SM Scholar-Alumna takes the Road less Travelled

Rosalie Macaspac (left) interprets the contents of the program for her students.

Teaching surpasses the realms of jobs or professions–it encompasses service, vocation, and life mission. 

Proving this day and night are millions of Filipino teachers who stand as second mothers to students. One of them is Rosalie Macaspac, an SM scholar alumna who chose to pursue a career in Special Education (SPED).

Life’s work

Choosing to teach, especially pursue SPED, is a path less travelled. Out of over 800,000 public school teachers, only about 4,000 are in SPED, and Rosalie is one of the few who took the path. For 21 years now, the SM scholar alumna has dedicated her life to teaching SPED students. She wanted to empower and give special children a voice by advocating the welfare of deaf learners.

With much dedication and determination to have the right skills for her students, she pursued graduate studies in special education and Filipino sign language at the Philippine National University and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, respectively. 

She currently teaches at the Philippine School for the Deaf in Pasay, the only government-owned institution for the deaf in the country. Here, she spearheaded the numeracy skills training program for deaf learners.

Embedding grit, greatness

Her journey to becoming an educator was not easy. Her parents separated when she was three years old, and her mother became the breadwinner. 

“In the early years of my life as a three year old, awareness of how hard life is became a part of my growing up. I grew up with a mindset that whatever happens, I will not abandon my studies. Sensing my determination, my mother earned a living by washing and ironing clothes of our neighbors. I came to realize my mom had to wash and press thousands and thousands of clothes so I could finish my studies. But I did not pity myself. Instead, I kept a strong determination to battle on and promised my mother that she will not grow old and die as a laundry woman,” she said.

The weight on their shoulder became heavier when her mother became bedridden for half a year. Instead of slowing her down, it did the opposite. She continued her studies with much determination. With the help of her uncle, the Missionaries of Charity, and the puto bigas she sold, they could get by. 

She finished primary school with good grades, and was a consistent honor student in high school, despite having one centavo allowance and rice and coffee as meals. With good standing, she had her mind set on her next goal: going to college.

“Giving up or surrendering wasn’t in my vocabulary. The strong heart of my mother was passed on to me as she was my inspiration to strive to get us out of the predicament we were in,” she stressed.

“When I was in fourth year high school, I was deep in thought of what to do to support my college education.  Then, God in all His goodness, stepped in again. The Guidance Office in our school announced that the SM Foundation was offering scholarships for qualified students. I knew at that very moment that He was with me. All I had to do is to apply for the scholarship,” she recalled.

Rosalie (fifth from left) and her fellow scholar alumni take a photo with SMIC Executive Director Harley Sy (third from left)

She vividly remembers sending her SM College Scholarship program application at the Customer Service of the SM in Quiapo and how she learned on May 9, 1995 that she would be interviewed for the scholarship in room 214 of the MSE Bldg. The three-digit number has since become unforgettable for her. By June 1995, Macaspac was among the SM scholars who had started their college education under the scholarship program.

According to her, the scholarship helped her become a well-rounded individual. It was the key to the realization of her dreams and paved the way to success. The activities provided by SM Foundation, such as the scholars’ assembly, the orientation, leadership training, sports fest and annual retreat, were very memorable for her.

“Looking back, the retreats, monthly meetings and being able to work in SM as an employee, followed up by our project director boosted my self-esteem and opened my world to service,” she said.

Rosalie at the Philippine School for the Deaf

Before teaching, she first worked as a Merchandise and Planning Control-Clerk at the SM Head Office, which was then located in Calle Echague, Manila. She was hired immediately after college.

Working in DepEd has always been her dream, and she is proud of where she is today: “Since day one of my college days, I aimed to be a public-school teacher. I am happy with my work now as a High School Teacher for Deaf learners. I am so privileged that I am in this community and my heart is entwined with my students.”  

“I am not ashamed to tell my colleagues that I had a humble beginning and I thank SM Foundation for putting me where I am now. I owe these blessings to SM, Henry “Tatang” Sy, SM Foundation, Ma’am Nilda Bernaldez, and my fellow SM-Scholars, most especially, my mother. They are all the instruments to why I chose to give back to a special community and dedicate my life to being an effective SPED teacher.”

Teachers Laud Success of Vibal Group's Youtube Channel

Vibal Group Inc. (VGI) celebrates another milestone as it reached more than 690,000 subscribers on its Youtube channel, VibalTV. As of October 2021, VibalTV has more than 15.2 million views.

VibalTV primarily aims to educate students with their lessons, train teachers’ skills and techniques of the 21st-century teaching and online distance learning, and present diverse content that tackles different topics such as culture and history. Through Vibal TV, VGI continues its steadfast commitment and dedication to rethink and reimagine the entire teaching and learning experience.

Videos for 21st Century Teachers
Among the many digital initiatives VGI has produced are free webinars for teachers. These webinars let the participants learn from respected resource speakers from various fields, as well as receiving certificates of attendance. Some of its videos include Speaker’s Demo Reel and Learn@Home webinars that are shown live on YouTube. Currently, both Learn@Home and Speaker’s Demo Reel have more than 50 webinars each on the VibalTV channel.

Prior to the pandemic, VGI had already shown support to the Department of Education's (DepEd) call to improve the quality of teaching that meets the needs of ASEAN integration, K to 12 education system, and other emerging global learning frameworks. When the pandemic affected the education setup, VGI rose to the occasion and maximized its digital platforms to assist public and private school teachers as they transitioned to online teaching.

Videos for Learners
Other video contents that VibalTV produces are educational videos for students such as Teacher Vibal, 3-Minute Lesson, and Mga Kuwentong Chikiting. The Teacher Vibal and the 3-Minute Lesson videos help students learn school lessons in a fun and interactive way. The lessons on these videos are written and presented by licensed professional teachers, making sure that the lessons adhere to DepEd’s approved curriculum. Teacher Vibal and 3-Minute Lesson videos may also be used by teachers for their lessons.

Teacher Vibal has more than 150 videos posted on VibalTV, while 3-Minute Lessons have more than 40 videos posted on the channel. Videos from Mga Kuwentong Chikiting are based on VGI’s storybooks, Chikiting Books. Currently there are more than 80 episodes of Mga Kuwentong Chikiting on VibalTV’s channel.

Tertulia Videos
A new addition to the channel are short videos from VFI’s tertulia. The tertulia is a special online gathering, where viewers and visitors honor and remember the Vibal matriarch, Mrs. Esther A. Vibal. This is also where VFI launches new books and presents song and dance performances by renowned Filipino artists and groups such as the Sheila Ferrer, Ramon Folkloric Group, and the CCP Dance Workshop.

VibalTV's Success
More than just the growing number of its viewers and subscribers, VibalTV's success is measured by the positive impact that it makes on Philippine education. Teachers become more capable to be masters of technology in order to facilitate more personalized learning experiences for their students through the easily accessible free video content on YouTube.

You can subscribe and watch VibalTV on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/vibaltv and stay updated with VGI's latest projects and announcements.

DepEd-Las Piñas school gets a fresh coat of colour and hope from Nippon Paint

Nippon Paint (Coatings) Philippines recently launched its flagship corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative dubbed as Colourful Dreams, which aims to be a catalyst for positive change to children of all ages.  This is part of the bigger Colour, Joy and Love CSR programme implemented by the NIPSEA group across the 15 countries and 300 cities in Asia where they operate. 

Carrying the theme “Create Joy Today, Hope for Tomorrow”, Nippon Paint Colourful Dreams has endeavored to support the Department of Education-Las Piñas Division’s Brigada Eskwela Adopt-A-School-Program, which encourages private companies, professionals, and education stakeholders to contribute their time and resources in helping in the school maintenance effort to ensure that public school facilities are ready for opening this June.   For this project, Nippon Paint has also partnered with the Philippine School of Interior Design Alumni Association (PSID-AA), whose members have volunteered to share their skills and talents. 

“We at Nippon Paint have always wanted to give back to the community and share with them our success in the three years that we have been in the Philippines. What better way to do these than to support a meaningful project like Brigada Eskwela. We are thankful to have found partners in DepEd-Las Piñas and PSID-AA, with whom we share a common goal of creating a safe, conducive and colourful environment for children’s learning and development,” relates Nippon Paint (Coatings) Philippines General Manager, Michael Chung.

According to PSID-AA President Paolo Jara, “Our organization has always been inspired by the saying, ‘what person is a person who does not make the world better?’.  We support Brigada Eskwela with Nippon Paint as it is another opportunity to make the world better for others.”

DepEd-Las Piñas Schools Division Superintendent Loreta Torrecampo conveys, “Bayanihan spirit is really the essence of Brigada Eskwela.  As you know our public schools really need much support.  That’s why we appreciate all the time, effort and help that we receive from the community and the private sector.  We thank Nippon Paint (Coatings) Philippines and PSID-AA for upholding their commitment to the country and their eagerness to contribute to national development.”



Nippon Paint Colorful Dreams’ first Brigada Eskwela beneficiary school is Pamplona Elementary School Central in Las Piñas City, which welcomes about 3,000 students every school year.  Together with volunteers from PSID-AA, Nippon Paint will be painting the school’s library, reading corners, hallways, and exterior premises with designs that inspire creativity and fun learning.

As part of its Green movement, which emphasizes on developing and offering green products to ensure sustainability, and the agreement with DepEd - Las Piñas, Nippon Paint will be using its new toluene-free Pylox Spray Paint and Green Choice Series, a line of high-quality coatings that are water-based, no added lead and mercury, and near-zero Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) coatings.  This means these products are environment friendly and most significantly, safe for everyone specially children.

Pamplona Elementary Central School Principal Felix Perido muses, “We are delighted to be chosen by Nippon Paint as a beneficiary school for Brigada Eskwela.  When classes start, our students will surely be happy to be in a learning environment that is clean, freshly painted and colourful.” 

Being a paint company, Nippon Paint knows that even a little bit of paint and colour can go a long way in making learning fun and engaging.  Through its Colourful Dreams and Brigada Eskwela CSR program, Nippon Paint aims to motivate students to learn with joy, be their best and hope to achieve their most colourful dreams.   

As a final note, Chung concludes, “While this is the first time that we are launching Colourful Dreams in the country, we have been reaching out to the academic community through the Nippon Paint Young Designer Award, which recognizes the talents and potentials of student interior designers and architects, a service that we do for the professional design industry.    Brigada Eskwela, on the other hand, is geared towards younger students and the community as a whole.  In the future, Nippon Paint aims to expand its CSR initiatives by working with more communities on projects that are meaningful and beneficial to people.”

For more information about Nippon Paint, visit www.nipponpaint.ph or check out www.facebook.com/nipponpaintphilippines



*This is Press Release

DepEd, Embassy of Spain, and Fundacion Mapfre Initiates Turnover of Road Safety Teaching Aids for Public Elementary Schools in PH

Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines, H.E. Luis Antonio Calvo, with DepEd Undersecretary of Programs and Projects Dina Ocampo, and Mapfre Insular president and CEO, Javier Warleta, initiated the turnover of Road Safety Teaching Aids for public elementary schools in the country, between Fundacion Mapfre and the Department of Education (DepEd).

The materials were given to improve the teaching-learning process in schools so that students may be aware of how to safely navigate Philippine roads, particularly the busy streets of the metro. Soft copies of the program’s materials will be stored in the DepEd Portal to provide easier access for the teachers. Ultimately, the goal is to reach out to 47,000 schools nationwide—both in the elementary and secondary levels. On top of raising awareness among the youth, DepEd, Mapfre, and the

Spanish Embassy would like to extend road safety consciousness to adults as well, since they are the members of society who use the roads more often. DepEd recognizes that changes will come faster if adults lead by example. As a start, teachers must be able to learn from the program and share it with their students and families.

The Spanish Ministry of Education and Embassy have worked closely with DepEd on special programs, and are thus very supportive of the project. The collaborators would like to emphasize safety as a way of life. They believe that values and health education are as important as traffic and car safety principles. Fundacion Mapfre, the corporate social responsibility arm of MAPFRE S.A., a leading Spanish insurance multinational company, operating in the Philippines through Mapfre Insular, has been working with the Department of Education since 2011, developing modules in two learning areas: Araling Panlipunan and Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao. Since then, road safety has been taught in at least two thousand schools nationwide. Beginning this March 2015, teaching aids will be distributed and used in schools.