By Stewart Ocampo, PGIN-CMO
At a kick-off program preluding World Teachers Day at the Centennial Arena, Laoag City last October 2, 2018, Senior Board Member Matthew Marcos Manotoc expressed his appreciation for Ilocano teachers, emphasizing their significant role in shaping their communities.
“I thank our teachers for their continuous commitment to our youth. Your tireless work is truly appreciated and deserves to be recommended and recognized. We thank you for being role models and for being pillars of strength and wisdom to our kids,” he said, addressing hundreds of teachers from Ilocos Norte.
As chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Education, Manotoc has largely focused on school’s development and student welfare, legislating measures to ensure safety of student boarders as well as to encourage healthy lifestyles across generations.
“I assure you of my all-out support to further improve the quality of education for every Ilocano,” he added.
The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) through the Provincial Education Department (PED) recently distributed more than twenty thousand textbooks to different public elementary schools (ES) to enrich the quality of instruction and provide a better teaching and learning environment.
Furthermore, Manotoc assured school administrators of continuing support through the “Kuryente Mo, Sagot Ko,” a program that subsidizes the electric bills of the poor public ES. The program has been helping 235 schools in the province since 2014.
Ilocos Norte’s celebration was hosted by the Schools Division of Ilocos Norte and guided by the theme, “Gurong Pilipino: Turo Mo, Kinabukasan Ko.”
World Teachers’ Day has been celebrated internationally every October 5 since its declaration in 1994 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). – (Stewart Ocampo, PGIN-CMO)
