PLDT-Gabay Guro’s big tribute to teachers

MANILA, Philippines - They have done this before and they’re doing it again even bigger this year.

The PLDT-Smart Foundation’s Gabay Guro (2G) is throwing the biggest tribute ever for our beloved teachers as it celebrates its sixth anniversary via a grand gathering on Oct. 26 at the SM MOA Arena.

Hosted by Edu Manzano and Derek Ramsay, the annual event is a rare opportunity that gathers together in one show the biggest stars from the three leading networks in the country. In so doing, Gabay Guro holds the distinction of mounting the event that is able to break the so-called network-exclusivity as it becomes the venue for the performances of the celebrities from TV5, ABS-CBN and GMA 7.

Among them are Anne Curtis, Judy Ann Santos, Marian Rivera, Martin Nievera, Pops Fernandez, Jolo Revilla, Rocco Nacino, Daniel Matsunaga, Vin Abrenica, Victor Silayan and John James Uy. The Gabay Guro team, led by PLDT chairman Manny V. Pangilinan and 2G chairman Chaye Cabal-Revilla, will be there to lend their support.

The event will also witness the giving-away of the biggest and most exciting prizes yet — a house and lot courtesy of Stateland, Inc. and a brand-new Foton L200 van — for the two luckiest teachers this year. Last year, a teacher from Makati City bagged the grand prize of a house and lot courtesy of Vista Land. Other prizes up for grabs are livelihood program packages, cash gifts, mobile phones and SIM cards from Sun Cellular. A total of 20,000 teachers are expected to attend the event at the MOA on Oct. 26.

At the press conference, Stateland, Inc. VP Grant Orbeta and Foton VP of passenger vehicle sales Jesus Tadena said that on top of the grand prizes, their companies are also giving discounts for teachers who are planning to make a purchase from them. Both also see the partnership with Gabay Guro as great privilege “because they also share the same advocacy for education and they want to honor the unsung heroes — the Filipino teacher.”

The gathering is being mounted under the leadership of Gabay Guro volunteer marketing honcho Gary Dujali, also the head of PLDT Home’s Broadband — Fibr and MyDSL. 

2G is an education arm and a flagship project of the PLDT-SMART Foundation. It is a program run by volunteers composed of executives from the PLDT Manager’s Club Inc. (PLDT MCI). It is the brainchild of MVP’s VP for Finance Chaye, and is supported by the PLDT-Smart Foundation of the Manny V. Pangilinan Group.

Chaye said they thought of the advocacy because they wanted to create a lasting legacy for the youth and prepare them for their future by helping teachers become the best that they can be in their profession. “We feel that by helping the teachers, we are already helping our students. They are the hope of our land and the teachers have been the silent partners to their development,” she said.

For the last six years, Gabay Guro has been in the business of “changing the lives of those who changed ours” by focusing on the core program of the foundation benefiting the Filipino teachers. The core program is defined by the pillars by which 2G is anchored on — scholarships, trainings, housing and educational facilities, livelihood programs, broadbanding and computerization and teachers’ tribute.