Gabay Guro Brings Back-to-Back Tribute Events To Teachers

 By Archie Liao

In its avowed commitment to pay tribute to the Filipino teachers as they shape the minds of the Filipino youth for excellence, Gabay Guro holds a back-to-back teachers tribute this year that culminates in a spectacular ABS-CBN production featuring the country’s world-class singers and performers all on one stage. 

Billed “Pagpupugay at Pasasalamat Kay Ma’am at Sir,” the star-studded event also showcases excitingly huge raffle prizes as it is streams live on Oct. 14, 1pm from the famed Dolphy Theater inside the ABS-CBN compound to Gabay Guro’s Facebook page and Youtube Channel. It comes on the heels of the highly-successful Teachers’ Day celebration called “Together4Teachers” held last Oct. 5 at the Father Saturnino Urios University in Butuan City, Caraga Region in partnership with the Department of Education and Vice President Sara Duterte. This Gabay Guro kick-off event which paid tribute to over 3,000 teachers was graced by Senator Imee Marcos and headlined by Gabay Guro artist-advocates Ms. Pops Fernandez, Mark Bautista, Jed Madela, Jona, Daryl Ong, Regina and Ate Gay. 

The grand teachers’ tribute slated on October 14 brings back the queens of local music, film and television -- the Megastar Ms. Sharon Cuneta and Asia’s Songbird Ms. Regine Velasquez -- on stage, along with high-calibre performers headlined by Ogie Alcasid, Jona, Klarisse, Bituin Escalante and other ABS-CBN performers who all share the same heartfelt respect for the Filipino teachers and their contribution to nation building. While the venue itself will only accommodate 250 lucky pre-drawn teachers, the online event on the Gabay Guro FB page is expected to reach across the country to millions of online viewers.  All registered Grand Gathering attendees, whether onsite or online, will also get a chance to win fabulous prizes, including a Chery Tiggo 2 PRO, up to P500,000 in cash, a Devant TV, Penshoppe and Lyf Hotel Gift Certificates, Potencee Vitamins from Pascual Laboratories, Conzace and Forti-D from Unilab, and many more packages from 555 Tuna, Relumins: Your Beauty Revealed, Katinko Oil & Ointment, Aromagicare Magical Aroma, Health care Mega app- mWell, Smart and PLDT Home. 

Steadfast donor to Gabay Guro for the past ten years, United Asia Automotive Group, Inc. (UAAGI) has generously donated a Chery Tiggo as grand raffle prize for the Grand Gathering for the past several years. Their Chairman Mr. Rommel L. Sytin is proud to extend its heartfelt appreciation to all the dedicated and hardworking teachers in the country. “For more than a decade,” Mr. Sytin shares, “UAAGI has supported Gabay Guro in its advocacy of empowering Filipino teachers and helping improve our education system. We are committed to extend our support and will continue to partner with Gabay Guro for the benefit of our beloved teachers.” 

Now on its 16th year, Gabay Guro is the flagship education program of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), Metro Pacific Investments Foundation (MPIF), and PLDT-Smart Foundation (PSF) in partnership with the PLDT Managers’ Club Inc. Gabay Guro reaffirmed its commitment to the Department of Education to help uplift the lives of teachers so that they can continue to focus on what matters most – honing their skills and fueling their passion towards the improved quality of education in the Philippines.

Gabay Guro Chairperson Ms. Chaye Cabal-Revilla shares that this year’s Grand Gathering theme --“Pagpupugay at Pasasalamat kay Ma’am at Sir” -- is all about honoring and thanking our beloved teachers for their continued service and sacrifices for the benefit of our Filipino youth. “Our theme,” she says, “rightfully acknowledges and gives due respect to our teachers for the contribution that they make to nation-building.” She adds, “We should really stop calling them unsung heroes, and instead, always recognize and respect how they have touched our lives with their unwavering passion to teach. The Gabay Guro Grand Gathering is our heartfelt gesture of gratitude to all our teachers, and we hope that they look forward to this annual event just as much as we enjoy organizing it and bringing it to them.”

MPIC CEO and Gabay Guro Chairperson Mr. Manny V. Pangilinan, or MVP, extends his congratulations to our teachers on National Teachers Month, and commends the commitment and devotion of our teachers in creating a country of well-educated and enlightened Filipinos. “Our teachers and educators,” he says, “give hope and ignite a new beginning for our students. We thank them for all that they do, and assure them that we are with them in their journey as educators. Together we shall all rise as a better, greater, and stronger Philippines.” MVP also salutes the team of MPIC, PLDT, and Smart volunteers who put in their time and resources for the betterment of Gabay Guro’s various projects. “You give back to our teachers, who give so much of themselves,” he says, “And it is in these sacrifices that we are able to strengthen our foundations for nation-building.”

Gabay Guro usually takes the opportunity to present its latest initiatives to its audience of teachers during its annual Grand Gathering.  Through its Digital Innovations pillar, it introduced the Gabay Guro Super App to help teachers gain easier access to online teaching resources and tools.  And now, Gabay Guro teachers will have affordable access to healthcare, anytime, anywhere with the Healthcare mega app, Mwell. It’s a fitting gift of wellness for teachers with its holistic wellness support for them to carry out their day-to-day responsibilities. 

 
Since 2007, Gabay Guro has been empowering teachers across the country through its 8 Key Pillars of Learning, which were all identified to reinforce PLDT and Smart’s commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainability Development Goals (SDG), particularly UN SDG #4 Quality Education. Aside from hosting the annual Grand Gathering and Regional Teacher Fests through the Teachers’ Tribute pillar, Gabay Guro has also proudly supported more than 3000 scholars pursuing a degree in education (Scholarships), provided more than a thousand laptops, digital accessories, and broadband connectivity to over 70 partner schools in 29 municipalities (Connectivity and Computerization), donated 55 double classrooms to 21 beneficiary cities and municipalities (Classroom Donations), trained over 50,000 teachers through face-to-face seminar-workshops in almost 100 localities around the country (Teachers’ Training), given over 5,000 teachers access to various livelihood and entrepreneurship initiatives (Livelihood), launched the Gabay Guro Super App which has already been downloaded by more than 100,000 teachers nationwide (Digital Innovations), and partnered with mWell to make the country’s first fully integrated, fully digital health and wellness app easily available for teachers (Health and Wellness).

For more information on Gabay Guro and its initiatives, please visit, like, and follow the Gabay Guro website (gabayguro.com) and Facebook page (facebook.com/gabayguro), as well as its IG and Twitter accounts.