The national awarding ceremonies of the best implementers of Brigada Eskwela 16 all over the country was successfully held in Dumaguete City with Department of Education Sec. Leonor Magtolis Briones and other DepEd officials in attendance.
Negros Island Region DepEd Director Gilbert Sadsad said Wednesday the holding of the national awarding ceremonies in Dumaguete is a manifestation of the trust and confidence of the agency for NIR to continue to exist as an organization being composed of caring and nurturing people.
This is also an opportunity for the DepEd family in the region to see in person advocates and champions of education all over the country, in making education a priority concern of everyone and that investing in education is to liberate people from poverty, Dir. Sadsad said.
Investing in education means liberating people from poverty, he added.
NIR is composed of 16 schools divisions, namely those in Bais, Bayawan, Dumaguete, Tanjay, Guihulgan, all in Negros Oriental, and Bago, Bacolod, Cadiz, Kabankalan, La Carlota, Sagay, Silay, San Carlos and Escalante in Negros Occidental.
In her message, Sec. Briones paid tribute to the teachers and reiterated a statement she made after a series of consultation meetings with the President, the business sector, civil society and other sectors that education is everybody’s business.
“We are all responsible for the kind of education we share with our learners, for the kind of leaders we produce, its not only DepEd,” says Briones.
According to her, “whenever there’s a storm and people are not spared from its ravages, when children panicked, when criminality rises, when graduates cannot find job because of intense competition, when we feel that our moral values and culture are absorbed by superior cultures, they all put the blame to DepEd”.
A video of children crossing a stream, walking on a piece of rope to get to the other side to be able to reach the school went viral and questions were asked what DepEd is doing about this.
Sec. Briones said infrastructure is the responsibility of the Local Government Unit and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), in stressing education is everybody’s concern and not just of DepEd’s.
As to Brigada Eskwela, Sec. Briones commended all the best implementers nationwide as a tradition of communities getting together, helping each other and coming to each other’s aid is part and parcel of the Filipino culture.
Under her stint, Briones made it a point that no one should be left behind whether in formal and informal schools, because we as a people place great value on education.
She said Gov. Roel Degamo was right when the governor said that the people in DepEd are perhaps the most loved, respected and the most helped.
Meanwhile, Sec. Leonor Briones has informed regional directors, administrators and teachers nationwide their performance bonus will be out soon.
While in Dumaguete, Briones spoke to hundreds of winners in the implementation of Brigada Eskwela in a ceremony held inside the Luce Auditorium of Silliman University Tuesday.
She said all the papers and the requirements are now in the office of the President and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for signing.
Meanwhile, Sec. Briones stressed there should be excuses not to hold classes because buildings are destroyed because of typhoons and other calamities.
She was in Isabela few days ago to visit school buildings destroyed by the recent typhoon, saw brand new books buried in the mud, saw the computers lying on the muddy floor of the school buildings, seats were destroyed, but classes went on, they didn’t miss classes and that is teachings all about, Briones quipped. (PNA/JFP/Juancho Gallarde)
