The Department of Education - Schools Division Office of Quezon (DepEd SDO Quezon) inaugurated its newest and biggest sub-office in Catanauan, Quezon, to serve its clientele in the Third District of Quezon (Bondoc Peninsula), April 07. “Finally, Sir Eli (SDS Alicaya)—3 out of 3—we have already accomplished ‘yung mission natin to establish sub-offices in the different strategic locations sa Quezon Province,” Assistant Schools Division Superintendent (ASDS) Gregorio A. Co Jr. remarked during the official launch of the third sub-office situated in Catanauan Central School. Being the biggest among the three SDO Quezon sub-offices, DepEd Catanauan sub-office sought to serve the greatest number of municipalities in the province as it would cater the educational needs of the learners, teachers, and school heads and other stakeholders in BonPen, particularly in the towns of San Andres, San Francisco, San Narciso, Mulanay, Buenavista, General Luna, Macalelon, Pitogo and Catanauan. “Ito po ay napakalaking tulong na naipaabot ninyo dito sa aming bayan, lalo’t higit para ito sa mga laylayang lugar bukod po sa ‘ting mga guro ay madaling makarating kung may mga pangangailangan lalo’t higit sa mapalad nating misyon,” said Catanauan Municipal and Development Coordinator (MPDC) Joviniano Dela Cruz, representing the town mayor, Atty. Ramon A. Orfanel, who also pledged support to DepEd in addressing its needs. DepEd Quezon, one of the country’s ‘very large’ SDOs launched the Catanauan sub-office, its latest addition to those previously launched by the Division – one in Gumaca and the other in Real – pursuant to Division Memorandum No. 306, s. 2021 implementing the local initiative Project DeVOLVES (Deconcentration of Vital Operations for Leveraging Volumes of Education Services) with the aim of decentralizing its quality management services from its main office down to these sub-offices. Herbert D. Perez, ASDS-in-charge of the Catanauan sub-office, said, “Isang katuparan ng dating pangarap lamang – pangarap na mapabilis ang serbisyo ng DepEd Quezon sa mga laylayang bayan at distrito sa lalawigan ng Quezon - ngayon po ay natupad na.” He also mentioned in his opening remark how this project shows that “DepEd Quezon is always moving forward, leading the way, determined to do great things through unity and teamwork” to achieve its battle cry ‘Bawat bata, kinakalinga’. As such, SDS Elias A. Alicaya Jr., whom Perez described as someone “who has never been afraid to make the dream to realize and deliver innovative strategies or changes that bring opportunities to DepEd Quezon,” said that this initiative was conceptualized as the Division’s response to the struggle of reaching out and delivering quality basic education services to this year’s 507,622 learners supervised by 16,723 teachers from 980 schools situated in the mountain ranges, islands, or the farthest parts of Quezon, occupying 53.21 percent of CALABARZON land area, making it the eighth largest province in the Philippines. Referring to Project DeVOLVES as a ‘gift to the Quezonian youth’, the Superintendent said, “Nagdecide po kami na tutukan ang bata. Tayong lahat dito ay para sa bata. Ang lahat ng galaw natin ay para sa bata. Ang lahat ng inisyatibo natin ay para sa bata. Ang lahat ng galaw ng unit heads na lagi kong sinasabi, ‘We are going into one direction. Together, aayusin natin ito para sa kapakanan ng ating mga bata.” The Superintendent further declared that this project would address the DepEd personnel’s pandemic-related concerns in terms of transactions, for instance, in submitting urgent reports and documents to the Division Office, plus the decade-long instructional and financial concerns as he also discussed how the establishment of sub-offices would become time-saving and cost-effective, based on feasibility study, by how they can save P201,600 annually from maximizing the services of the Catanauan sub-office instead of heading straight to the main office for their transactions. In addition, Civil Service Commission (CSC) Director Jacinto Mateo added, “The creation or establishment of this office in BonPen will make the DepEd services reach the grassroot level effectively, and our teachers and would-be teacher applicants may need not go to Pagbilao so their papers will be processed here in Catanauan, and they will be able to save precious money, which could have been spent sa pamasahe and board and lodging pa, plus all other expenses pa in going to Pagbilao.” In line with this, DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado M. San Antonio, who was present in all launching ceremonies of the three sub-offices, highlighted, “Kung ang mga supervisors o mga principal ay hindi na magsasayang ng maghapon para makarating sa Pagbilao at pabalik… mas marami kayong panahon para magbigay ng technical support and assistance sa mga paaralan, at ‘yun naman pong mga principal, mas marami pong panahon para magbigay din ng suporta sa mga kasamang guro para siguruhin na ang lahat ng ginagawa natin ay isinasabuhay ‘yung dinevelop natin when we were together pa na learning-focused school leadership. Kung ang namumuno ay nakatuon ang pansin sa pagpapatuto sa mga bata, mas magiging malalim ang pagkakaalam ng mga bata. Dapat ang gagawin nating lahat ay magsisiguro na ang mga kabataan ay natuturuan, at dahil hindi na malayo ang biyahe ay mas marami na ang panahon para magpunta sa mga paaralan.” He then congratulated the Team 2GetHer (the moniker for DepEd Quezon’s current top management) for inspiring DepEd to continue to educate in making its brand of public service more transparent, ethical, and accountable. Lucena City SDS Hermogenes Panganiban also mentioned, “Thank you so much for listening to the needs of your people, and this will be of great help not only to DepEd Quezon but also to all CALABARZON schools division offices because what you have done can also be benchmarked by other divisions, especially our Division.” Other esteemed guests from other Divisions who also gave their congratulatory messages were SDS Hereberto Jose D. Miranda (Cabuyao City), SDS Edgardo B. Militante (Cavite City), SDS Raymundo M. Cantojos (Dasmarinas City), ASDS Ivan Brian L. Inductivo (Imus City), and ASDS Jaypee E. Lopo (Calamba City). Present also were the section heads and staff of SDO Quezon, Public Schools District Supervisors (PSDSs), school heads of Catanauan district, Catanauan Central School teachers, sub-office personnel, and officers of DepEd-recognized organizations like the National Association of Public Secondary School Heads (NAPSSHI), headed by Calixto Blazo, and the Philippine Elementary School Principals’ Association (PESPA), led by Ronald Garcia. Rev. Fr. Felix M. Zoleta, the mass priest, blessed the launch of the Catanauan sub-office. This was followed by the ribbon cutting ceremony and program proper participated in by the DepEd officials and other guests. At the moment, the Gumaca sub-office currently caters to districts under Gumaca, Tagkawayan, Guinayangan, Lopez, Calauag, Plaridel, and Unisan; the Real sub-office is now fully operational to serve the districts under General Nakar, Infanta, Panungkulan, Polillo, Burdeos, Patnanungan, Jomalig, and Real; and the main office in Pagbilao continues to accommodate districts primarily from Agdangan, Padre Burgos, Atimonan, Sariaya, Candelaria, San Antonio, Tiaong, Dolores, Lucban, Mauban, and Pagbilao, while also holding main transactions for outside districts.+++ #SulongEdukalidad #DepEdQuezon #DepEdTayo #DepEdTayoQuezonProvince #DepEdCALABARZON #ProjectAPPRAISE #ALITAPTAPawards #EduAksyon #DepEdPhilippines #ParaSaBataParaSaBayan #KwentoNgPagAsaAtTagumpay #QuezonPREFIC #SubOffice #CatanauanSubOffice #ProjectDEVOLVES Jeth Ysrael R. Manalo PREFIC | Gumaca National High School
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