Winners of other searches conducted by reputable organizations for outstanding teachers at the regional/national/international levels are deemed automatic second-round qualifiers, provided they meet the basic eligibility requirements of tenure, performance and teaching load and passed levels of screening. They must also go through the usual nomination process and submit the duly-accomplished nomination forms and required attachments on or before the deadline. The school should nominate only one in a given year even if there are several awardees from the same school.
 

1. Why does the Metrobank Foundation sponsor the annual Search for Outstanding Teachers?
Metrobank and Metrobank Foundation believe that by recognizing outstanding qualities and contributions of teachers, countless other teachers all over the country can be inspired to achieve excellence in the teaching profession.

2. Who can join?
The Search is open to teachers who are Filipino citizens with full load in the elementary and secondary schools, and colleges/universities or higher education institutions who have been actively teaching in the Philippines for the last 10 years (inclusive of leaves not exceeding three years, provided the nominee is not on leave i.e. actually teaching at the time of nomination. However, the nominee must not be on leave for more than two years immediately prior to the nomination.

The following are also qualified to join, provided specific requirements are met:

• Kindergarten teachers, provided that the kindergarten level is part of an integrated curriculum or part of an elementary school system.

• Technical-vocational teachers in high school and college levels. Teachers teaching tech-voc courses in high school may be considered in the secondary category, while those teaching 4-year technology courses in college may join in the higher education category.

• College/university teachers with research or extension assignments and other administrative duties provided they carry an actual teaching load of at least 50% of the total load required by the school for the school year.

• College/university teachers teaching with full load in the graduate school during the nomination period.

• Teachers who have been semi-finalists twice, provided there is at least a one-year gap before they are nominated again.

3. Who are not qualified?

• Persons holding the following academic positions are automatically disqualified even if they have teaching loads: school presidents, chancellors, vice-chancellors, school owners, vice-presidents, assistant vice-presidents, supervisors and principals.

• Spouses and first-degree relatives of officers and employees of the Metrobank Foundation.

• Teachers, who have pending administrative, civil or criminal cases.

• Teachers, who have been suspended, reprimanded or have been sanctioned for violation of administrative policies, rules and regulations.

• Teachers teaching in the Philippines, but are not Filipino citizens.

4. Who can nominate?

• Principals, Head Teachers or school heads (Presidents for colleges/universities or Chancellors for autonomous campuses) are the only ones authorized to nominate teachers to the Search.

• For DepEd schools without principals, the Teacher-In-Charge can nominate, but the Division Superintendent concerned must endorse the nomination.

• If the nominee is the Head Teacher or Teacher-In-Charge himself/herself, any of the Division Supervisors can endorse him/her, but the Division Superintendents are the official nominators.

• Local chief executives, parish priests/pastor/imams and other religious leaders, presidents of socio-civic clubs, heads of any organization of good standing in the community or the school nomination committee may recommend or endorse a candidate to school heads, but they are not allowed to nominate him/her.

5. Can teachers holding administrative positions qualify for the Search?
Yes. Deans, vice-deans, directors, chairpersons of departments, assistant principals, subject area coordinators, teacher-librarians, head teachers, teachers-in-charge, research coordinators, extension coordinators, and guidance counselors, who meet the basic qualification requirements and carry a teaching load of at least 50% of the total load required by the nominating school for full-time faculty can also join the Search.

6. Can teachers who have stayed in one particular school for less than ten years still join?
Yes. The ten-year rule refers to the cumulative total of years spent in the practice of the teaching profession regardless of school assignment.

7. Is a district/division limited to one nominee only? Can a state university/college nominate more than one teacher in the higher education category?
No. Every school in a district/division is entitled to one nominee per category. Universities/colleges, whether state-owned or private, is entitled to nominate only one candidate in the higher education category except for autonomous campuses which can nominate separately. However, satellite campuses which would like to nominate should endorse their nominees to their school head (i.e. university president).

8. Is the Search only for public school teachers?
No. The Search is open to teachers in both private and public schools. Private and public school teachers have equal chances of winning in the Search. In the 22-year history of the Search, 48 private school teachers have already won.

9. Is the Search open only to urban-based teachers?
No. The Search recognizes the achievements of both rural-based and urban-based teachers. In fact, there have been many winners from rural and far-flung areas like Bantay, Ilocos Sur; Jagna, Bohol; Loboc, Bohol; Lamitan, Basilan; Camalaniugan, Cagayan; Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur; Dinaig, Maguindanao; Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte; Aloran, Misamis Occidental; Aglipay, Quirino; Lagawe, Ifugao; Dapa, Surigao del Norte, Banga, Aklan, Cabagan, Isabela, among others.

10. Do teachers from other regions compete with teachers from the National Capital Region (NCR)?
From the preliminary to the semi-final judging phase, slots are allocated by geographical area, subject however to the no. of nominees in each area.

This year, the winners will be chosen across geographical areas for each category level. As preferred, we shall also consider equity in distribution of winners among the 4 geographical areas. However, we shall greatly factor/consider the performance of all finalists vis-à-vis each other, regardless of geographical area. Over the years, we have observed that more and more teachers from the provinces/cities outside Metro Manila, especially in the elementary and secondary level, perform better than their NCR counterparts. Although, this does not always happen and batches of very good teachers vary every year, the judges shall take into consideration the two guiding principles in selecting the most deserving outstanding teachers.

11. Is the subject area being taught by the nominees given special consideration in selecting the winners?
No. All subject areas are considered important. Teachers handling general courses such as Mathematics, Science, English, and Filipino have equal chance of winning as the nominees teaching highly specialized subjects such as SPED, psychology, philosophy, adult health nursing, literature, geology, mechanical engineering, and anthropology.

12. Does a teacher have to be an honor graduate or a doctorate degree holder to win in the Search?

• No. Nominees do not have to be honor graduates or possess doctoral degrees to win in the Search. The panels of judges follow a comprehensive set of criteria for selecting winners. These include personal qualities and character, instructional competence and teaching effectiveness, and professional and community involvement.

• For both elementary and secondary categories, the basic educational requirement is the appropriate bachelor’s degree. However, for the higher education category, nominees should at least have a master’s degree. Degree holders in law and medicine are considered to possess a master’s degree.

13. What is the minimum performance rating one should have to qualify?

• Nominees should have performance ratings of at least Very Satisfactory for the last 5 years.

• For those who have been on official/study leave or on secondment, performance ratings for five years closest to the period of nomination should be provided.

14. What happens if a candidate’s required documents are incomplete, lost or destroyed?
It is essential that a candidate submits complete documents. Nominees whose documents are incomplete may not receive full points for the various criteria or may be outrightly disqualified. In case of lost documents, however, notarized affidavits can be submitted provided that they contain the same necessary information as those in the originals, and provided further that they are executed by the proper authorities. Nominees are advised not to submit original documents. The MBFI will not be responsible in case of loss or damage.

15. Does a teacher need to have published books to qualify?
No. The criterion on research and published works allows any research or creative output of a teacher related to his/her work, which was published in local newspapers or even in school organs, etc. provided that the article is not merely a report on daily activities in school. Likewise, evidence of such creative outputs as directing plays, staging exhibits, etc. can also be submitted as supporting documents instead of research papers.

16. Can schools, whose nominees in the preceding year won, nominate and win again?
Yes. Some schools have produced back-to-back winners in the Search consistently for several years. These include UP-Diliman and UP Integrated School (in 1987-1988); Philippine Normal University (in 1988-1989); UP in the Visayas (in 1990-1992 and 2001-2002); Philippine Science High School (in 1990-1991); De La Salle University (in 1993-1994; 1999-2000); UP-Manila (in 1995-1996); La Salle Greenhills (in 1996-1997); Ateneo de Manila University (in 1997-1998 and 2003-2004); and Ramon Magsaysay High School in Manila (in 2000-2001). The first (3) three-peat was done by UP Manila during the last 3 years (2004-2006).

17. How many times can a teacher join the Search?
There is no limit to the number of times that a teacher can be nominated to the Search as long as he or she still meets the required criteria.

However, nominees who became finalists twice and semi-finalists thrice can no longer join the Search. Specifically for teachers who have been semi-finalists twice, there should be at least a one-year gap before they are nominated again.

18. Will all awards be given every year?
There will be ten (10) award slots. Winners will be chosen across geographical areas for each level.

The Final Board of Judges may elect not to give out all the awards if the candidates fall short of the standards set by the Board. The decision of the Board of Judges is final and it reserves the right to withdraw any award at any time as necessary.

19. Does one have to be a depositor of Metrobank to join and win in the Search?
No. This is neither one of the criteria nor a qualification requirement for the Search. The officers and staff of Metrobank and the Metrobank Foundation do not have a hand in the final selection of winners.

20. What happens to the awardees after they win in the Search?
The following are the responsibilities of Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Teacher awardees:

1. Continue to become models of excellence, morality and integrity in both public and private lives;

2. Help promote the Search in his/her respective school and locality and encourage other teachers to join;

3. Serve as resource person and share his/her experience during the Foundation's information campaigns on the Search, TV guestings, radio interviews, and other similar activities;

4. Continue to be bound by the spirit of cooperation, friendship, and renewed dedication to the teaching profession through the activities of the Network of Outstanding Teachers and Educators or NOTED, their alumni cum professional society organized in 1997; and

5. Assist the Foundation in implementing initiatives that would advance the positive influence of outstanding teachers on the quality of service of the country’s teacher population.