Agusan Del Sur State College of Agriculture and Technology - History WWII To 1958

History WWII To 1958

After the World War II, the provincial government transferred the school to Ampayon, Butuan City, leaving Bunawan without a high School for three years. Fortunately, the late Congressman Marcos M. Calo, a native of Agusan worked for the return of the Bunawan Agricultural School (BAS) and succeeded when Republic Act (R.A.) No. 301 was passed in Congress and approved by His Excellency Elpedio Quirino on June 17, 1948. It authorized the creation of Bunawan Junior Agricultural High School (BJAHS) and was formally opened in July 1948 at the former school site in Bunawan.

With the re-establishment of the high school in Bunawan, parents began to enroll their children at the Bunawan Junior Agricultural High School (BJAHS) instead of in Mampising, Davao or in Ampayon, Butuan City. It was Mr. Raymundo Curato, the Principal of Bunawan District, who was designated to open the school as Farm Manager by Mr. Mariano Manaligod, Division Superintendent of Schools for Agusan; and Mr. Enrique Paller, the Farm Manager of the School in Ampayon acted as Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of BJAHS until Mr. Jose F. Luna came as Principal.

Mr. Luna arrived in September, 1948 and immediately moved to provide facilities, books, equipment, working animals, food and other needs of the school until his replacement by Mr. Domingo C. Gabertan on August 4, 1949. Mr. Domingo C. Gabertan decided to relocate the school campus on higher ground due to the yearly flooding on the old site. The present site now along the Agusan-Davao National Highway (Daang Maharlika). RA.#948 was approved on June 20, 1953 converting the school into Bunawan National Agricultural School (BUNAS). Five (5) ICA-NEC (FOA-Philcusa) Buildings were constructed: Vocational Agricultural Buildings, Homemaking Building, Farm Shop, Farm machineries, buildings, Granary and the Concrete Water tower. Mr. Gabertan, however, was transferred to Negros Occidental National Agricultural School in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental on August 16, 1956, after he was sent to the United States for one year advanced studies. The faculty and students held their classes in the new site but they continue to stay at the old site which was about 2 kilometers until the old girls dormitory was finished in 1958.