present administrator carrying the position of Elementary School Principal III. She took her oath of office in 2004. She collaborated to uplift the academic standards of pupils and achieved excellence in various academic fields such as English, Science and Mathematics with District Supervisors mrs. Abinales and Mrs. Plerida P. Payawal. The latter worked very hard to multiple the number of teachers funded by the national office in the district. Under the stewardship of ms. Divina, the school was recognized in number of competitions in the Division of Nueva Ecija.

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Presently, Abar 1st Elementary School is considered the second biggest elementary school in terms of enrolment in San Jose City West District. It is now administered by a Principal III, the only school next to San Jose West Central School in the entire city of San Jose to have such distinction to have a Principal III in its roster of educators.

It has 33 nationally funded teachers and 3 Local School Board Teachers, and with present enrollment at 1,700 pupils including the pre-elementary pupils. Out of the 33 teachers permanent teachers, two are Master Teacher II, three are Master Teacher I, ten are Teacher III, four are Teacher II and there are 13 Teacher I. The present administrator holds a Principal III position. The school also has a utility worker in its payroll funded by the national government.

The School is located a kilometer away from the City Hall of San Jose City and 25 meters from Maharlika Hiway since it is located in the interior portion of the Pabalan Subdivision. Brgy. Abar 1st on the other hand is the biggest barangay in San Jose City in terms of population and land area, and the second biggest barangay in Nueva Ecija in terms of population. It has 21 zones with approximately 18,279 residents and 3,389 households based on 2009 survey.

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References: 1. Socio-Economic Profile, Brgy. Abar1st thru mrs. Filomena pdain, San Jose City Library 2. Various School Records at Abar 1st Elementary School 3. Interview Accounts of Mr. Eliseo Cabatit, Mrs. Adelaida Tanedo and Mrs. Dorotea Ilustre