Gabay Guro Pays Tribute to Davao Teachers

"Teachers are our second mothers. They are candles that light our path."

Having grown up in a home with one teacher, my Aunt (Nanay's eldest sister), I know the hard work that goes with their profession. I thank my Aunt Inday and second mother for molding my character and for being my source of inspiration especially in my studies back then. A strict yet loving person, I've seen how dedicated she was as a teacher that even after her retirement in the public sector, she continued to pursue her passion in the private sector. I'm proud to share, too, that she was the high school teacher of the late Ilongga Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago at the former Iloilo High School now Iloilo National High School.

Teachers deserve accolades for their dedication, patience and all the hard work they do for their students and schools. And I salute PLDT-Smart Foundation for its Gabay Guro program that lifts the spirits of teachers across the Philippines through its various enriching and fun activities. This year, it organized a major event called TeacherFest 2016 that gathered tens of thousands of teachers from around the country in the Mall of Asia Arena last September in time for Teacher's Day. The star-studded event provided great entertainment and fabulous prizes for the attendees.

Photo by Donn Riel

 Last Sunday afternoon, I was honored to be part of this event along with teachers from the Davao region as  PLDT and Smart brought TeacherFest 2016 here in Davao City for the first time. It was very heartwarming to see more than 15,000 teachers get together in SMX convention center and be seated beside our dear educators for four hours of fun and entertainment.

Photo by Gabay Guro

The excitement pumped up when Concert Queen Pops Fernandez started the main program with an upbeat medley that made many teachers in the front stand up and dance along. Of course, the main star of the show Regine Velasquez gave an amazing performance as always despite the cough and colds. It was a fangirl moment for me as I was very ecstatic to see these two fantastic women performing live after a long time. 

Asia's Songbird Regine Velasquez up close. Raul Mitra & his band (behind) provided live music.

What I also liked about the whole TeacherFest Davao concert was the presence of several celebrities who hail from Davao such as Bb. Pilipinas Ms. Universe MJ Lastimosa and singers Chad Borja as well as Wency Cornejo who now lives in the city. Their being able to speak Bisaya connected them well to the audience and made the program more special. Even Gabay Guro chairwoman Chaye Revilla who's from Cebu also entertained the teachers well while speaking in the dialect.

Hosts Pops Fernandez, Andrew Wolfe & MJ Lastimosa. (Photo by Klyde Jarabelo)

The most touching part of the program was the tribute to Ma'am Ching (Concesa Lagare), a 75-year-old retired public school teacher here in Davao City. Her sobs while being serenaded by Christian Bautista made a domino effect on the teachers most of whom also got teary-eyed. Unknown to many, Ma'am Ching has been feeding pupils of public schools every week  and providing them school supplies since she was still active in her profession. Until now, she continues her advocacy and personally cooks the food for her kids. An unmarried woman, she considers the young people she's feeding as her own children.

Christian Bautista serenades Ma'am Ching. (Photo by Gabay Guro)

Gabay Guro chairwoman Chaye Revilla with Ma'am Ching. (Photo by Gabay Guro)

Kudos also to PLDT-Smart Foundation for the great prizes they gave away for Davao teachers. Cash ranging from P5K, P10K, P50K to P100K, appliances and travel package were raffled off to lucky attendees. I felt the excitement myself seeing the winners rejoiced when their names were called.

Indeed, Gabay Guro is one advocacy that's gained my full support and one worth emulating. Thank you PLDT and Smart for collaborating on this worthy endeavor. And thank you as well to our dear teachers for everything you do. If my Aunt Inday were alive today, I'm pretty sure she will have no qualms in supporting this noble program.