PALO, Leyte- The Leyte schools division bagged all the regional level awards under the public school category in this year’s 20th Gawad Kalasag awarding ceremony held on Tuesday (July 31).
The school awardees for elementary level were Abuyog South Central School in Abuyog, first place; Cogon Elementary School in Palo, second place; and Tinambacan Elementary School in Jaro, third place.
For secondary, the winners were Bienvinido Guillera Celebre National High School in Jaro, first place; Barugo National High School in Barugo, second place; and Matlang National High School in Isabel, third place.
The winning schools received a plaque and cash prize of P50,000; P30,000; and P15,000, respectively.
The Leyte schools division, which is headed by schools superintendent Ronelo Al Firmo, congratulated the school awardees and wished them luck for the national level competition.
“It’s an honor for the Leyte Division to have six schools acknowledged by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Regional Office VIII. Unforeseen events occur at the least expected time and the preparedness of the school matters to lessen the impact of such situation,” said Edgar Tenasas, the assistant schools division superintendent.
“We look forward that this becomes an inspiration to other schools in Leyte that may also aspire to work for the same award in the future,” he said.
Tenasas also lauded Karen Barril, the division’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) coordinator for her hard work and technical assistance to the schools.
The awarding ceremony served as the culminating activity in the observance of National Disaster Resilience Month which was led by the Office of Civil Defense and other government partner agencies.
The event was attended by OCD Deputy Administrator Nicanor Faeldon, OCD Regional Director Henry Anthony Torres, among other officials.
Since its inception in 1998, the Gawad Kalasag served as the country’s premier annual awards for outstanding contribution in the fields of disaster risk reduction and management and humanitarian assistance.
It recognizes best practices of DRRM among individuals, groups or institutions which have shown “extraordinary courage, heroism, and sacrifice in times of emergencies, be it natural or human-induced.” (PR)
