Duterte signs law mandating conservation of Gabaldon school buildings

THIS Gabaldon building at Pampanga High School in the City of San Fernando has been preserved by the Department of Education following an appeal by the Heritage Conservation Society to save it. INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the law mandating the conservation of Gabaldon school buildings nationwide.

Duterte signed Republic Act 11194 or the Gabaldon School Buildings Conservation Act on January 18.

Gabaldon buildings are school buildings designed by American Architect William Parsons and funded through Act No. 1801 authored by Isauro Gabaldon, a former Nueva Ecija governor.

The new law directed the Department of Education, National Commission for Culture and the Art, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, and the National Museum to “implement a program for the identification and conservation of all Gabaldon school buildings nationwide.”

It also mandated “an inventory of all Gabaldon school buildings, whether fully functional or condemned, in all public elementary and secondary schools.”

Initial funding for the said program should be charged to DepEd’s 2019 budget.

The law said local government units that have Gabaldon school buildings under their jurisdiction were ordered to “adopt measures for the protection and conservation of these structures.”

“Any modification, alteration, destruction, demolition, or relocation of Gabaldon school buildings shall be strictly prohibited,” the law stated.