IT is said that when teachers are given permanent positions at their schools, or attain the rank they desire, they start to take it easy and stop doing their best.

This may be true of mediocre teachers, but not of dedicated ones. Metrobank Foundation is known for its annual awards to teachers. This year, to mark its 30th anniversary, it honored 30 past awardees?teachers, artists, journalists, soldiers, policemen?with the Award for Continuing Excellence and Service (Aces).

Before an audience of education, business, government, and civic leaders, 17 teachers (five from elementary, two from high school, and 11 from college) were recognized again.

Said foundation president Aniceto Sobrepeña: ?Embodying a lifelong commitment to the pursuit of excellence, they continue to make substantial contributions to their chosen discipline and have bequeathed a legacy of achievement to their peers and the community as a whole. They are truly outstanding Filipinos who serve as beacons of inspiration for being the best models of competence, integrity and professionalism.?

Elementary school

Three Aces awardees are from the University of the Philippines (UP) Integrated School, Quezon City.

Elena C. Cutiongco, Outstanding Teacher in 1985, is involved in libraries, reading, literature. The former president of the Reading Association of the Philippines (RAP) helps students and teachers hone their communication skills and language strategies.

Cutiongco is involved in a Department of Science and Technology software development project to integrate science and mathematics concepts in reading and language. Taped versions will allow children to access the materials during classes.

Cutiongco, now vice president of ICS Publishing, says, ?I see to it that we always adhere to the highest standards of excellence in the materials we churn out.?

Evelina M. Vicencio, Outstanding Teacher in 1988, teaches creativity, curriculum writing and education. An advocate of scouting, she is the first woman to receive the Bronze Tamaraw International Award. She trains educators in Brunei and scouts in India. Active in the Commission for Higher Education, she also helps in drug education in member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

?I believe that the Lord led me to this path,? Vicencio says. ?I can do no less but practice it with excellence. There are no ifs, ands or buts with the Lord.?

Felicitas E. Pado, Outstanding Teacher in 1991, is the president of the Network for Outstanding Teachers and Educators composed of recipients of the Metrobank award. She is active in reading and language programs and training, particularly in the early grades.

?In the Family Literacy Program, we taught urban poor parents in Dagat-Dagatan how to guide children in their studies with the modules I prepared on literacy and numeracy,? Pado says. ?By teaching the parents how to teach their children, I was (also) teaching the parents, who were not literate, how to read, write and count. I realized that these parents, no matter what their economic status was, would want to learn. I wish there would be more initiatives to make these adult Filipinos truly literate and critical thinkers.?

Ninie C. del Rosario was Outstanding Teacher in 2001 when she was teaching at Sta. Ana Central Elementary School in Davao City. She continues to work to improve the services of teachers? cooperatives, train administrators in school-based management, as well as build links among teachers, parents and students.

Now with the Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao, Del Rosario continues to help conflict-ridden communities in the south. She heads the Food for the Brain Program that benefits more than 200 malnourished school children daily. She is also the Indigenous People?s Coordinator for Region XI.

?The government can make this profession attractive by giving dignity to teachers,? Del Rosario says. ?How can teachers gain respect when they are often the victims of usury? I do not mean lucrative salaries, but enough to meet teachers? basic needs. A school-based teachers cooperative, with regular monitoring, can empower teachers to run their own lending business by providing skills training and seed capital.?

High school

Arthur P. Casanova of Brent International School Manila was Outstanding Teacher in 1999. He writes folk tales, children?s stories and poems. He also has anthologies of plays. He directs plays, choreographs folk dances, performs in festivals locally and abroad. He has several National Book Awards. His musical plays have also earned quite a number of Aliw Awards, proof that his contributions to art and literature transcend the academe.

?I tell my students that mediocrity should not be part of their vocabulary,? says Casanova. ?Patience, hard work and perseverance are the keys to excellence.?

Evelyn B. Caja of Ramon Magsaysay High School, Quezon City, was Outstanding Teacher in 2001. She works with special children, making them more competent and confident in society. ?Through the years, I have mastered my craft and deepened my passion to teach these children,? Caja says. ?What Jesus said in the Book of Romans, ?Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do it to me? has inspired me to spend the rest of my life making a difference in their lives.

?I have helped successful visually impaired individuals like Roselle Ambubuyog who graduated summa cum laude from Ateneo de Manila; Carolina Catacutan-Sam, cum laude at UP; and Bienvenido Canonizado, cum laude at the University of Sto Tomas,? she says. ?The instructional materials I have prepared and introduced to the teachers of the visually impaired all over the country is a legacy I will leave behind when I reach compulsory retirement.?

Next week: College awardees

E-mail the columnist at blessbook@yahoo.com.