Fortune Life Insurance Inc. (Fortune Life) on Tuesday honored 16 public-school teachers and administrators in celebration of the seventh year of its advocacy of promoting the value of hard work and discipline.
The insurance firm, together with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Marylindbert International, presented three awards for teachers and their supervisors.
Through its annual “The Value of Hard Work and Discipline” Awards, Fortune Life conferred the Teacher Award, which grants P25,000, or scholarships to five recipients; the Superintendent Award, which gives P40,000 to another five supervisors or administrators; and the Honorable Mention Award, which gives plaques of recognition to six teachers and school superiors.
The Teacher Award winners this year were Aileen Royo-Apostol of Santo Niño SPED Center in Tacloban City; Allan M. de los Reyes of District ALS Center in Minalin, Pampanga; Ma. Regaele A. Olarte of Muntinlupa National High School of Muntinlupa; Vladimir B. Paraiso of F. Benitez Elementary School in Manila; and Ma. Lourdes C. Valondo of Dr. Felipe de Jesus National High School in Bulacan.
The Superintendent Award winners were Mina Gracia L. Acosta from division of Bulacan; Dr. Leila P. Areola, CESO VI, from division of Ilocos Norte; Dr. Wilfredo L. Cabral, Ceso V, from division of Manila; and Dr. Roberto Santos Jr., Ceso VI from division of Tarlac.
The honorable mention awardees were Dr. Christopher Diaz from division of Rizal; Rhina L. Silva from division of Batangas City; and Dr. Leonardo Zapanta, Ceso VI, from division of Pampanga.
Also awarded were Dr. Jesus C. Insilada of Alcarde Gustilo Memorial National High School in Iloilo; Rene Rose M. Labasan, PhD, San Juan Elementary School in Nueva Ecija; and Roderick L. Labay of Apnagan Elementary School in Oriental Mindoro.
Fortune Life hopes the incentives will further energize and inspire teachers and their supervisors in expanding the knowledge and values of students nationwide toward social development.
“I believe that what we do is more important than giving books as we build the backbone for profound learning. Passion and integrity are the values we pass on toward the path of social responsibility. We initially aimed to reach 1 million public-school students thinking that it was a lofty goal. Seven years after, we have reached 3.5 million students. We have handed out 795 workbooks and 17,700 teaching guides to over 2,000 public schools nationwide. As each year passes we’re helping more teachers and students to be empowered and financially literate,” Fortune Life President D. Arnold A. Cabangon said.
With the success of the awards, whose nominees increased to 300 from 3,000 entries this year, the insurance firm plans to extend the recognitions to private-school teachers and administrators. Fortune Life also aims to distribute workbooks and teaching guides to the private sector next year.
“This has been an institutionalized program by Education Secretary Leonor M. Briones, so we’ll continue doing this. Next school year, we’ll include private schools and also give them the workbooks. We want to also recognize the hard work from private- school teachers who attend the department’s life coach seminar every week,” Marylindbert International Vice President Jonathan G. Pauig said.
The additional award for the private sector will also evaluate the application of the lessons offered by the department’s weekly life coach seminars that discuss new trends in teaching and learning, especially K to 12, share teachers’ experiences, education on financial literacy by Fortune Life, and will include personality development and grooming by hairstylist Rene Salud.
The lack of funds for teachers and students has subjected some teachers to physical hardship.
Roderick Labay, who teaches tribes in Oriental Mindoro, needs to walk 17 kilometers for four to six hours holding a basket filled with onions and canned sardines to share with his students during lunch break.
He also built three schools out of bamboo for some groups among his 234 students in the province.
“I believe that creativity and resourcefulness are important to be able to teach students. The award is an inspiration to me to teach better, and a reminder that in everything we do, we should strive for excellence,” he said.