Elementary Category

As one who considers teaching as a service to humanity, Vhie regards the Greatest Teacher as a role model of dedication and commitment. Fully aware of her responsibility to nurture children entrusted in her care, every activity she designs has the student’s interest and welfare at the core. Her professional contributions and achievements are exemplified by the fact that at 34, she is one of the youngest teachers to rise in her current rank.

Thoroughly immersed in the intricacies of her craft, Vhie’s success inside and outside the classroom is founded on time-tested work ethics: hard work and diligence. To make sure that she is prepared everyday she comes to school, she plans each lesson meticulously, taking into consideration the appropriate teaching strategies as well as instructional materials to employ, and the assessment tools to use in gauging the progress of her students. As a result, one of her greatest rewards was when her class achieved a 100% passing rate in the DepEd’s Bridge Program last year. A Philippine-Australia Project for Basic Education (PROBE) scholar, she has spent the last five years working with fellow teachers through in-service training programs as her way of helping enhance the quality of instruction in the educational system.

A recipient of the DOST’s Dr. Juan Salcedo Jr. Science Education Award as Outstanding Science and Mathematics Teacher and the DepEd’s Most Outstanding Grade School Teacher Award, both at the Division Level, Vhie is actively engaged in community affairs. She is currently a member of the board of directors of the Ilagan South District Teachers Association, president of the Teachers Association in her school, and chairperson of the Pastoral Council in her parish.

In saying that "flowers also bloom" among special children, Julie affirms her advocacy for equal educational opportunities for visually impaired students in order to help them develop and enhance their talents, abilities and potentials. A mission she has embraced with fervor for almost four decades, she believes that bringing out the best in her students does not only prepare them to become productive and useful members of the community, but allow them to experience full and meaningful lives.
 
Julia’s expertise has found expression in countless curricular outputs she has produced not just for the school’s special education resource center, but for the use of SPED teachers all over the country as well. Her innovative spirit and creativity likewise led her to develop low cost but effective multi-media instructional materials. An acknowledged mentor of mentors, she has worked with various regional and national committees as facilitator or resource person in the modification and/or revision of educational materials for special education and has served as demonstration teacher, speaker, trainer, curriculum writer and consultant on different training programs for SPED teachers.

Recognized by the DepEd – NCR as the Most Outstanding Special Education Teacher for the Visually Impaired in school year 2002-2003, her notable contributions were also honored with the Gawad Geny Lopez, Jr. Bayaning Pilipino Award for NCR last year, eventually earning her a slot as a finalist in the national competition. Aside from acting as Project Coordinator of the school’s PTCA-SPED Council, she further expands her advocacy and volunteer work by working with organizations such as the Missionaries of Charity and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, where she has served as Assistant Camp Coordinator for the latter’s annual Epilepsy Camp since 1992.

Becoming a teacher is a dream come true for Men, an ambition she has nurtured since she was a child. In the school, where her vision comes to life, she finds herself playing a multitude of roles, from a surrogate mother to a guidance counselor, but most especially as a facilitator of learning. Outside the classroom, she also serves as a civic worker and community leader. Above all, she strives to be a model worthy of emulation both by her students and her peers. Collectively, her experiences as a teacher and contributions to the profession have not only convinced her of the nobility of her mission, but has bolstered her resolve to stay in the academe in a lifetime vocation.

Aside from being a resource speaker, facilitator and demonstration teacher on various training programs and seminar workshops, Men also trains and coaches students for various academic and co-curricular competitions in the school, district, division and national levels. Her work as Guidance Counselor has likewise made an impact not just among students, but for her peers as well. One of her passions, however, is helping develop civic-mindedness and social service among her students, as she is actively engaged in the Girl Scout movement where, from 1996 up to the present, she has served as District Field Advisor and School Coordinator.

Twice honored as the Most Outstanding Guidance Teacher in the Division of Roxas City and as Most Outstanding Hekasi Teacher in the division, Men is actively involved in professional, religious and community organizations. She is currently the president of the Roxas City Division Guidance Counselor Association and treasurer of the Roxas City Division Teachers Association.

Secondary Category

As one who treats students as her own children, May believes that a teacher’s influence in the learners is "boundless and eternal", and whatever becomes of a student is a teacher’s own making. She further believes that a teacher becomes effective only when he learns, masters and puts to work the real essence of sensitivity and sacrifice, values that are basic elements of May’s teaching philosophy.

A scholar both in her undergraduate and post graduate studies, first of the DOST at the Philippine Normal University where she graduated cum Laude and later on, of the DECS - National Educators Academy of the Philippines at the Ateneo de Manila University, May is an accomplished Demonstration Teacher, Teacher-Trainer, Test Item Writer and Subject Coordinator in both the Division of Ligao City and in Region V. Her decision to return to Ligao in spite of tempting offers to teach in Manila has had a profound impact on her career, if not her colleagues in school.

Her competence and effectiveness is reflected not only in the exceptional performance of her students in assessment tests, but by the impact of her work among her peers as organizer, facilitator and consultant for training programs and seminars. In her effort to enhance appreciation of mathematics, she has involved parents in the teaching and learning process, initiating "Mathira ang Mathibay", an annual team competition for families.

Indeed, in much the same way she helped initiate the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between and among the Civil Service Commission, the DOST and the DepEd in 1994 that paved the way for the recruitment of DOST scholars by local DepEd divisions, May continues to expand her significant contributions to the teaching profession through her own passionate pursuit of excellence in her craft. She is currently a member of the Board of the Secondary School Teachers Association of Ligao City.

Embracing a teaching philosophy that advocates empowering students for life, Diana realizes that her role is to orchestrate learning so that students are provided with various opportunities to harness their individual and unique potentials. As such, her multi-faceted teaching strategies and classroom activities are designed to actively engage her students in the process of discovery and facilitate the development of their ability to think critically, reason logically, make sense of their decisions, and hopefully apply these new insights in their daily lives. In equipping them with knowledge, skills and values to become productive and responsible members of the community, as well as by motivating and inspiring them to succeed in life, she believes that she has touched the lives of her students.

Aside from outstanding credentials and a proven track record in instruction, research and extension, Diana’s competence and commitment extend to the promotion of her fellow teachers’ professional development, organizing training programs in content and teaching strategies as well as developing an impressive body of work on instructional materials. Also an accomplished leader in administrative and institution building activities, her numerous assignments in different areas of the Visayas have always redounded to the benefit not just of the schools or organizations that she served, but of the entire public higher educational system.

Her involvement in professional and community organizations has certainly deepened her wealth of experience and enriched the quality of instruction in her classrooms. In particular, her one-year stint as a Visiting International Faculty in Math and Science in the United States allowed her to showcase the best qualities of the Filipino teacher. In recognition of her exemplary accomplishments, Diana received this year’s Most Outstanding Teacher Award given by the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas.

Mrs. A, as she is fondly called, admits that she has thought of leaving the country for greener pastures, but resisted the temptation out of her conviction that teaching is the most exalted form of social service that one may render for our people, a responsibility that every teacher must address in his or her own small way. To Mrs. A, the fruits of her labor may not come in the form of material wealth, but in the sense of fulfillment that comes from the knowledge that beyond doing her share in raising the next generation of Filipinos, she is touching the lives of countless others and contributing to their individual stories of personal or professional success.

Fueled by an insatiable drive for research and the desire to make science, particularly Chemistry, relevant to the lives of her students, Mrs. A endeavors to discover new ways of conveying principles and applications of the subject, using various media and piloting the team teaching approach in her school. She shares these innovative instructional materials and teaching techniques to fellow teachers and generously shares her expertise through seminar workshops she organizes or attends. Her work in the conversion of her school into a Science High School, and her subsequent effort to establish its science laboratories, are testaments to her unwavering passion to uplift the status and quality of science education in the country.

While she says that she teaches not to win an award, she was named by the Rotary Club of Marikina as the city’s Most Outstanding Public School Teacher – Regional Level, and was likewise honored by the DOST with the Dr. Juan Salcedo, Jr. Science Education Award, also at the Division Level. She is currently a member of the city’s Science and Technology Committee.

Inday’s teaching philosophy – teaching is duty, duty is joy – helps her become not just a better teacher, but a better person as well. In wanting to become an instrument of inspiration, she wields her tremendous power in the classroom to transform every moment and circumstance in a student’s life into an occasion for learning.

A BRITE (Brisbane In-Service Teams) Fellow of the Philippine-Australia Project in Basic Education (PA-PROBE), Inday is a highly effective agent of learning not just among her students, but for her fellow teachers as well, being a sought after in-service facilitator in English in the DepEd divisions of Siargao. In addition to conducting workshops on teaching strategies, visiting satellite schools, and undertaking one-on-one dialogues with English teachers in her division, she has likewise produced various teacher support materials in the subject that are now in use not only in Siargao or in the whole CARAGA region, but in other PROBE areas all over the country. She currently serves as a mentor in the implementation of the National English Proficiency Program (NEPP) and trains student writers for regional and national competitions.

True to her personal and professional philosophy, Inday has extended her dynamism and enthusiasm for community service by actively collaborating with the local government on socio-civic programs. She is president of both the Siargao Division School Paper Advisers Association and the Association of Secondary English Teachers of Siargao, and secretary of the Association of Secondary English Teachers of CARAGA. Among the honors she has received are the Outstanding School Paper Adviser Award – National Level in 1999 and the Outstanding Public School Teacher Award – Division Level in 2002.

Higher Education Category

To teach and to heal. These are the main tenets of Pipo’s career as a teacher and a doctor of medicine.   He is an inspirational mentor whose lectures has had so much impact on freshmen medical students, a meticulous clinician who has used every venue in the clinic as a forum for further learning, and a researcher whose outputs, primarily on orthopedics, has given him national and international acclaim. Above all, Pipo is a patriot who has decided to stay in the country despite lucrative offers abroad, embodying the best qualities of a local Renaissance man in the field of medical education. 

Pipo realized early on that there is no room for mediocrity at the UP College of Medicine. More importantly, he wanted to make a difference as a medical teacher. And so I.C.E. was born, an acronym that was to be the guiding principle of Pipo’s formula to contribute in a much more enduring way than through the treatment of patients, and that is in the form of the more challenging work of healing humanity by influencing the next generation of medical professionals. I.C.E. stands for Inspiration, Credibility and Energy, the hallmarks of his career that sees words, concepts or principles put into action, a continuing effort to build up expertise in his field, and the creativity to manifest his love for what he is doing.

Perhaps the best way to entice his students into pursuing excellence in all three branches of the medical field, however, is his own success as a teacher, a researcher and a clinician, a fact attested to by the honors and recognition he has received, among them a Ten Outstanding Young Men or TOYM Award in the field of medicine, an Outstanding Young Scientist or OYS Award for his pioneering work in biomechanics, and now the Metrobank Foundation award in the Search for Outstanding Teachers.

Manny’s impact and contribution to education, particularly in the field of engineering, is best encapsulated in the La Sallian philosophy of education: "teaching minds, touching hearts, and transforming lives." In harnessing an academic background that shows a rare combination of technical expertise and values formation, he has focused on the formation of well-rounded and competent professionals who are proficient in both the technical and ethical aspects of their field. As someone who considers teaching as a ministry, the spirit of generosity and service continues to animate Manny’s career, allowing him to teach effectively and extensively not just in substance, but in excellent fashion through the life he has lived.

As hallmarks of an outstanding educator, Manny’s involvement in the academe are characterized by his notable achievements as a teacher, researcher, administrator, community service leader and volunteer worker. His commitment to promote quality engineering education certainly goes beyond the confines of the university, as evidenced by the major roles he plays as consultant to both government and non-government agencies, adviser of educational institutions, and officer of professional societies.

In recognition of Manny’s achievements, the De La Salle University System bestowed upon him one of its highest awards, the Lorenzo Tañada CHIMES Award for being an exemplary  model of a Christian Achiever for God and Country and for contributing to the promotion and practice of the values of Common Good, Honesty, Integrity, Meritocracy, Excellence and Service (CHIMES). He is currently president of Philippine Institute of Mechanical Engineering Educators, director of the Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers – NCR Academe Chapter and member of both the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Society for Engineering Education.