Teachers from Davao City and other neighboring municipalities and provinces had a great time one Sunday afternoon at SMX Convention Center at SM Lanang in Davao. They trooped to the center and were entertained by celebrities from Manila, all flown in by PLDT Gabay Guro for the first teacherfest in President Rodrigo Duterte’s home city.
The pinnacle of PLDT Gabay Guro’s celebration is embodied in the tribute event held every year where the organizers leave no stone unturned ensuring that teachers get to be treated like royalties, even for just a day in a year.
Generosity at its finest, this is the day where teachers get to let their hair down, meet the biggest celebrities, be treated to a whole day of world-class entertainment and win huge raffle prizes – just about anything to remind them of their immeasurable value in people’s lives.
This year on its ninth anniversary, PLDT Gabay Guro didn’t just hold one, but two of this kind of grand tribute. The first teacherfest happened on Sept. 25 at the MOA Arena while the second one took place two weeks ago for the energetic teachers in Davao and its nearby provinces.
Considered to be a culmination of a year of trainings, scholarships and livelihood programs for the teacher-beneficiaries, TeacherFest 2016 honored their hard work, dedication and impact on society with heartwarming tribute held on Nov. 27 at the SMX in SM Lanang in Davao City.
As the educational arm and flagship project of the PLDT-Smart Foundation, PLDT Gabay Guro focuses on upholding the vocation of teachers. Its tagline “building the nation one teacher at a time” highlights the valuable role of teachers in leading their students to the future and shaping the next generation of nation builders. Since its establishment in 2007, Gabay Guro (2G) has granted over 1,100 scholarships for teachers at various state colleges and universities nationwide and train over 16,000 across eight annual training programs. 2G also donated laptops and computers to schools and foundations, and built over 40 classrooms located in Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and Capiz.
The Davao leg of TeacherFest 2016 was graced by an exciting roster of Gabay Guro celebrity volunteers—Asia’s Songbird and PLDT Home ambassador Regine Velasquez, concert queen Pops Fernandez, international pop star Christian Bautista, multitalented performer Aicelle Santos, Miss Universe-Philippines 2014 MJ Lastimosa and Philippine Volcanoes rugby star Andrew Wolff. Top-caliber performers from Manila and Davao (Kris Aquino impersonator Divine Tetay, singer-songwriter Wency Cornejo, among others), all came together on one stage to entertain the teachers for free.
On top of being star-studded, the celebration was glittery with amazing raffle prizes ranging from huge cash prizes to laptops with Smart Bro Pocket WiFi modems and other livelihood opportunities. The event also honored an outstanding teacher from Davao, Teacher Ching, for her outstanding commitment to serve her students with the meager income that she earns from the job, even after she has retired from work.
“It is our honor to be able to bring this grand celebration to the deserving teachers of Davao.” PLDT Gabay Guro Chairman Chaye Cabal-Revilla said. “After the main event in Manila, we decided to bring the experience to our teachers from other areas, including Japan and now Davao. This is our way of rewarding as many teachers as possible for their valuable presence in our lives.”
Chaye, who gets emotional every single time she sees the impact Gabay Guro is making among teachers in all its activities, said, “We will never get tired of doing this. For as long as we are able, for as long as we can convince partners to share this joy with us of serving our teachers, Gabay Guro will be here,” she promised.
Brand Advocacy Head and PLDT VP and Home Marketing Director Gary Dujali added, “After nine years and counting, we look forward to giving our teachers more wonderful, memorable surprises. The bond that brought us all volunteers together on Day 1 stands to this day — we want to impact the lives of our educators in a positive way, one teacher at a time. We want Gabay Guro to be their avenue of support for their noble mission of shaping our country’s future leaders.”
The PLDT Gabay Guro TeacherFest Davao 2016 was made possible with the help of the following partners: Bonamine, Flanax, Tempra, PR Savings Bank, among many others. For more information, visit gabayguro.com, like the PLDT Gabay Guro Facebook page and follow @PLDTGabayGuro on Twitter and Instagram.