Teachers from Western Visayas went the extra mile to deliver quality education amid the ongoing pandemic and their accomplishments did not go unnoticed as the Civil Service Commission (CSC) recognized 11 educators from this region as among the 23 awardees for its Honor and Awards Program (HAP).
The service of the educators, side-by-side with other front-liners, was recognized to mark the 122nd Philippine Civil Service Anniversary in the region.
Department of Education (DepEd) information officer for Western Visayas Hernani Escullar Jr., in an interview on Thursday, said 10 of the12 nominated teachers won in the various categories of the HAP regional awards.
“These efforts of our teachers were made during the time of an unprecedented educational scenario due to the Covid-19 but still they shine and they have shown their dedication amid the difficulties just to give our learners the quality education that they deserve,” he said.
Of the 10 DepEd awardees, Fralyn Leones, Principal 1 of the Granada National High School-Ballesteros in Carles town, Iloilo was one of the five awardees for the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award that recognizes exceptional or extraordinary contributions with nationwide impact.
“Leones’s commitment to education generated sustainable innovations such as the Project LETRA (Literary Towards Reading Affluency) for the multi-learners by harnessing and understanding leaners behavior. Her leadership enables the academic community to generate various initiatives relative to water and sanitation, hygiene, good nutrition and environment that benefitted not just her school but the community,” the CSC audio-visual presentation stated.
The CSC Pag-Asa Award was conferred to Arthur Cotimo of the School’s Division Office (SDO) Guimaras, Alpha Java and Teresita Militar from SDO Iloilo City, and Darwin Tadifa of SDO Iloilo province for their ideas that directly benefited more than one department of the government.
The Dangal ng Bayan Award for public officials and employees who consistently demonstrated and observed the eight norms of conduct of a public servant was conferred to Mark Daroy, Joli Ilin, Ju-im Jimlan, and Elnor Luna all of SDO Aklan province, and Melinda D. Baterna of SDO Bacolod City.
Simeon Cainday III, assistant professor III of the Guimaras State University also received the Dangal ng Bayan award.
“We continue to empower not only the winners but also our other teachers and personnel in Region 6 through our Innovation Showdown for them to showcase their school innovations that can be replicated in other divisions,” Escullar added.
Aside from educators, front-liners were also conferred various awards including former DSWD Western Visayas regional director and now Assistant Secretary B. Evelyn Macapobre, Lt. Col. Mark Darroca of the Philippine National Police, Iloilo City Covid-19 Focal Person Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna and Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Donna Magno who received the Dangal ng Bayan Award.
Other awardees for the Pag-Asa Award were Maximo Sarceno from the local government unit of Libacao, Aklan, Women and Children’s Protection Desk of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office, Department of the Interior and Local Government Bago City Team and the Metro Kalibo Water District Aquabelles.
The other winners of the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award were Lisa Camacho of the DSWD, Jo Vic Pinedez of the National Food Authority, DSWD Home for Girls, and Valladolid District Hospital Management Team.
The winners received a certificate of recognition from the CSC during the Pasidungog awarding ceremony held in a hotel here on Wednesday.
CSC Commissioner Lawyer Ryan Acosta, in his message, said the initiatives and programs introduced by the awardees amid the health pandemic and calamities stand as a testament of what public service is all about.
The annual HAP for this year has the theme “Transforming Public Service in the Next Decade, Honing Agile and Future Ready Servant Heroes” with this year’s search focusing on resilience. (PNA)
