SPAS Historical Timeline

Fr. Vincent Liu, a Diocesan priest from New York, came to Manila on December 22, 1974 to take over as parish priest of St. Peter the Apostle Parish. During his term, he saw the need for an educational institution that would provide Catholic education and Chinese instruction to the Filipino-Chinese community which the parish serves. With this goal, plans were made for the establishment of a school. His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila and His Excellency Msgr. Juan B. Velasco, O.P., Vicar General of the Chinese Apostolate in the Philippines, gave support for his vision. This set off events that culminated in the granting of Approval to Operate by the Bureau of Private Schools to St. Peter the Apostle School.

 Dedicated to the immense task of molding the hearts and minds of the youth so that they may think, judge and act in accordance with Christian principles and ideals, St. Peter the Apostle School first opened on June 14, 1976. In its first year, the school had one class with 40 pupils in nursery school. In the succeeding years, the school began to offer classes from Kinder 1 up to Grade 5 with enrollment rising by 50 percent.  The year 1979 was the beginning of the High School Department with a total of 17 students.

After two years, seeing the marked increase in enrollment and getting support and inspiration from His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin and the parishioners, Fr. Liu raised funds for the construction of a four-storey concrete school building. The building, Jaime Cardinal Sin Building, was inaugurated on February 4, 1979 by His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin and was assisted by Bishop Juan Velasco.

On August 1, 1981, Msgr. Francis Chin took over as new parish priest and director of the school. He appointed Mrs. Myrna C. Tabalon as School Principal.

To reflect the quantum leap made by St. Peter the Apostle School, enrollment rose from a modest 40 in 1976 to 1,644 in the school year 1996-1997. Faculty and non-teaching staff rose from less than 10 to 95. 

            With the growing number of students, the school expanded its campus with the acquisition of the adjacent lot. On May 31, 1997, the five-storey Bishop Juan B. Velasco Building, housing the high school department, was inaugurated.

           In the school year 2002-2003, Msgr. Francis Chin turned over the management of St. Peter the Apostle School to the Missionary Sisters of Providence (MSP).  Sr. Theresa Wang, MSP was appointed School Directress in June 2002.

           Sr. Theresa Wang, MSP envisioned SPAS as a modern, well-equipped Filipino-Chinese school. Under her leadership, SPAS underwent major innovations such as appointment of Mrs. Ofelia A. Mampusti as the School Principal in 2004, installation of computers, LCD projectors and speakers in all classrooms, construction of Readers’ Paradise and Teachers’ Lounge, major renovation of the clinic, library, comfort rooms, gymnasium and the like.  

             Sr. Theresa Wang, MSP also assisted Msgr. Chin in the construction of the new St. Peter the Apostle Church which was blessed by His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin on August 23, 2003. The space once occupied by the old church gave way for a bigger school playground.  

              In 2005, Sr. Wang facilitated the purchase of the 1,703 sq. m. lot along  Peñafrancia Street. across the Bishop Juan Velasco Building.  

             In September 2009, His Excellency Bishop Bernardino Cortez, DD, Auxiliary Bishop of Manila and Chairman of the SPAS Board of Trustees appointed Ms. Teresita S. Giron, a tertiary of the Congregation of Notre Dame de Vie as the School Principal. Together, Sr. Wang and Ms. Giron worked towards the upgrading of the school’s educational program. For school year 2011-2012, Sr. Wang, MSP appointed Mrs. Maydene M. Ong as the School Principal. 

             On March 23, 2012, the management of the school was turned over from the Missionary Sisters of Providence to the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society’s (LRMS) stewardship.  LRMS is a Pious Union of Clerics in the Archdiocese of Manila which was established by His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin for the evangelization of the Filipino-Chinese and Chinese both here and abroad.  To help with the transition, Msgr. Esteban U. Lo, LRMS was tasked by the Father Moderator, Msgr. Noly A. Que, LRMS, MBA, PhD to serve as the Acting Director of St. Peter the Apostle School.  Present during that momentous event were the then Archbishop of Manila, His Excellency Luis Antonio G. Tagle, now His Eminence Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle, Sr. Theresa Wang, MSP, other religious personalities and the SPAS community.

              In July 2012,  Msgr. Noly A. Que, LRMS became the School Director and the Parish Priest of St. Peter the Apostle Parish while Fr. Roberto V. Fabillo, LRMS was the Assistant to the Director for English Curriculum and Fr. Simon Zhu was the Finance Officer and Assistant to the Director for Chinese Studies.

             Upon assuming the directorship, Msgr. Noly A. Que, LRMS wasted no time in adding new facilities and improving the existing ones such as clustering of the administrative offices in one area near the main gate, transfer of the Grade 1 classrooms to the ground floor, construction of the Msgr. Chin Mini Park, construction of three more Science Laboratories and improvement of the existing one,  construction of the Speech Laboratory, expansion of the clinic and library, improvement of the façade of the main building, improvement of the parking area and the like. 

             In 2013-2014, the school implemented a Recalibration Program in response to the Department of Education K to 12 Program.  The program was successfully completed and plans were laid for the three strands the school offered for its Senior High School: ABM (Accountancy, Business and Management), HumSS (Humanities and Social Sciences), and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

              The following school year 2014-2015, with the clustering of RCAMES schools, Rev. Fr. Emilio A. Ascaño, LRMS was appointed as Director of Cluster 2 schools in which St. Peter the Apostle School belongs. Rev. Fr. Emmanuel S. Regalado, LRMS took over the duties of Assistant Director and Finance Officer.  

In the same year, the creation of the Director’s Council which consisted of the Director, Assistant Director, Principal, Center for Christian Formation Officer, Human Resource Officer and Finance Officer gave the administration a more concerted effort towards action and results as its members provided input on strategic direction and directly supported growth and success of the institution and its advocacies for professionalism and excellence.  

 In 2016, the Human Resource Office together with the Finance Office and with the directions of Rev. Fr. Emilio A. Ascaño, LRMS, worked to come up with the creation of the first salary scaling that used guidelines from the RCAMES. After the rigid teamwork of the two departments, the salary scaling that increased the basic salary of all employees was approved by the Board of Trustees and was put into effect in 2017.  The following year, the salary scaling was improved to better help the employees cope with the living standards of the time. This paved the way for another significant increase in the basic salary of the personnel.

                Recognizing the crucial role of the workforce into a more inspired and motivated delivery of services, the Human Resource Office instituted programs such as Induction Program for New Employees, Faculty Retention Program with its offshoot Kumustahan Sessions, Succession Management Program,  Indoor and Outdoor Socialization Activities, Psycho-Spiritual Programs and Employee Appreciation Program.

               On the academic side, the school geared towards offering Senior High School and as an early implementer, offered Gr. 11 classes upon the release of the permit by the Department of Education in March 23, 2015.  

                Under the leadership of Rev. Fr. Emilio A. Ascaño, LRMS, the school initiated the inclusion of Robotics subject in the curriculum, the SSRS (Strategic Steps to Reading Success ) Program, the Advanced Math Program, the Singaporean Mathematics Curriculum, the Koobits Mathematics online program, the two Science programs in Junior High School (discipline-based and spiral approach), the Culinary Arts Program (Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, International cuisines), the basic Mandarin Program, the Advanced Mandarin Program and the like.  

                To further meet the demands of the K-12 Program, the following new facilities were constructed like Stem Center which houses the MAC Laboratory, Robotics Laboratory and Math Laboratory, Home Arts and Heritage Center which is a training venue for Culinary Arts and Housekeeping and features the rich history and heritage of St. Peter the Apostle School, the Entrepreneurship Center which aims to develop students’ potentials to become successful entrepreneurs in the future. Msgr. Chin Mini Park was improved together with the creation of the SPAS Paseo which serves as a students' lounge. Shortly after, the Fr. Vincent Liu Hall was constructed through the collaboration of the school with the Alumni Association (SPASAA) to provide better facilities to all Peterians. Also, there were further improvements of school facilities such as building façades, school gymnasium and the like.

                 In July 2018, SPAS underwent Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) Preliminary Visit.  The Preliminary Survey Team recommended  that SPAS was eligible for formal visit one year after the receipt of the PAASCU report.  In the same school year, St. Peter the Apostle School passed the Department of Education’s rigorous Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC) Certification with flying colors.  With this, SPAS has become an Educational Service Contracting (ESC) grantee school wherein teachers and students receive subsidies and grants from the government.

                 In February 2020, SPAS underwent PAASCU Formal Visit.  The school received the PAASCU Certificate of Accreditation in May 2020 during the height of COVID-19 pandemic, making SPAS a PAASCU Accredited school.

                In the school year 2020-2021, Mrs. Vilma P. Quijano was appointed as the School Principal. Responding to the call for education amidst the pandemic, SPAS designed its online Learning Continuity Program called SPAS:HOME (Specialized Program for Alternative Schooling: Home-based Online and Modular Education) which was spearheaded by the new School Principal.  It aims to provide the learners’ learning continuity through the use of digital tools and printed materials and with compliance to DepEd’s MELCS (Most Essential Learning Competencies). 

The school, in observance of health and safety protocols, constructed the hand washing area near the canteen and renovated the school clinic with provision of an isolation room.  Likewise, the intensification of the school’s advocacy for Laudato Si paved the way for the construction of the new Conference Room with sliding windows to allow air to enter all around the room at the 5th floor near the gymnasium. 

One of the significant recommendations of the PAASCU Chairman is to revisit SPAS Philosophy, Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives (PVMGO) so that they can be clearly integrated in the curriculum  particularly in the life and daily learning experiences of the learners. After a prayerful discernment and careful scrutiny of the signs of the times and under the directions set by the School Director, Rev. Fr. Emilio A. Ascaño, LRMS, the school came up with a modified Mission Statement, Institutional Goals and Core Values. For the core values, Chinese words such as Zhi (Wisdom), Ren (Benevolence/Kindness), Yong (Courage) and Xin (Faith) which are familiar among stakeholders and close to the heart of every Peterian, were adopted. These core values were anchored in the Vision of the Archdiocese of Manila and the core values of the Department of Education which are Maka-Diyos, Makatao, Makakalikasan, Makabansa. 

Alongside with the living out and witnessing of the SPAS vision-mission, the CCF Department organized a community outreach program that would help the poor communities under St. Peter the Apostle Parish and at the same time to help our students build aspirations to promote civic engagement, awareness of societal needs and become joyful witnesses of love and service to others. To respond to the needs of the mentioned poor communities, Lingkod Kabataan Program was instituted. Groups of students, teachers and even some parents went to different barangays every Sunday (later, every other Sunday) to offer learning enhancement in Math, English and Science. The program caters 60 to 70 children including some out-of-school youth.  Years later, the name Lingkod Kabataan was changed to SPAS Community Outreach Program with beneficiaries from the same barangays which is now called the Pamayanan in partnership with the L’eau Vive Sisters in Asia.

In the year 2017, SPAS Employees’ Educational Assistance Program for Cluster 2 mission school, the Holy Family Parochial School, was also started. Voluntarily, the employees committed themselves to give a particular amount deducted from their salary at the end of each month for the school year. This program continued until the present time as an offering of kindness and benevolence to those students who are very much willing to finish their studies

Aside from these programs, St. Peter the Apostle School commits to support Pondo ng Pinoy, Philippine Mission Society and Alay Kapwa Programs. Other charity endeavors are voluntary donations when there are calamities and Christmas Drive in cooperation with St. Peter the Apostle Parish. Through these, the school hopes to produce not only bright and intelligent students but upright and productive members of the society who are following the footsteps of Jesus, our Lord.  

At this period of the nation's health crisis due to the pandemic, the school also realized the need to extend support to the employees while on the work-from-home and online teaching. The school created a life-giving, caring and supportive culture and environment and continuously promotes psycho-emotional development of personnel by providing the following:

• assistance to employees and immediate family member who were infected with COVID-19;

• activities that promote mental wellness to address the effects of the pandemic to mental health;

• program that develops personal qualities and values and sustains effectiveness in work on-site or WFH; and

• remote socialization activities such as team building, games and contests, virtual group conversations and the like.

The two long years of the Covid-19 pandemic became a time of technology learning, social loss, and educational changes at SPAS. Such changes gave opportunities to discern and better resolve how to catch up with all the learning loss in education. SPAS teachers acquired the skill of online teaching while giving their dedicated efforts to keep all learners engaged. They utilized new websites and applications, changed communication methods, and implemented new ways to execute tasks in different formats. 

In 2022-2023, SPAS shifted to the blended mode of learning. Students had a three-day face-to-face learning and a two-day online learning. This modality paved a new approach to learning. 

In the school year 2023–2024, SPAS transitions to full face-to-face classes with some days reserved for online classes. Online class is an alternative modality if face-to-face class is not feasible. That same school year, Mr. Louie Francis G. Uy was appointed as the first alumnus principal of St. Peter the Apostle School. Responding to learning recovery, SPAS envisions education transformation.

            As SPAS consistently produces outstanding graduates who land in the best colleges and universities and rank Top Ten in professional board examinations, the school boasts of its tract records in exemplary performances in National College Entrance Examinations (NCEE), National Elementary Achievement Test (NEAT), the National Secondary Achievement Test (NSAT), National Achievement Test (NAT) wherein SPAS got Rank 1 among the 90 plus private schools in Manila in the latest released result of NAT High School for school year 2014-2015.  Through the years, St. Peter the Apostle School’s students continuously reap awards and honors in inter-school competitions like Mathematics Trainers’ Guild (MTG), Robotics, Journalism, Arts and Sports like basketball, volleyball, table tennis, swimming and the like. With these remarkable triumphs, hope is high that more will be achieved by the grace of God and  through the intercession of St. Peter, our school patron saint!