May 31, 2021 – Advocating for stakeholder engagement and collaboration, the Department of Education (DepEd), through its External Partnerships Service (EPS), recognized the exemplary assistance of more than 130 external partners to learners and teachers this school year during the Virtual Partners’ Appreciation program last May 14, 2021.

With the theme “Celebrating Partnership Amidst the Pandemic”, the Department acknowledged and awarded plaques of appreciation to 139 partner organizations for their continued support in basic education especially in the implementation of the Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP).

Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones highlighted the continuous collaboration of the external stakeholders with the Department despite the challenges brought by the current global health crisis.

“We are very grateful for your continued support for never abandoning us, in fact, a number of you increased your level of support at this very difficult time. For we are threatened not only with COVID-19 pandemic but also with the threat of further exacerbating or worsening the challenges that we face in education,” Secretary Briones said in her message.

“We thank you for your continued support and your listening ear. Your continued support, your love, your sympathy, has been a source of inspiration to us as we strive to continue, as strive to respond to the call of the constitution for quality education for all learners,” she added.

Based on the partnership data generated from the DepEd Partnership Database System (DPDS), a total amount of P 21,891,547,312.20 worth of resources was received and reported at the school level nationwide as of December 2020. Of this amount, P7,134,704,779.00 was from Brigada Eskwela (BE) activities, which highlighted partnership initiatives that complement the Department’s efforts to ensure that quality education will continue despite the challenges brought by COVID-19 pandemic.

The majority of the partners have developed and offered DepEd partnership projects for education, which are aligned with the BE-LCP, including their support for the Brigada Eskwela (BE) Implementation.

Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs, External Partnerships, and Project Management Service Tonisito M.C. Umali, Esq. emphasized the importance of partnerships in education amidst the health crisis.

“Dahil po sa inyong lahat, ang ating pangarap na ihanda ang magandang kinabukasan para sa ating mga anak para sa kanilang kinabukasan ay tunay na matutupad at mangyayari,” Usec. Umali said.

Undersecretary for Planning and Human Resource and Organizational Development Jesus L.R. Mateo also graced the event to show support and appreciation to DepEd partners and discuss the agency’s direction in creating additional teaching positions.

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