Chester Lee B. Alipit
Alumni President 1987-1997
Kinder 1953, Elem 1960, HS 1964, BSAE 1969
The Benguet State University (BSU) started as Trinidad Farm School in September 1916 when the Bureau of Agriculture transferred its Trinidad Farm School, for school purposes, to the Bureau of Education. The first students were those belonging to grades 5 to 7 of the intermediate program of Baguio Industrial School who were transferred to Trinidad Farm School. The school operated as an elementary farm school.
The high school, with its focus on farming, opened in 1920. Isidore Balinsat, James Guanzo, Philip Chalog, and Dennis Molintas, by their stories during alumni homecomings and reunions, were among the early elementary graduates who enrolled in first-year high school. Out of the 50 enrolees, 23 graduated in 1924 when the name of the school changed to Trinidad Agricultural School. These graduates organized the Alumni Association with Valentin J. Ulep as President and donated a gate at the main entrance to the school at Wright St. made from rocks and stones, which they manually carried from the eastern mountain overlooking the campus.
The following year, a flagpole was donated by the alumni with Alfredo Butio as association President. In 1926, the alumni joined the students and faculty in tree planting inside the campus and surrounding mountains. Some of the pines, eucalyptus, and camphor trees are still standing tall in the old nursery near the dam at Balili and in front of the Ladies’ Hall (Girl’s Dormitory). In the same year, a second gate south of 1924 Stone Gate was built under the leadership of alumni President Isidore Balinsat. Mr. Balinsat, upon graduation, was hired by James Wright as a teacher and in charge of the poultry and stock farm projects. Adriano Gibson of Class 1926, after finishing his forestry course at UP Los Baños, also joined the teaching staff in 1929 as teacher-in-charge of the floriculture and forest reserve – a position he held until his retirement in the 1960s. During his time, the Floriculture along the Halsema highway from Km5 to Km6 (currently from McDonald’s to the front of the College of Teacher Education) flourished with beautiful many kinds of semi-temperate flowers that made the school a haven for tourists. The towering 50+-year-old Royal Palm Trees in front of the Administration Bldg. are his living legacy and BSU’s identity that may be named Gibson Park in his honor.
The Crone Mountain where the College of Forestry now stands, at the eastern section of the campus, was renamed Alumni Grove in 1927. A dam was constructed some years later at the foot of the mountain as a source of irrigation water for the production farms of students at Balili that later became Balili Experiment Farm in the 1970s. Many students from the farming communities were able to support their studies from high school to college by cultivating a piece of land, the program is called Student Farming. Considering the potential income from farming some graduates pursued farming after graduation either by cultivating their small piece of landholding in their hometowns or pioneering in
the fertile lands of Tabuk and Bontoc. Despite the presence of malaria, others ventured into Mindanao to start a homestead or are employed in large plantations while the rest were in other jobs not related to agriculture.
The school’s projects expanded in the 1930s, requiring additional teachers to be hired. Mr. Philip Chalog, one of the early elementary graduates, returned from his studies in the US to teach plant pathology and horticulture. Dennis Molintas of Class 1925, after finishing his agriculture degree at UP Los Baños, became teacher-in-charge of the Stock Farm relieving Mr. Balinsat who went on to the poultry and piggery projects. Other alumni engaged in their business enterprises; an example is Bado Dangwa who established his transportation business with the help of James Wright.
The Alumni During WW II
World War II broke out in 1941 and the school was dormant until it re-opened under duress to the Japanese Military. Luis Dangilan, one of the teachers at that time, accepted being appointed as Principal in his resolve to carry on the ideals of the school for which it was established. The Japanese Military, however, suspected his role and leadership of a spying activity for which he was arrested and thrown in jail.
During the war, some students and alumni joined the forces of the 66th Infantry Battalion USAFIL-NL under alumni and Majors Dennis Molintas and Bado Dangwa, among them: Jose Mencio, Ben Palispis, Arturo Alipio, Pedro Baban, Lucrecio Marcos, Onil Oras,
Melecio Besara, Ramon Gulian, and Morris Fianza. Others joined in separate units in the Mt. Province and Ifugao.
The school re-opened in October 1945 as Trinidad Agricultural High School with Constancio Medrana as Principal who had before him a school with a bombed and burned campus. Moreno Molintas, one of the enrollees in 1945 and his Class History article in 1949 in The Mountain Breeze, recalls: “We were so fresh from the wilderness where most of us came from… we were so shy to face and look at each other straight into the eyes in open conversations. We found the school completely devasted by the war. We felt we were pioneers. We would not only build ourselves here but we could also build the school for posterity. The girls were given priority in housing and suffered the inconveniences of being crowded in the lone twin building. The male students pooled their resources and built small shacks for our accommodation out of salvaged tents and GI roofings”.
The following alumni joined the faculty in 1945: Crispin Cabanilla, an Agriculture teacher; Empiso Caiso, Assistant Farm Manager; and Bonifacio Sibayan, Supervisor of, the Training Department. Mr. Sibayan and two other teachers as advisers founded the school organ, The Mountain Breeze in 1946 with Florencio Buen and Pacita Lubos as editors followed by Richard Abellon in 1947. In 1948, English teacher Nicomedes A. Alipit took over as adviser until 1963 with the following editors: Primitivo Mijares, Eleuterio Belino, Delfin Pecua, Gabriel Pogeyed, Ignacio Macliing, Bonifacio Marines, Gabriel Pawid Keith, Luis Castro, Gilbert Golocan, and Wasing Sacla.
The Re-organization of the Alumni Association/Alumni Hall
The Alumni Association was inactive for some time and with the encouragement of Principal Medrana, as he continued to appeal for help in re-building the school, the association was re-organized in 1947 with Gov. Bado Dangwa and Congressman Dennis Molintas as President and Vice President, respectively. Letters of appeal were sent to all alumni for the construction of the Alumni Hall. Contributions in cash and building materials and salvaged materials from a nearby demolished social hall were utilized to start building the Alumni Hall in 1949 on a site bulldozed and cleared of debris by the farm mechanics class near the Mitsui Building.
In 1951, the school was elevated to a regional and national school and had its name changed to Trinidad National Agricultural School – a few months later becoming Mountain National Agricultural School – and the Alumni Hall was still in the building stage. Relative to this development, association Secretary Joyce Abobo, in an open letter through the Alumni Page of The Mountain Breeze, appealed: “One important objective of the association is to have the Alumni Hall completed. The project is still halfway through.
On December 24, 1951, the MNAS Hall shall be inaugurated. The Alumni Association will be playing a significant role on this day. For better representation during the MNAS day, there is a great need of completing it. It is therefore urgent that all alumni pool their resources to pay their alumni fees and dues they have not yet paid”. The response was encouraging and 32 alumni went on further and sent cash, apart from their fees, more lumber, GI sheets, and other building materials – the school as well contributed pine lumber processed in the school sawmill. The concerted effort resulted in the finishing of the east extension of the Alumni Hall in time as the main venue of the activities of the MNAS Foundation Day.
Designed as a multi-purpose hall, it was finally finished a decade later including an annex of the MNAS Cooperative Store at the southern wing of the hall, with funding from the office of Congressman Ramon Mitra, Sr. The Alumni Hall at that time was a venue for conferences and conventions, graduation exercises, alumni homecomings, school social and program activities, exhibits and shows, and even indoor basketball and volleyball competitions were played. It served as an evacuation center for residents affected by floods during stormy days. When the Academic Building burned down in 1965, classes were conducted in the hall on a rotation basis. During the rice crisis in the 1970s, the Alumni Hall was rented out to the National Food Authority, the proceeds of rent accruing to the account of the association. In 1987, the NFA left the premises in disrepair – whatever condition it was left of it, the hall was rented out to Chester’s Agro-Center until it was demolished flat to the ground by the 1990 earthquake.
The MNAS Pioneer Farmers
The placement of the MNAS pioneer farmers to Potia, Ifugao was to provide them with farmlands. On September 22, 1952, a team composed of Supt. Medrana, Trinidad Mayor and MNAS Alumni President Larry Ogas, alumni, and Councilors Elmer Costina and Arturo Alipio and MNAS Pioneer Farmers Adviser Empiso Caiso left for Potia to locate and survey lands for settlement wrote Mr. Caiso in his report published in The Mountain Breeze: “The team felt at home and all smiles with the cooperation and willingness of the alumni there for the interest of the school and the alumni. Capt. Acmor even promised to organize an alumni chapter there and collect dues and contributions for the completion of the Alumni Hall. Some 500 hectares of the plateau of Balingan and Bugnay had been located for the MNAS alumni”. On November 16 of the same year, some 50 MNAS pioneer farmers accompanied by Empiso Caiso, Isidore Balinsat, and Larry Ogas left for Ifugao to settle.
The Farm Mechanics and First College Graduates
The one-year post-secondary Farm Mechanics (FM) was opened in 1948 and designed to train students in farm shop work, farm power and machinery, farm buildings and conveniences, soil and water management, and rural electrification. Alumni of this course were employed as heavy equipment and bulldozer operators in the mines and large plantations in Mindanao, mechanics, and drivers, welders, and electricians at Dangwa Tranco, and sawmill operators. In contrast, others became owner-operators of their transportation businesses or proprietors of auto and electrical shops. Modesto Gonzales and Lucrecio Marcos, who were early graduates of the FM were employed by the school until their retirement doing various jobs as tractor and bulldozer operators, maintenance of buildings, electricians, plumbers, and mechanics.
The college program opened in 1954 with the 2-year Associate in Agricultural Education (AAE) to train teachers to teach agriculture and handicrafts in primary and elementary schools. A year later the 4-year Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education degree opened to train teachers to teach agriculture in secondary schools. Even with the BSAE opening, the 31 existing AAE students went on to finish the course in 1956. Fifteen of them left the school either to teach in elementary school or to pursue their elementary degree in some other private schools. The other 16 were allowed to proceed for another 2 years to complete the BSAE degree. Lucio Victor graduated top of the class with the highest honors. He was employed upon graduation by the school as an agriculture teacher and later he became in charge of the piggery project, a model of pig husbandry in the community. He rose through the ranks to become the first alumnus of the school and the first Cordilleran to serve as President of BSU from 1986-1993. Another member of this class and the MNAS Orchestra was Demetrio Somera who created the musical notes of the MNAS Hymn (now adopted as the BSU Hymn) written by his instructor, Nicomedes A. Alipit. Mr. Somera was also employed upon graduation by the school.
Alumni Donations After WW II
Graduating students or incoming alumni continued the tradition of leaving a donation to the school. They designed, planned, raised funds, and built their donations by themselves with proper supervision from the shop and farm mechanics teachers and their class advisers.
One of the first school buildings constructed after the war in 1949 was the Academic Building. The 1949 class donated the concreting of its frontage and the flagpole and its base that still stands today. Eliot Bell, in his Class History account, mentions that Class 1950 elevated and concreted the stage of the Amphitheater (now the site of the University Library) in time for their graduation. In the following years, its facade was reconstructed, upgraded, and painted, and the surrounding were landscaped and beautified.
The US Veteran Students of 1950 reconstructed the 1924 gate donation to include a steel gate and an arch over the gate. The Mountain Breeze cited other alumni projects: a steel wire fence along the highway in front of the campus, a dresser and tables for the Home Economics building (1951); a phonograph and typewriter for the school organ (1952); a gas stove and oven, microphones, books, and inside speakers (1953); and an outside Bulletin Board northwest of the Vocational Building (1954).
The 55th Avenue was a project built jointly built by the graduating Class of 1955 and the Student Body Government with Modesto Siadto and Teofilo Manuel as Presidents, respectively. The project is so named because it was built in 1955 by the class of 1955 and the 1955 student government with the help of the 1955 AAE students by manually hauling gravel and sand from the Balili River. The avenue is still in use today which is that stretch of 2-way concrete road starting from the 1949 flagpole donation in front of the Academic Building extending in front of the Vocational Building (road from the back of McDo to Vo-Ag building) and ending at Wright St. (road from Gate 2 through the Gym to the last gate). Then La Trinidad Mayor and Alumni Association President Larry Ogas commented during the blessing of the donation: “The project serves as a model for all alumni and students, it being a product of cooperation and loyalty to the school which is a beautiful tradition”. Principal Dangilan added: “In size and amount of money and labor put in, the 55th Avenue is the biggest, longest, and the widest concrete project that could be found in La Trinidad” – at that time. Supt. Medrana expressed it all and well in his report, “Superintendent Report of Accomplishment of MNAS to All Alumni” when he acknowledged with thanks the donations of the different school organizations, the PTA, the students, and the alumni saying, “The school after the war started from zero but with your help and donations, the institution has become as it should be”.
The 1956-1957 class replaced the gate to the Academic Building and the gate donated by the 1924 class and the US Veteran Students in 1952 at Wright St. Between the 2 gates, a concrete fence with steel grills was constructed with the names of students, the donors, and their advisers etched on the pillars of the gates and the back of the concrete fence. The Farm Mechanics and the AAE students extended the fence from Wright St. to the entrance of the Alumni Hall. In 2004, the institution reconstructed the fence with a Kayabang design.
The 1959-1960 BSAE class built a tennis court that doubled as an outside basketball court south of the Alumni Hall and in front of the MNAS Cooperative Store. It became a relocation site of Benguet Provincial High School (formerly beside Ilang Elementary School) was destroyed by a strong earthquake in 1990 until it was relocated to Wangal. The building is now used for Agri-Science, an added high school curriculum.
In 1964, the MAC Chapter of the Future Agricultural Homemakers of the Philippines (FAHP) built, near the Home Management building, the concrete FAHP Emblem depicting two open hands lifting a home. The emblem still exists and was rehabilitated in 2021 by raising the pedestal as the surrounding area was filled up with soil.
In 1985, the Alumni Association contributed ten thousand pesos as its share towards the construction of a tennis court beside the Administration Building (now the site of Admin Bldg. Annex) when MSAC hosted an ASEAN Schools Tennis Championship game. In lieu, a
a tennis court was made at the Athletic Field beside the Closed Gym, now the site of the College of Human Kinetics.
Sports and Athletics
MNAS long-distance runners Tomas Benit, Willy Paran, Willy Faustino, and Melecio Besara were members of the Bureau of Public Schools track and field team who participated in the Open National Track and Field Championships in February 1951 competing with 17 other teams from the Philippines, Taiwan, and China. Tomas Benit won first place in the 800-meter run to enable him to represent the Philippines in the 1st Asian Games held in New Delhi, India. The following year, Melecio Besara represented the country in the 1500-meter run in the 2nd Asian Games held in Manila.
For the first time in the history of the Northern Luzon Athletic Association (NLAA) Meet, MNAS stood alone as a single unit in the NLAA Meet at San Fernando, La Union, and won the general championship over the 9 provinces of Northern Luzon including Baguio- Mountain to which it was supposed to belong. As a result, the bulk of the NLAA delegation to the Public Schools Interscholastic Athletic Association Meet were MNAS athletes. Allado Ra of MNAS won the steeple chase competition in this meet to qualify him to participate in the selection of Philippine athletes for the Olympic Games in Rome. Mr. Ra did not make it to Rome but his participation in the selection process for the Olympic Games was a feat and honor to the institution.
In the 1990s, alumna Cristabel Martes was a gold medalist in the marathon in the Southeast Asian Games. Other school athletes who participated in at least 3 national public schools’ athletic meets in the 1960s were Vicente Panagan and Albino Chogsayan, long distance runs; Juan Martes, discus throw; Oscar Maurera and Ayudante Angco, pole vault; Josephine Biag, volleyball; and brothers Percival and Chester Alipit, baseball, and men’s softball.
Alumni Membership to the Board of Trustees/Regents
MAC was converted to a state college as MSAC in June 1969 by RA 5923 which required a Board of Trustees (BOT) as governing body of the institution, the alumni President being the 7th member of the board. To conform with the law, the Constitution of the MSAC Alumni Association, Inc. likewise provides: “The President shall be the representative of the association in the Board of Trustees of the school”.
The following served in the BOT in their capacity as President of the alumni association: Gen Pedro Baban, 1970-1972; Retired MSAC teacher and Sablan Mayor Empiso Caiso, 1972-1975; CAR Agrarian Reform Regional Director Arsenio Lumiqued, 1975-1979. For unknown reasons, the alumni Presidents from 1979 up to 1992 were excluded from the BOT membership. There was no alumni representation on the board for 13 years even when the college was elevated to a university in 1986. It was in 1993-1997 when Chester Lee Alipit was appointed an alumni member of the Board of Regents (BOR) by President Fidel V. Ramos. Dr. Carlos Buasen was elected alumni President in 1997 and he assumed the alumni representation in the BOR.
However, when Bokod School of Arts and Trades (BSAT) and Buguias-Loo Agro-Industrial school (BLAIS) were integrated into BSU in 2001, and 2003, respectively, the provisions in RA 8292 have to be followed. A BSU Alumni Federation was then founded in 2009 composed of the
officers of the alumni association on the three campuses of BSU and its president sits as a member in the BOR 2003 (as per Republic Act 7722). In 2019, Engr. Florante Bela-o in the Buguias Campus became the Federation President.
The BSU Alumni Center
The BSU Alumni Center was built on a site near and across the main entrance to the university under an MOA between BSU and the Alumni Association. Like the old Alumni Hall, the BSU Alumni Center was built on a phase-by-phase basis depending upon the availability of funds. By and large, its construction was funded by the respective offices of four Senators and whatever savings the association had during that period.
It all started with the help of Sen. John Osmena when he was guest of honor and speaker during the 1991 Alumni Homecoming upon noticing the ruins of the earthquake-demolished Alumni Hall. He committed financial assistance that started to build the 1st phase of the BSU Alumni Center – the outer shell such as concrete posts and beams, the outside walls, the roof, and the floorings. The 2nd help was courtesy of Sen. Rodolfo Biazon that came in 1992 and finished the inside requirements of the Center. This was followed by assistance from Sen. Raul Roco. He was generous enough to fund in whole the construction of an annex which today serves as the main office and small conference venue of the association. Sen. Arturo Tolentino’s assistance built the security fence around the BSU Alumni Center including the steel gate and its arch and signage. For its counterpart, the association worked on other finishing jobs like the cementing of the frontage and parking area, painting, septic tank, and provision of office furnishings.
Alumni Activities and Programs
By its tradition, the Alumni Homecoming and Reunion is celebrated annually while the General Assembly and Election of Officers are conducted every two years. In the earlier years, the homecoming was celebrated on “the day of the school graduation exercises” with a luncheon or dinner to honor and welcome the graduates as incoming alumni followed by the Alumni Night and Dance or Cañao at the Alumni Hall. The Homecoming is now held on September 27 of every year as part of the celebration and activities of the University Foundation Day.
The Mountain Echo, the organ of the association, was organized also in the 1980s with Wasing Sacla and Franco Bawang as the lead editors. Due to budget limitations, it stopped publication.
In 1980, during the term of Victor P. Singa as Alumni President and Atty. Narciso Somyden as Chairman of the Board published the List of Alumni from 1924-1979 (source: MSAC Alumni Homecoming ’80, May 4). The main reference was that of the Master’s thesis of Nicomedes Alipit in 1958 entitled “An Analysis of the Problems and the Role of the Mountain in the Progress of Mountain Province (224 pp) which listed the graduates from 1924-1957. In 2003, a Directory of Alumni was published, updating the list from 1924 to 2003, when Dr. Felipe S. Comila was then president. The latest publication covered 2004-2013 during the term of Marvin S. Chagyo as president. The Alumni Directory is in support of the university’s accreditation program.
The Be-ey di Alumni (House of the Alumni) is a project that calls once more for cooperative support and effort. For information and details, contributions, and support, the association can be contacted at Alumni Office, BSU Alumni Center, Betag, La Trinidad, Benguet 2601. Other ongoing projects are Alumni ID and data management.
Onward, BSU Alumni Association, Inc.
The meter stick of the success and contribution of the alumni in the development and upliftment of the region and the nation is measured in terms of the roles they do in their respective careers and endeavors. As the BSU expands and opens new degree courses, apart from agriculture and its related fields, alumni with new and varied roles and expertise are emerging to fill up likewise emerging occupational and services opportunities.
It is of note that the alumni are in various non-professional and professional jobs, in politics, in the trade and business sector, in the police and military commands as officers, and even in the divine religion sector. Most are in agriculture as farmers, farm managers, extension and research personnel and agrarian reform officers, regional directors, and one, so far, had become Secretary of Agriculture (2019-2022) in the
person of Dr. William D. Dar (BS 1973 and MS 1977). In education, they have become teachers, principals, supervisors, superintendents, regional directors, professors, deans, vice-presidents, and presidents of state colleges and universities, and one alumnus, Orlando Claveria (Special Normal 1948) was Undersecretary of Education in the 1980s.
The Alma Mater of many successful men and women, the BSU has long had plenty going for it as an educational institution. As it moves onward, the alumni will always feel greater pride and satisfaction to excel in their respective fields and all together wave up high their BSU identity.
About the author:
Having grown up as a kid and educated at BSU from pre-school to college, and being
President of the Alumni Association for a decade (1987-1997), Chester is one of the few
who can write our history. He has old files of Mt. Breeze and Mt. Collegian being a
contributor. He also has access to his father’s master’s manuscript which is a rich source
of BSUs history. Furthermore, he was actively involved in the transition of our school from
a college (MSAC) to a university (BSU).