From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Polangui is described as a 2nd class municipality in the province of Albay, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 70,451 people in 13,773 households.

In my visit summer of 2004, I noted that not much has changed in my small town way back in my high school days. It's the same old Polangui in the 70's - where tricycles, jeepneys, buses, bicycle and pedestrians converge on the main downtown area - where, on market days are chaotic. The first picture shows a portion of downtown which is converted into pedestrian area during Thursdays and Sundays - the official market days. Store owners have changed hands but they still sell the same type of wares. A face I really miss whenever I pass this area is Lailah Achas. Her family used to own a small "halo-halo" stand near the corner where the tricycles are parked. The "halo-halo" stand is still there but I don't know the new owners now.

PGCHS, the public high school where I studied from 2nd to 4th years is located north of the main downtown. To reach the high school, you can take a 3 minute tricycle ride or 10 minutes leisure walk from the market. I went back to see the old high school and the chapel project that class 77 has donated. The donated chapel (partially made during my visit) is located in the area where the old stage used to stand. The main building shown below is still existing. I tried to locate the small garden that we used to hang around. If I remember right, it has a small bridge (or was it a ground walkway) - with plenty of lotus (or water lily??) plants on the small man made pond. There was a small island with a shady tree and benches in the middle of the pond. That was the place where Melvi Satiada and Marilou Riofrio would showcase their dexterity in playing guitar! I was not able to see this pocket garden but I would say I liked the Indian mangoes that the administration has planted near the main building.

Just to update graduates and to bring back memories of the good old days, here are some photos of PGCHS.