“Let us continue to lead the Rawisnons in making Rawis a beautiful and happy place for all where children are going to school growing up into self-reliant citizens.” These words are excerpt from the letter of a childless man dated November 22, 1989 to the then barangay leaders of Rawis enjoining them to initiate the move for the now establishment of the most populated secondary school in the District of Bacon, Sorsogon City-the Rawis National High School. While writing that letter, Leonardo Dogta, Jr. or tiyo Onoy, as he fondly called by the younger generation had just arrived in Makati City from Sta. Cruz, Marinduque where he stayed for only three days accompanying his niece, Haziel Dogta Ribleza who was the Department of Education Culture and Sports (DECS) Resident Engineer in the construction of a 2.6 million pesos school building to a house the little more than 300 students of Jupi National High School. With the fact confirmed during his private conversation with school authorities about the considerable small size of population of Jupi National High School and some other pertinent conditions in the locality, all poorly favoring the government grant for the establishment of the institution, Tiyo Onoy said in his letter, “Why can’t we have one in Rawis for herself and her neighboring communities”, which he surely foresaw (if properly administered and supplied with facilities) will serve a more than 300 students coming from at least five (5) barangays of Bacon. Thus the idea of putting the Rawis National High School was conceived in that island province. His last sentence reads, “A childless man as I am, may I serve with our people’s dream for a better life for their children.”

While positive on the idea, the Sangguniang Barangay of Rawis recalled that the same was only a 2-man in the early 80's which cause it was aborted and died unborn. So Barangay Captain Estrella Diesta-Morco told her members of the Sangguniang Barangay meeting to lead in dreaming for it. Quoting the late Fr. Isidoro Dino, founder and president of the Annunciation College, “dream while asleep is seldom realized, but a dream while awake usually comes true.” After much campaign for the people to take part in a “dream while awake” and with it as the guiding principle, the Sangguniang Barangay of Rawis passed a resolution which was sponsored by Kgd. Orlando Labitag requesting the Department of Education, Division of Sorsogon and all concerned for the establishment of Rawis National High School.

As it is a standard operating procedure, the Sangguniang Barangay sought the endorsement of the Sangguniang Bayan of Bacon. In the process, it encountered the first frustrating circumstance- the opposition of the Sangguniang Bayan. Some members of the SB took the position that once a public high school is put up in Rawis, never one in the Poblacion first? But the problem of this option as fundamental- the unavailability of site. So for about a year period, site acquisition was among the focuses of the Garcia administration. By the middle of 1991, Mayor Garcia himself, frustrated as he was in the school site acquisition efforts, advised Barangay Captain Estella Morco to call a Barangay assembly Meeting to be attended by then congressman Salvador H. Escudero III with himself and some municipal officials. in that meeting the barangay folks of Rawis strongly rallied behind the Sangguniang Barangay for their common “dream while awake” stating among others that the same could serve at least four (4) other nearby barangays, thus will also serve as an effective tool to ease and control the over and rapid population growth of Sorsogon National High School in the province’s capital town.

Realizing all the feasibility of the project, Mayor Elias Garcia promised to lead the Sangguniang Bayan of Bacon to finally indorse the said Barangay Resolution advising the elder folks and barangay leaders at the same time to effect the donation to the Department of Education Culture and Sports (DECS) of a reasonable area and portion of the 4.5 hectares of Rawis Barangay Site. By about the end of 1991, through mainly the representation of Congressman Salvador H. Escudero III who was then the chairman of the House Committee on Education and Barangay Captain Estrella Morco, the DECS approved its experimental existence as initially extension of Sorsogon National High School. In December 1992, the first 4-room school building was constructed costing nine hundred thousand pesos (P900,00.00) in anticipation to its initial operation beginning school year 1993-1994.

As planned this school was made operational in school year 1993-1994 as extension of Sorsogon National High School with Miss Marilou M. Dapo, Miss Maribel Olbes and Mr. Ronaldo D. Dimaano as pioneer teachers of the 66 pioneer students. It was the Municipality of Bacon then, under the administration of Leovic R. Dioneda who shouldered the salaries and other benefits of these teachers.

The school was first supervised by the then Division Education Supervisor I for Science, Miss Marilyn D. Dimaano then it was delegated to Miss Emerlita Duazo, Head Teacher VI of Sorsogon National High School. Later on, Miss Marilou Dapo, a teacher of this annex school was designated as Teacher-In-Charge by Mrs. Rebecca Alarcon, Principal III of the Sorsogon National High School.

In three years of operation, the students populace of this annex school rapidly grows. The DECS Division of Sorsogon under the administration of Superintendent Hilda E. Trinidad deemed it necessary for this annex school to be administered by an experienced and well trained school head, and for this school to function independently. In January 2, 1996, Mrs. Juvy D. Llaneta, former Teacher-In-Charge of Oras National High School in Castilla, Sorsogon was transferred in this school and was designated as Teacher-In-Charge.

To administer a school without any budgetary allocation for its maintenance and other operating expenses is so difficult. Mrs. Llaneta, inspired with the fatherly guidance of Superintendent Dominador Osea and help of previous and present Barangay officials of Rawis, Municipality of Bacon and Congressman Salvador H. Escudero III worked hard for the legislation of Rawis National High School and its funding requirements.

By virtue of Republic Act 8306 which was approved in the tenth congress in June 7, 1997, Rawis National High School was finally legislated. In January 1999 it was totally separated from its mother school, the Sorsogon National High School and function independently.

It could be gleamed from the following data that Rawis National High School had served and will be serving more people for them to be useful, productive, self-reliant and law abiding citizens.