The Mabini Academy

The Mabini Academy
Type private
Established June 10, 1922
Principal Mrs. Beatriz Galvey
Location Lipa City, Batangas Province, Philippines
Batibot at the main entrance
Stairs leading to second floor at the back
Close Stage
New Science Building

The Mabini Academy of Lipa City, Batangas, Philippines, was founded as a non-stock, non-profit corporation on June 10, 1922 by Professor Randall A. Rowley, Dean Francisco Benitez, Mrs. Paz M. Benitez, Dr. Jose M. Katigbak, Mrs. Tarcila M. Katigbak, and Miss Emilia Malabanan. It opened on June 12, 1922 with an enrolment of more than one hundred students, two first year classes and one second year class. In June, 1923, a third year class was added, and in June, 1924, the complete high school course was given. On March 25, 1925, it received government recognition. It continued functioning as a secondary school, giving the complete general course (day) until December 9, 1941, when all schools closed because of the Second World War. It remained closed during the Japanese occupation. It reopened in June, 1945 and has been functioning ever since.

Before the war, the school occupied a large three-storey building with a library and laboratories. That building was burned, the apparatus and library was looted and burned during the war. By March, 1947, the library had been replenished and the laboratories equipped. In that same year the school transferred to its present site.

The site has been enlarged by buying adjoining lots. Its present area is 25, 610 square meters – one of the largest school sites among private schools in Batangas. On this site, the Academy has seven buildings, a basketball court, and an open stage. In 1948 a Junior College with Liberal Arts and Normal Courses was added together with a complete elementary department. The College Department, however, was short-lived, closing in 1961.

1963 saw the start of the improvement in the buildings. The administration building was the first to be demolished and replaced by a modern concrete edifice. In 1964, the two wings of this building, housing eight classrooms, were constructed. This was followed by the remodeling of the grandstand in 1965, by the construction of the first wing of the two-storey Science Building in 1966, by the construction of a 3-room Vocational Building in 1967, and by the erection of a semi-concrete fence along the southern boundary of the school. In 1971, the two-storey Science Building was completed. In 1982 enrollment in the high school reached 3,100.

Prior to the establishment of this school, Lipa students went to Batangas or to Manila for their secondary education. This was expensive for the parents. The schools establishment, therefore, was a great financial help to them. For many years, it was the only secondary school in Lipa City and the neighboring towns.

Notable alumni


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