By Eva C. Visperas

 

THIS piece of great news appeared on my Facebook feed on October 10, 2023. Bayambangueños are celebrating a court decision that has returned ownership of the century-old Bayambang Central School (BCS) to the municipal government.

This legal battle has been ongoing for nearly 10 years, and I was there when the issue first arose. We made several visits to the school while local residents protested the transfer of BCS from Zone 2 in the Poblacion area to Barangay Magsaysay. School children from the Poblacion and their parents, guardians, and nannies had to spend more for travel after the school was moved to a different location.

Despite the uproar from the people, it wasn’t enough to halt the transfer, not even a court case. I recall interviewing mothers and their children, teachers who were reluctant to speak out, including barangay officials, local executives, the DepEd superintendent, and tricycle drivers. Some were outspoken, but most were scared.

We even covered the repainting of some classrooms in the old school to indicate that classes would soon resume, but the efforts were in vain. The order to transfer came, and the residents felt helpless.

The people’s misery over the transfer deepened when a fire suddenly broke out and consumed a Gabaldon building in BCS at the old school site. But before that, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines had written the mayor that “the American period Gabaldon school falls within the purview of the heritage law which provides that structures fifty years or older shall be presumed to be important cultural property.”

Nasunog o sinunog? That was the million-dollar question!

We returned to the site after the fire, and it was heart-wrenching to witness the loss of precious memories that the alumni had cherished. Paano na?

I still remember how the fire station, located just a few meters away from the old school, faced criticism for not responding quickly to the fire incident.

That fire incident was reminiscent of situations in other towns or cities where a shopping mall would rise in an existing marketplace or school area, and opposition was strong. Fires always resolved the issue.

I also recall watching 500 placard-bearing protesters gathered at the BCS for the “other” State of the Province Address in 2016. A firetruck arrived with firefighters on board, possibly sent by a powerful entity, to intimidate the protesters and disperse them using water cannons. The media intervened, politely asking the firefighters to leave.

I found it absurd that the reason for the transfer then was attributed to rising dengue cases in the old school. Kaloka!

We made periodic visits to Bayambang for updates, also inspecting the new site. There was a vast difference between the old school and the new one. But the legal battle continued to drag on and on.

However, last Tuesday was different. I saw the excitement in the eyes of the Bayambangueños as they removed the galvanized iron sheets and barbed wire encircling the old school, which had been placed there by an individual with a Chinese-sounding surname. I watched it all through a video posted by BayambangueNews on the official Facebook page of Bayambang LGU on October 10.

They entered the old school and put up a large tarpaulin that read: “No trespassing. LGU property.”

Recall that the old school had been abandoned in 2013 in favor of the new site, where a 60-classroom building was constructed by a Chinese businessman on his property. Some believe the businessman was merely a front for someone who used to hold significant influence in Pangasinan.

Now, luck has smiled upon the LGU. The popular phrase “weder-weder lang” has once again proven to be true. #

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