Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Former Education Secretary Leonor Briones honored the five teachers presented with the Gintong Parangal Para sa Edukasyon award for their “extraordinary hard work and discipline” through their years of service.
Here is Briones’ speech:
I remember when I was being considered by the nominations committee of Congress as secretary of education. One was complaining that, \”Why should Secretary Briones remain secretary of education when she goes around in a wheelchair?\” And my answer was: \”As teachers, as educators, as knowledgeable Filipinos, we know that there is no correlation between the state of my knees and the state of my brains.\”
First of all, I would like to greet the Cabangon family. We go back a long way. There was a time that I was writing a column in your newspaper and commenting on all sorts of issues ranging from the economy, to the family, and to our culture. Those memories are forever imprinted in my mind.
I would also like to greet my good friend Congressman Roman Romulo. He was just a young boy going to school when I would go to the house of Sen. Romulo, his father, to discuss again matters of fiscal policy of debt and of the economy. And every week I see him (Cong. Roman) passing by, a very, very young man, and now still, a young man relative to me.
And most of all, I would like to greet also, of course, the focus, the center of attention, the honorees that we are now recognizing — our teachers. I congratulate the Cabangon family. You know, you have awards and awards and awards of teachers, but the Cabangon family award focuses on teaching thrift, of hard work, and patience, ambition and opportunities to rise from whatever plans there are to possibly harness the levels and the highest positions.
This is very important at this time when we are obsessed with speed, obsessed with shortcuts. We’re obsessed with business. We are obsessed with doing things the easy way. And the Cabangon family reminds us that thrift is important, that hard work is important because we always want to do things the easy way. We are looking always for shortcuts and we are very proud that you, as teachers, are teaching these values that the Cabangon family is espousing.
And I congratulate you. You come from different fields and different subjects and you do different things in different ways because the places that you come from are different from each other. But the feel is always the same — hard work, patience, and, most of all, honesty and fortitude. So, congratulations to all. Thank you very much for this opportunity.
I have a good memory of the last event that we had. We had a repertory play. This was very moving, the life of Ambassador Cabangon-Chua. I hope that you will continue this tradition, that you will never let our learners forget that there is no better way to have a good life, a fulfilling life than through hard work, that honesty, that patience and fortitude instead of the shortcut, the easy way, the cheating and the stealing.
