Benguet teacher honored as among the best of Southeast Asian peers

TEACHING ‘EM YOUNG: Marcelo Otinguey taps cultural masters in their community to teach his students on preserving their identity. —DEPED FACEBOOK PAGE

MANILA, Philippines — Following his principle of “life is a service,” Benguet teacher Marcelo Otinguey dedicated his career to helping his students and his community in the town of Kapangan to preserve its cultural identity and support diversity in the classroom.

Last Friday, he was recognized as one of the 11 outstanding teachers from countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Timor-Leste who received the 4th Princess Maha Chakri Award.

The award, which is given every two years, is intended to honor Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand for her accomplishments in the education sector.

It also seeks to recognize highly dedicated teachers in Southeast Asia who have made key contributions to education and human development.

Fighting illiteracy

Otinguey, 50, has been an educator for almost 25 years. He taught values education and citizenship advancement training before his promotion as head teacher of the Governor Bado Dangwa Agro-Industrial School.

He initiated various efforts to help fight illiteracy and support indigents through such projects as “Books for the Barrios” — a book donation drive for primary and secondary learners that also sought to build libraries for their reading centers.

He also worked on protecting the cultural heritage of his community, as he consulted with the elderly.

“Our youth today are starting to forget their cultural identity so I ask cultural masters in the community to go to school and teach the skills that they have to nurture, promote and preserve our identity,” Otinguey told the Inquirer.

He helped manage another donation drive, the “Share-a-Joy/Share Your Extras” aimed at extending assistance to poor communities, as well as the “Wheels for Persons with Disabilities” project which sought to provide wheelchairs and crutches for handicapped indigents.

Partners

Despite the challenges in his school such as the lack of physical facilities, Otinguey was able to partner with agencies, organizations and private corporations, and individuals as he sought learning materials to augment students’ needs.

“This celebration underlines the imminently valuable role of teachers in society and the challenges they face in trying to foster the learning of students [and] ensure that learning never stops and no one gets left behind,” Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn said in the live broadcast of the awarding ceremony.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones lauded Otinguey for his efforts, including promoting livelihood training to advance self-reliance, entrepreneurship, productivity, and income.

He said the award would give him an opportunity to widen partnerships with other countries as he endeavors to maintain best practices in education.