(Lanao Chung Hua School, formerly Lanao Chinese High School)
By Fe Dy-Quimbo
(Translated from the original Chinese manuscript by Nelson O. Sy, Batch '62)

Thus, in the year 1938, the hua chiao of Iligan City concentrated their efforts towards the establishment of  Chinese education in the community.  At that time the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, under the leadership of Sy Seng Chiok (father of Nelson and Charles Sy, et al) and Chamber secretary Dy Tiao Lim (father of Ruben and Janet Lee, et al), spearheaded the move.  They labored without let-up.  And with the cooperation of all the Chinese residents in Iligan and the adjacent municipalities, Lanao Chinese Elementary School was born.

When Lanao Chinese Elementary School was established, it shared the same building with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce (on the spot where the Lanao Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce building stands today).  Fifty years ago, the Chinese living here were very few.  The student population was only a little more than ten.  The school was housed in a two-story edifice.  The furnishings and facilities were very modest.  Most of the Chinese in Iligan hailed from Quemoy (Kinmen), China.  So they hired Kho Pic Yong (father of Kho Siok We and Luis "Chik Ti" Kho, et al), a Quemoy scholar from the renowned Chip Bee University in China, as the principal, and his wife Ng Pue Heng as his assistant for academic affairs.  Together with a few teachers, they pursued their job with passion and lots of sacrifices.  At that time, only elementary education was offered.  The school applied the dual system of  Chinese and English education.

The English system followed the curriculum prescribed by the Philippines Department of Education. The Chinese department observed the same curriculum used in China's educational system.  This practical approach proved to be quite effective.  Unfortunately, a few years later, the Pacific war erupted (December 1941) and the Philippines fell under Japanese occupation.  For four years all the residents evacuated and lived in hideouts.  The school had to cease operation.   After the liberation, everybody thought about the importance of Chinese education and agreed that the reopening of the school should not be delayed.  In 1947, then president of the Lanao Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Sy Eng Guan (father of Martin and Manuel Gaite, et al), moved for the reopening of the school.  Everybody gave their all-out support.

In June of 1948, the school started accepting enrollment anew.  The position of school principal was still held by Kho Pic Yong.  The school still offered only elementary education and the same combination of English and Chinese systems was pursued.  After four years, Mr. Kho resigned for health reason.  The school hired a certain Yap Soon Poon, a graduate of Shanghai's St. John University as the new principal.  Subsequently after him, there was Ang Siay Thim, followed by Tan Lian Hun, who served as principals.  At that time, Mr. Tan used his position as government official of the Republic of China to stay on in the country.  He was hired as administrative principal, with King San Dy Pico as honorary principal.  Later on, Ang Bon Chiong (father of Johnny and Rudy Co, et al), took over his place.  When Mr. Ang transferred to Dansalan (now Marawi), Ngo Wan Sing, aka So Teng, (father of James So) assumed the position.

In 1951, the student population increased tremendously.  The two-storey structure downtown could no longer accommodate the students.  So the directors of Lanao Chinese Chamber, together with principal Tan Lian Hon, initiated a fund-raising campaign to build a new school building at a new campus on B. Labao Extension in uptown Iligan.  From there on, English and Chinese high schools were offered.  The system for Chinese elementary up to high school adopted Taiwan's educational system.  It emphasized good character & conduct, family relations and the art of living.  Class hours for the Chinese department were considerably long.  The emphasis for Chinese kindergarten was on conversational Chinese.  The rest of the subjects were music, drawing, arithmetic, reading and writing.

On the elementary level, the focus was on phonetics, conversational Chinese, reading and writing. After graduating from elementary, most of the students could understand and speak fluent Chinese, use the dictionary, read Chinese newspapers and magazines, communicate in written Chinese, and even write Chinese calligraphy (moh-pit di) as well.

The subjects in high school emphasized character development and the pursuits of science, to become useful and well-rounded citizens.  Subjects were literature, citizen conduct, history, geography, and biology. Typing, accounting and home economics were also offered.  The students were taught to respect and love their parents, and to be patriotic as well.  They had to compose a literary piece each week.  Moreover, a convocation was held every week known as Sun Yat Sen Memorial Meeting.  Each class was made in charge of the weekly convocations on rotation basis.  Basically, the program would start with the singing of the Chinese national anthem.  This was followed by the reading of the preamble of Sun Yat Sen.  The program proper consisted of speeches, singing, drama, debate and some forms of contests.

Every day 15 minutes before the start of classes, there was the flag ceremony, exercise, and a brief lecture on proper conduct.  Faculty members alternated with each other in giving the talks. The lectures dealt on the value of patriotism.

In those days, high school graduates could understand Chinese spoken by the older folks and they were conversant in Chinese as well. They could even write and read Chinese magazines and newspaper.  They could also edit bulletin boards.  Ever since the administration of the school under Tan Lian Hun, only top-caliber teachers were hired, while the students were likewise highly motivated in their studies.  Among the alumni, there have been over twenty who grew up to become doctors, engineers, accountants, lawyers, nurses, and teachers. Today, there are LCHS alumni all over the world: USA, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan. Evidently, the quality of Chinese education in those days was indeed superior.

In 1970, the Philippine government amended its policy governing schools.  It nationalized retail trade and Filipinized all the private schools in the country. Our Lanao Chinese High School was not spared.  The school name was subsequently changed to Lanao Community School.  The government imposed many rules regulating school operations.  Although ours was considered a Chinese language school, its medium of instruction was restricted to English and Tagalog.  Chinese language studies were limited to 12-15 periods only per week.  Choice of text books had to be approved by the Department of Education.  Apparently, under this setup, Chinese teaching couldn't have adequate time to thoroughly impart knowledge.  By this time, Tan Lian Hun and Ang Bon Chiong have both retired.  Fortunately, we had a young and education-minded person named Dewey Sy to take on the job of school principal.  They were also able to hire Uy Kim Soy as the administrator.  Despite the hardship, the hua chiao in Iligan were undaunted; they relentlessly tutored and encouraged their children to carry on with their Chinese education.

LCS was a school that was open to both Filipino and Chinese students. Its curriculum included Chinese, English and Pilipino subjects.  Teachers were all meticulously selected. Since 1974 when the NCEE examination was implemented, the graduates of LCS have always rated excellent scores.  It was one of the most admired schools in Iligan.

In 1983, principal Dewey Sy immigrated to the USA.  Tan Hai Kwan took his place.  Henry Siao acted as the school director.  Both alumni are capable and responsible educators.  Under their stewardship, the school is bound to produce excellent students to become pillars of society, and cooperate with their Filipino brothers in making the Philippines a prosperous and peaceful nation.

The last few years saw the sharp increase in student population.  The condition of the old school buildings had deteriorated.  Also, the contract of lease on the property occupied by the school was nearing its expiration.  The school board of directors, together with the Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce, started a move to build a new school building.  They bought a property at Pala-o, and started a fund raising campaign to build the school.  All the Chinese in Iligan as well as alumni from all over gave their support.  Soon in time we would have a new campus of concrete school buildings;  spacious classrooms, clean environment, ample lights, music rooms, laboratory, a modern speech clinic, audio-visual room, gymnasium, library, home economics room, typing room, co-op canteen, playground, a new school with complete facilities.

Fifty years it went through a host of changes and struggles.  In a sense, LCHS is like our national flower, mei hua: the colder it gets, the more it blossoms.  It symbolizes our great Chung Hua.  Now on the occasion of our golden anniversary, we have envisioned a souvenir program, the purpose of which is to review the past and plan for the future.  To be the mirror of our future plan.  We also thank the support given by all alumni in Iligan and abroad, to make this souvenir program come out on time as our gift on the golden jubilee of our LCHS.

(NOTES: The above article was originally written by Fe Dy Quimbo for publication in a souvenir program proposed for the 50th anniversary of LCHS in 1987.  The article never saw print as the souvenir program, for one reason or another, did not materialize.    The author is a past vice president for internal affairs of the LCHS Alumni Association.)