A Brief History of Mabalacat Community High School

(formerly Mabalacat Comprehensive High School)

On February 25, 2006, in Baguio City, the need for the establishment of a high school in Dolores, Mabalacat City was concluded through a casual conversation of four key persons - Dr. Leonardo C. Canlas (Principal of Mauaque Resettlement High School), Dr. Carmelita P. Sotto (District Supervisor of Mabalacat South), Mrs. Paz I. Canlas (Education Supervisor I in Secondary Science) and Honorable Mayor Marino ‘Boking’ Morales.  The discussion on the root cause of concerns on participation and drop-out rates in high school in the town proper lead to a decision of building another secondary school that was named Mabalacat Comprehensive High School.

The Sangguniang Bayan of Mabalacat supported the establishment of the school through the promulgation of Resolution No. 675 series of 2006 as sponsored by Hon. Tomas P. Manalo. This was approved on May 11, 2006, by Hon. Crisostomo C. Garbo (Municipal Vice Mayor/SB Presiding Officer), Hon. SB Cherry D. Manalo, Hon. SB Noelito B. Castro, Hon. SB. Diosdado R. Lingad, Hon. SB Amauri M. Tiglao, Hon. SB Tomas P. Manalo, Hon. SB Christian C. Halili, Hon. SB Oscar R. Aurelio, Hon. SB Elizabeth R. Pineda and Hon. SB Jerry M. Basilio.

The Executive Order No. 06 series of 2006 entitled, “Creating an Ad Hoc Committee to oversee the establishment of Mabalacat Comprehensive High School” was then signed and released through the chairmanship of Hon. Mayor Marino ‘Boking’ Morales with SB Tomas P. Manalo as Vice Chairman. An agreement was made that the two (2) unused rooms located near the Principal’s office in San Joaquin Elementary will serve as temporary housing for the incoming freshmen of Mabalacat Comprehensive High School.

On May 24, 2006, a meeting initiated by Dr. Carmelita P. Sotto and Dr. Leonardo C. Canlas was conducted and was attended by the former District Supervisor of Mabalacat North in the person of Mr. Rosalinda B. Tapang and the Principal of San Joaquin Elementary School of the said year, Mrs. Delia Agliam together with the teachers of San Joaquin Elementary School.

Mabalacat Comprehensive High School had its first operation on June 5, 2006, as an annex of Mauaque Ressettlement High School under the supervision of Dr. Leonardo C. Canlas. It had a total of 140 enrolees – 80 males and 60 females. Classroom instructions were handled by visiting LSB teachers from Mauaque Resettlement High School namely Mrs. Cristina O. Sagad (General Science), Ms. Remedios Dela Cruz (TLE), Mrs. Myrna Lansangan (Araling Panlipunan), Mrs. Mylene T. Dizon (Math), Mrs. Teresa S. Pangilinan (English) and Mr. Arnold D. Mercado (MAPEH). Ms. Remedio Dela Cruz now serves as the school’s Master Teacher II in TLE.

During the onset of the school’s operation, the Mayor granted the site previously occupied by Dolores Elementary School before the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, to be the permanent location of Mabalacat Comprehensive High School.

On June 9, 2006, a formal ground-breaking was conducted at the school’s permanent site and the momentous occasion was graced by the Municipal Officials and the DepEd Division of Pampanga officials headed by Mr. Rosalinda G. Luna, the School’s Division Superintendent.

Through the SEF Building Construction Program, the school was granted ten (10) instructional rooms. Thus, in its second year of operation on June 4, 2007, the school finally moved to its permanent location at Dolores, Mabalacat. There were three (3) sections for 1st year students with a total population of 282 and two (2) sections for the 2nd year students with a total population of 164.

A significant decision was made by Dr. Leonardo C. Canlas to change the name of the school from Mabalacat Comprehensive High School to Mabalacat Community High School. The complexity of a comprehensive high school led to his decision of adopting the regular program of the Department of Education. This decision was supported by the Sangguniang Bayan through Resolution No. 771 series of 2007 signed by Hon. SB Elizabeth R. Pineda, Hon. SB Oscar Aurelio, Hon. SB Christian C. Halili, Hon. SB Amauri M. Tiglao, Jr., Hon. SB Tomas P. Manalo,H Jr., Hon. SB. Noelito B. Castro, Hon. SB Diosdado R. Lingad, assisted by Vice-Mayor Cherry D. Manalo and approved by Mayor Crisostomo C. Garbo. The school’s new name was forwarded to the DepEd Division and Regional Offices for proper information.

The school became the central secondary school of the different barangays within the town of Mabalacat. It continued to grow with Dr. Leonardo Canlas as its supervising principal and Mrs. Arlene Vidal-Tobias, as the Officer-In-Charge. The enrolment increased year after year that it adopted the shifting of classes – morning sessions started at 6:20 a.m. and ended at 12:00 noon while the afternoon sessions started at 12:00 noon and end at 5:40 p.m.

With the rising number of enrollees, Dr. Leonardo C. Canlas, Mrs. Arlene Vidal-Tobias, the OIC, and the PTA Officers worked hand-in-hand to acquire additional classrooms as they sought help from the Department of Education and Non-Government Organizations.

Eventually, two more classrooms were donated by the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, two classrooms were donated by SM Foundation, a two-story building with four classrooms, and two classrooms were granted by the DepEd Principal Led.

In 2015, the school took a new administration through the leadership of Mr. Manolito C. De Leon. It was in the same year that the school was granted a four-storey building with sixteen (16) classrooms by the Department of Education. Another four-storey building with sixteen (16) classrooms was also granted by the department in 2016. With the increase in the number of instructional rooms, MCHS was able to house a total enrolment of 1,186 (614 males and 572 females) and adopt a whole day shift that provided sufficient and substantial school hours of learning for its students.

On June 5, 2015, the Alternative Learning System in Mabalacat Community High School was built under the initiative and supervision of Mr. Manolito B. De Leon. The said educational program aims to bring out-of-school youth back to formal schooling. It also aims to retain those who wish to drop from regular schooling as well as to give opportunities to regular in-school students to accelerate from their current year level.

The MCHS ALS program began through the management of committed faculty members namely Ms. Merlyn C. Garcia, Mrs. Leilani P. Santos, and Mrs. Rose Ann L. Selom. After some time, the program progressed with its coordinator, Ms. Merlyn C. Garcia who is now, Mrs. Merlyn G. Sablan.

The first batch of ALS learners took their test in April 2016 where 13 of the ALS learners passed the exam. In 2019, the school achieved a total of 31 ALS passers. The MCHS ALS program has provided numerous opportunities for its learners to earn a college degree and better employment.  

Mabalacat Community High School continues to live up to its pursuit of quality education upon the installation of Dr. Elenita S. Polidario as its school head in 2019.  Recognizing the needs of digital learners, Dr. Polidario initially prepared the school and its faculty in producing 21st-century learners by enhancing the facilities and media equipment of instructional rooms and offices. The school also ensured its learners’ safety  thru the installation of 15 CCTV units to monitor school premises.

In 2020, at the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, the education system took a sudden shift and posted a challenge to all institutions to adapt the ‘new normal’ set up in education. Through the guidance and leadership of Dr. Polidario and with the commitment of dedicated teaching and non-teaching personnel as well as the supportive stakeholders, MCHS effectively and efficiently ensured learning continuity. In the absence of the traditional face-to-face classes, the school offered online, modular-digital, modular-print and blending learning modalities. This made sure that learning reaches all students who then had to yield to the mandate of the government’s health protocols. Moreover, teachers were given generous access to internet connection in the conduct of distance learning modalities thru the installation of six (6) internet modems strategically situated at the computer laboratory, head teachers office, library, conference room and faculty rooms.

To guarantee accessibility of learning resources such as the self-learning modules, learning activity sheets, video lesson and the like, the MCHS E-Library was set up and have served as the learner’s virtual library. As part of equipping and enabling, insets and trainings on the use of different learning platforms were conducted by the different departments. Short courses and individual tutorials were also offered to teachers-in-need through the school’s LRDMS Academy program.

MCHS reached out to the community through its Gulayan sa Paaralan project. A number of struggling families and sickly individuals were given healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables; learners and parents were also oriented and educated home gardening. The GPP became the school’s extension of help to learners, parents and the community

Gradually, as the health risks from the pandemic decrease, MCHS responded to the Department of Education’s call to open its doors once again to learners and conduct face-to-face classes. With the installation of Television Units in all 32 instructional rooms, four (4) study laboratories (Computer, Science, Math and TLE) and the Conference room, the learners were motivated and driven to engage in classroom learning. By strictly observing health protocols, and efficiently preparing all the learning resources, students once again enjoyed the opportunity personal interaction and learning. 

At present, the school has seven (7) Head Teachers, four (4) Master Teachers, forty-five (45) Faculty Members, and three (3) Administrative Assistants.

To date, the school administration, the faculty and non-faculty members, the barangay officials, the parents/guardians, and other stakeholders collaboratively and unitedly work together to ensure that 1,128 of its learners receive accessible and quality education even in the midst of the pandemic.