By Erwin Bonifacio
Following the end of Spanish rule in Capiz in 1898, and amid the political uncertainty surrounding Philippine independence following the Treaty of Paris, two Capisnons, Don Rafael Lozada of Capiz (now Roxas City) and Don Salvador Laguda of Mambuaso, established the Colegio de San Rafael Arcangel. The school opened its classes on January 16, 1899.
The establishment of the Colegio continued a tradition of formal education in Capiz that had existed before the Revolution. In 1893, the Spanish telegraph superintendent Don Miguel de Lara y Herrera had established the Colegio de San Jose, but the school eventually closed its doors during the Revolution.
The Colegio de San Rafael Arcangel was duly authorized by the Philippine Revolutionary Government, and its courses were recognized as having academic validity. The Colegio was established in the capital of Capiz, now Roxas City, at No. 45 Legaspi Street, in a building formerly occupied by the barracks of the Guardia Civil.
The Colegio offered primary education and three first-year courses for general secondary education. Monthly tuition fees were set at two pesos for primary education and three pesos for second secondary education. Special classes in drawing, solfeggio, and piano were also offered.
Drawing cost one peso per month, solfeggio 1.50 pesos, and piano three pesos.
The institution also accommodated students from outside the provincial capital. Boarding students were charged ten pesos per month, while half-boarders paid five pesos. In addition to its regular academic curriculum, the Colegio offered special preparatory classes for careers in Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture.
The Colegio de San Rafael Arcángel was probably among the earliest Filipino educational institutions established in Panay during the revolutionary period. Other schools followed soon after. In Iloilo City, the Colegio de Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion, under the direction of Doña Manuela Mateo de Sucgang, wife of the painter Teleforo Sucgang of Banga, Aklan, opened its doors on February 1, 1899. On February 15, 1899, an institute of secondary education known as the Instituto Lopez Jaena was opened. The institute was a revival of the former Colegio de Segunda Enseñanza del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus.
The establishment of the Colegio de San Rafael Arcangel provides evidence of the continuing importance placed on education by Capisnons during a period of political transition and war.
