Doña Hortencia Salas Benedicto National High School ( dhsbnhs )

HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL


The liberation of the Philippines by the American forces from the Japanese invaders in 1945 brought joy and hope to the entire country. But the Filipinos although now free, still felt deeply the ravages of war. Edifices were vastly destroyed and the hardest hit were school buildings. Adding to the enormous problem was a strong clamor of students for admission to all the public and private schools in the country.

It was in 1947, barely two years after World War II had ended that then municipal mayor of La Carlota rose to answer the call of the times. He spared no efforts in making representations in Manila for the opening of a regional high school. He approached then Congressman Carlos Hilado, Governor Rafael Lacson and Senator Ramon Torres for their official blessings and financial support. He was also ably assisted by former Congressman Felix Amante and all local officials. Finally, the Bureau of Public Schools stamped its approval and so in July 1947 La Carlota High School started its formal operations. .Mr. Luciano P. Lopez was the first principal with fourteen teachers composing the initial faculty and 480 students for its pioneer population. Classes were opened from the first to the third years and were housed in the 2nd and 3rd floors and roof garden of the Presidencia Building. Classes went on in the municipal building while the high school building was being constructed at its present site consisting of seventeen ½ hectares. Twelve hectares of which was acquired by the exercise of the right of eminent domain through expropriation proceedings against Hda. Fe which was ably argued by then Provincial Fiscal Jesus Rodriguez in behalf of municipality. The ownership of the other 5 1/2 hectares was acquired through the generous donation of Don Ciro Locsin from his Hda. Canman-ug property, thus, converting the high school site to 17 1/2 hectares, reportedly the biggest among all public high schools in the Philippines. In June, 1949, classes were transferred to the already completed P45,000.00 semi-permanent high school building financed from the pork barrel funds of Congressman Carlos Hilado. The next year, constructions of the P75,000.00. Gym, the Shop Building costing P15,000.00 and the H.E. Building valued at P10,000.00 went into full swing; all these projects were financed from pork barrel funds of Congressman Carlos Hilado.

Barely 2 ½ years after its establishment, LCHS gained national prominence when the first editor-in-chief of “The Periscope”, Fortunato Tingson, Jr. and later City Fiscal of La Carlota City, won the third place in editorial writing during the Public Secondary Schools Press Association Conference held in Baguio City on March 27-29, 1950. This feat was duplicated later by Vilumin Benedicto who became the first American Field Service scholar for one year in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. in 1957. A host of other AFS Scholars followed namely: Eva Bibaoco Fizette, Sol Nuniedo Amar, Ofelia Debulgado Uy, Ingrid Regner Yap, Dinah Bibaoco Peñaflorida, Arturo Valdez, Elias Lapatha, Jr., Nida Ortega, Leilani Uriarte, Aurelio Valdez and Jarry Juance. During this decade, LCHS became a by word in athletics by producing outstanding athletes who won medals in the Asian Games, PSIAA and National Open Meets. They were Raymundo Juanero, Juanita Grupe Jaud, Marina Valdez and Fe Aplaon Alipalo. Avelino Poblete, Jr. made a name in baseball during PSIAA Meets. Mr. Gil Blanca, former head of the Vocational Dept. was outstanding coach in boys track and field during the PSIAA meets.

LCHS scored another distinction when the Bureau of Public Schools selected it as a Pilot High School for Vocational Education and was made a recipient of ICA-NEC donations of vocational tools and implements. In 1964, Mr. Lopez, was promoted to Division Supervisor of Secondary Education, in recognition of his exemplary service as Principal of LCHS for 17 years. Prior to his promotion, Mr. Lopez was sent to Jakarta, Indonesia as the country’s official delegate to the GANEFO. Mrs. Fortunata Cachopero took over as principal in August 1964. It was during her term that the Elizalde Science Hall costing P110,000.00 was constructed out of the income taxes paid by the Elizalde and Co. through the personal representations made by then Mayor Jaime Mariño.

During the mid-sixties, the BPS approved the opening of the Night High School classes in LCHS, the first public high school outside of Manila to be authorized to do so. The Night High School classes was the brainchild of former Vice-Mayor Prospero Rojo, Jr. and the approval was painstakingly followed up in Manila by Mr. Jose Flores, former Personnel Officer of the local City Engineer’s Office.

In October 1965 Mrs. Cachopero was transferred to NOHS. Miss Fe T. Martinez was designated Teacher In-Charge until Jan. 2, 1966. When the late Mr. Jose M. Varon was appointed Principal. Before the close of the school year 1965-66, LCHS was converted into La Carlota City High School with the City of La Carlota assuming its maintenance and operations. In 1967 Mr. Varon was promoted to City Superintendent of Schools of La Carlota so Miss Fe Martinez was assigned as In-Charge of the School. The following school year 1968-69 Mr. Gil Blanca was designated In-Charge of the School as Miss Martinez was granted a scholarship in the University of the Philippines. From July 1969 – Jan. 3, 1970 Miss Pacita G. Aplaon was In-Charge of the School. By Jan. 4, 1970 Miss Martinez resumed her position as In-Charge of the School after having finished her MAT in UP. She became Principal of LCCHS effective February 1972.

The decade ending in 1970 gained LCCHS meritorious achievements in sports. In the national Open and PSIAA Meets the names to reckon with were Elena Roma, Elisa Sauce, Brigido Tondo, Susan Pernito, Donato Torrefranca, Mary jane Gan and Flora Sauce. Mr. Ely Legada, PMT Commandant distinguished himself as champion coach in girls’ track and field during the National Open and PSIAA Meets. Under him, the PMT Unit maintained its top ratings in the Annual Tactical Inspection. The official organ of LCCHS under the scholarly guidance of Mrs. Marcelina S. Cuadra shared the limelight when it won 9th place in feature writing in the National Secondary Schools Press Conference in Surigao City. It also won a prize in Lay Outing. In 1977 Dr. Nenita P. Avanceña took over as adviser of the “The Periscope”, a position she held for 22 years. During her advisorship the school paper itself was awarded 1st Place in Lay-Out; 4th place in News page, 5th place in Features page, 6th place in Development Communication and 7th place in Science page. The editors-in-Chief likewise won top places in the Regional Secondary Schools Press Conferences which enabled them to participate in the NSSPC.

When Mr. Lemuel I. Lapatha took over as Principal on July 1, 1976 LCCHS underwent marked physical changes. A sports complex was constructed and for the first time the Area III meet was held in the City with La Carlota City High School copping the General Championship. The benevolent former Ambassador Roberto S. Benedicto made possible the construction of a two-storey building named the Doña Hortencia Salas Benedicto Memorial Hall in honor of Ambassador Benedicto’s mother. The most significant achievement was the conversion of LCHS into a national high school. The City Division school officials and the city officials under the administration of the late Mayor Luis G. Jalandoni, Jr., former Vice-Mayor Jose S. Liansing, Sr., City councilors Juancho G. Aguirre, David B. Baga Sr., Vicente T. Flores Sr., Lea I. Valera, Tomas R. de Leon, Hernani J. Jimenez, Ricardo B. Teruel, Lydio N. Lachica, former City Administrator Marcalo G. Aguuirre Jr., worked together to realize this project. The conversion of LCCHS into a national high school was endorsed to the Batasan Pambansa by former Congressman Jose Varela of the 3rd District of Neg. Occ. who was on the members of the Congressional Committee on Education that took charge of resolving a bill converting all municipal and city high schools into national high schools. Finally, La Carlota City High School was converted into a national high school to be known as Doña Hortencia Salas Benedicto National High School on June 24, 1983 by virtue of Batas Pambansa Blg. 545 authored by Assemblyman Alfonso Garcia of the interim Batasang Pambansa.