SOS for Easter College

In 1906, eight Igorot boys were transported from Bontoc, Mt. Province, to Guisad, Baguio, to form the nucleus of the first class of a school there. On their eighth day of hiking, the boys were exhausted, but one of them, Hilary "Pitapit" Clapp, expressed awe and delight at the pristine surroundings of what would be their campus. In no time, the school was built and inaugurated on Easter Week, and it was promptly called Easter School, which was the first school built in the Baguio area, and the first Episcopal Church-run school in the Philippines.

Earlier, in 1903, the Rt. Rev. Charles Henry Brent, first bishop of the Episcopal Church of the Philippines, bought a piece of property on which the school the eight boys were sent to would be built.

Samuel S. Drury, from the Pomfret school in Connecticut, accepted the challenge to be the first headmaster for the school, which was originally referred to as the School for Igorot Boys, the counterpart of the Brent School for American Boys which opened in 1909. The first pupils of Easter School were the eight boys and three others who followed. The first successful graduates were 10 from Bontoc and one from Benguet.

Mr. Drury stayed only for a year, and his successor was Deaconess Hargreaves who ran the school from 1907 until 1901. A feminist no doubt, she opened the door immediately to the girls, introducing weaving as a specialty lesson for them. Thus Easter School became a co-educational institution.

The next school head was Dr. Benjamin M. Platt who was "pirated" from the public school in 1911, and served until 1920. It was he who wrote the Easter School Hymn, sung to the tune of the Cornell School hymn.

A series of administrators followed. Miss Winifred E. Mann introduced the seventh grade to the elementary school program and who saw to the construction of the main academic building which was built from a donation of the diocese of Western New York. The building housed the classrooms and the library, the dispensary, the boys’ dormitory, and the Chapel of the Holy Innocents which was consecrated by Bishop Mosher on Feb. 13, 1928.

The Rev. Robert F. Wilner took over in 1929 until his election as a suffragan bishop in 1937. He is known as the principal who undertook many of the infrastructure developments on the campus. He resigned on the eve of the outbreak of the Pacific War which saw the burning down of all the buildings except the headmaster’s house.

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Rebuilding the campus was the priority from 1951 to 1956 under the leadership of Bishop Brent and the last American principal, Mr. Harry. New buildings, including a chapel, were built.

The first Filipino Igorot principal was Esteban Banga-an, who served from 1957 to 1964. In 1964, the high school program was opened, with Eusebio Botengan Jr. serving as principal. Another Botengan, Rex, served as principal until 1970.

Two women followed each other as principal – Cynthia Ano, who prepared the school for the quality required to become a college, and Marilyn Ngales, who is now college president, was able to get a permit to offer tertiary courses in 1995, paving the way for the school’s becoming Easter College, 80 years after its founding.

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From a school which opened with eight boys from Bontoc, the college has now 1,500 students from pre-school to the tertiary level with program offerings leading to bachelor of arts degrees with major studies in community development studies, environmental studies, management, legal management, and computer technology, and teacher education with major studies in the same fields above, and business management, with cooperative studies and management as major.

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The development of the college has not been a bed of roses, though. The fund the building program and accommodate college requirements, six lots situated in the middle of the campus property were mortgaged in 1996. Plans went haywire, and five of the six lots with five buildings were foreclosed in 1998. Now, four years later, the newly reconstituted board of trustees has made it its priority concern the reacquisition of the five lots to ensure a complete campus for the college. And with the possibility of re-purchase agreement with the bank, the trustees built the Easter Phoenix Foundation, and had it registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission so it can be the financial manager and fun-raising arm of the college.

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Now the foundation is asking: Can you be a donor/patron?

Be generous. Dr. Kate Chollipas Botengan, former member of the Commission on Higher Education, who is the board of trustees’ representative to negotiate for Easter College concerns, says, "You will be giving a gift to further generations of young Filipinos, mostly Igorots, from the Cordillera region." Call Dr. Botengan at tel. (632) 430-4142, fax 930-0828, and cell phone 0918-9146107.

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On another front, the Search for Dove Bukod Tanging Filipino 2003 has just been launched. The project is Unilever’s Dove brand’s expression of advocating the nurturing of its female customers. The Zonta Club of Muntinlupa and Environs, a member of the Zonta International Foundation (ZIF) leads the search. Donna J. Lane, president of ZIF, rightly says, "Investing in women is investing in a country’s future."

People may nominate females 18 years and above; possessing leadership qualities, belonging to a marginalized sector of society; of good moral character, must communicate well in any language or dialect (no educational attainment is required), and must have created in impact in their community through a sustainable project in livelihood, environment, health, peace and order, and education, and must not have received any previous awards.

Prizes for the awardees: for the semi-finalists, P5,000 cash each. Three Bukod Tanging Filipina awardees will received P75,000 each, and like the semi-finalists, trips and food and hotel accommodations an beauty treatment at Orient Day Spa.

Regional search centers have been identified, and nominations may be mailed to them: Irene Santiago and Margie Floirendo of the Mindanao Commission of Women, (082) 298-4031; Elena Chiongbian Young of Zonta Club II for the Visayas, 231-2854; and for Manila, the Zonta Club of Muntinlupa and Environs, headed by president Eugenia Server, is the lead search engine and central clearing house of short-listed nominations. Carmita Francisco is project director for the search, 687-0990 or 687-1281.

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My e-mail address: [email protected]