Featured Officers
Fall 2023
Featured Global Officer
Establishing the First! Leading with a Strategic Mind and Passion of the Heart
It is a great year that we started the UNIFFIED Bulacan Chapter because of our humble goal to establish the first! To transform and inspire educators in the province.
Establishing a chapter is not merely the reason why we want to create the first chapter in Bulacan, but we eagerly exceed expectations. We have desired to strategize and be a helping hand to different educators who need service and exposure in academics, research and community extension activities as our foundation core skills in the field. In my vast relevant educational experiences, I went to different educational institutions that we established first. Way back 2007, I was one of the pioneer faculty members of a comprehensive high school way back 2007 and turned into community high school in Mabalacat, Pampanga wherein we faced to start with the attitude of dedication and excellence. When we start with that school, we don’t have the chairs, books and it is just a plain ten classrooms for first year and second year high school students and as the years pass by it blossoms like a strong bamboo tree. In addition, the year 2016 is also memorable as I was assigned as Senior High School (SHS) teacher in the first stand-alone SHS in the Division of Angeles City. All the programs and activities were new, and we need to stand on the challenges of the new K+12 Curriculum.
Furthermore, I tried to establish something new in my field in language education, I started to establish the first school newspaper written in Kapampangan way back 2018 and the first school hymn written in Kapampangan as a part of my advocacy in promoting the Mother Tongue of the province of Pampanga.
When covid pandemic strikes, I never stop to think of ways on how we can be productive. Together with dedicated Filipino Language Teachers, we created a series of books in action research and were published in the year 2020-2022. These initiatives were done because of our strategic mind and the passion of heart to serve our educators and it is my grit to continue this kind of energy.
Moreover, the establishment of the UNIFFIED Bulacan is one way to continue establishing the First! Because we want educators in Bulacan to be the first! We want them to be innovative, we want our educators to inspire us to move forward and be excellent in their talents and abilities. Even though the teaching profession is very challenging, we want to showcase their innate leadership abilities that needed to develop, and it will be a legacy to imitate.
In my 17 years of being an educator, it is my mantra to work and bring all my spirit to be at service in the field of education. It is my goal to transcend a leading individual who is highly motivated and ready to share life to have a better education in the nation and entire world. As we celebrate a new chapter, we celebrate with big cheers to many more years of service at UNIFFIED and another cheer for spreading more good deeds to everyone and a big cheer for a lifelong learning and unending exploration of creating first for the entire education community.
Featured Global Chapter
Initiating New Seed of Success in the Province of Bulacan
It is my inspiration to be of service to our educators. It is my vocation in life to find ways on how I can cater and deliver for giving out the best to our beloved teachers. Through the idea of the education supervisor in the graduate school of CHED Region III, Dr. Roel Anicas gave me the idea to establish the Bulacan chapter and the rest is history.
Initiating a New Seed of Success is something of a worthwhile experience. I’ve been in different institutions that start with a seed of exemplary desire and grit. This is one of my humble sharing of love to the education sector as the entire UNIFFIED family celebrates one of the milestones on giving birth to a chapter in the province of Bulacan.
It is a great honor to initiate the UNIFFIED Bulacan Chapter as a part of giving our service to educators in the province. Last February 18, 2023, the oathtaking was held at National University Baliwag together with the appointed officers together with our Adviser Dr. Roel Anicas and the President of the organization Dr. Ed Dacpano. The oathtaking was witnessed by the graduate school students and visitors in the different educational institutions in the province as well as some of them were in other provinces in Central Luzon.
Different planning activities were held to carefully cater the needs of the educators in the province. Proposed activities focused on the three pillars of professional development – academic, research and community extension.
One of the proposed activities that will be held this year is the Tree Planting Activity and Immersion Program with the AGTA Community in Mt. Balagbag San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan. It is also our Christmas party event with a purpose. In terms of academics, the Bulacan Chapter will focus on classroom management, teaching strategies and technology applications and it will hold online. In the area of research, the chapter will have a research writing workshop and publications as a part of helping our educators in the graduate school.
These three activities for the UNIFFIED Bulacan chapter will be implemented from December 2023 – May 2024. The group will be creating a FB page for us to be transparent to the educators and easy access for the new members for their inquiries. The group will also be initiating collaboration with different universities and colleges to cater more teachers, instructors and professors to unify and be inspired to be globally competent in the field of education.
As I lead the chapter, it is my inspiration to capture perfect experiences even though our life is full of challenges. The capturing of experiences includes sharing our talents, treasures and time to serve the profession and vocation of teaching. We are thankful to the officials of UNIFFIED for supporting us in this milestone.
Kasihan tayo ng Panginoong Mapagmahal!
Meet the Uniffied Philippines President
We would like to introduce our Philippine National President, Dr. Rolando Aclaro Alimen. One of the strongest and most inspirational leaders of our teacher organization. Let us get to know him as a father, as an educator, and as a leader.
Can you tell us your background as an educator?
I had been in teaching for more than 31 years because of my academic units, I started my teaching career as a high school teacher at the school of the Dominican Sisters of the Holy Rosary at Iloilo City for two years, and I transferred to college for 31 years at the maritime university, John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines. As of the moment, the majority of my students during my high school teaching are already nurses, doctors, and engineers almost all over the world. Most of my students were already captains and chief engineers in the international ships of the Norwegian, American, British, Japanese, and other nationalities when it comes to college. As a family man, I always teach the “fear of the Lord’ to my children because that is the only legacy I can give them.
I am a licensed Mechanical Engineer and took my academic units at the University of San Agustin. I was a working student and scholar during my college life because we were poor. I finished my Master in Physics at the University of Philippines and Master in Science in Maritime at JBLFMU, CAR in Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) at West Visayas State University, and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) at the University of San Agustin. I started working in an Engineering firm in Manila, Philippines, but God calls me and puts me in teaching, so I have been here for almost three decades. For so many years and presently, I am also one of the Board of Directors of different organizations like the Philippine Network of Educators in Environment (PNEE), Philippine Society of Educational Research and Evaluation (PSERE), Philippine Association of Institutions for Research (PAIR), Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers (PSME). With these experiences that I have and with the help of the Lord, I can say that I can manage my ship and overcome all the difficulties. Most of all, I can say to all….”WELCOME ABOARD SIRS and MAAM, this is your Captain speaking.”
Can you tell us your background as a family man?
As a family man, I have two boys and one girl; my girl is still studying at the University of San Agustin, taking Tourism. My boy is a marine engineer, a graduate of BS Marine Engineering at John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU). He is working onboard now, traveling in the different parts of the world like Europe, Latin America, Asia, Japan, and South Korea. My youngest boy is studying at the University of San Agustin, taking up Hotel and Restaurant Management. My wife is a teacher, she has been teaching in different institutions like Holy Rosary Academy, University of the Philippines (UP), University of Iloilo, West Negros University, and currently teaching at the University of San Agustin, Iloilo City, Philippines. We met when I was teaching at the high school in one Dominican school in Iloilo City, Philippines. I believe that being a family man is very difficult, but putting the LORD at the center of my family life has brought me to this stage of life.
Can you tell us your background as the current president of the UNIFFIED-Philippines?
As the current president of UNIFFIED-Philippines, I will lead this organization based on my different experiences and wisdom gained from other organizations. I accepted this mission because this is my calling. I also believe that my officers are with me. They are all qualified, competent, and well-experienced officers in their different organizations, which would help to make this organization very alive. Moreover, I believe that God is with me in leading this organization.
What is the most significant factor that has helped you to be successful in your career, and what is the best advice you can give to all the teachers out there?
The best factor that helps me succeed in my career is “prayer.” I started as a poor man, but because of the graces and guidance of the Lord, I achieved this particular stage, 33 years in teaching as of this year 2022. The insights that I could share with my fellow teachers are the following:
1) put God in your plan and do your work,
2) be humble,
3) keep on upgrading yourself professionally and academically
4) take challenges as your learning lessons and do not stop, keep going
5) be open to opportunities and challenges, and
6) believe that everyone is created in the image of God, therefore, respect one another.
If you could start all over again as a new teacher, what would you do differently?
If I could have the time machine, I could teach my students the lessons about the “important role of the environment” because we are now suffering extreme climate change, pollution, diseases, and degradation of nature. I could teach my students about the “value of time with their parents and one another.” People nowadays are very busy. Their time and attention are snatched by technology to the point that they have no time for their family members. With this, I will teach my students to value time and appreciate technology but must not let technology control them. Balance is essential in life. That means a little of everything makes life more enjoyable and wholistic.