CBRC spearheads the half day ASEAN Teachers Conference 2015

Vincent S. Niez

Last July 24, 2015, the Association of Southeast Asian Nation Teachers
Conference was conducted by the Carl Balita Review Center with the help of Bicol
University College of Education Student Council as one of the facilitators of the event.
The seminar type event focused on the economic, political, cultural and regional
cooperation of the 10 member countries of the Southeast Asian region. A teacher being
one of the eligible professionals to have a greater opportunity in investing its expertise is
called to teach with the demands ASEAN 2015 integration. Prior to the introduction of
ASEAN 2015, Philippines and the rest of 10 member countries are widely recognized as
the materials to exchange people inside and outside to field their jobs, to study in big
universities freely and to trade cultures around the vicinity of the 10 cooperating
countries of the Southeast Asian region.
The topics being discussed were the Role of Teachers in Nation Building, the
Education, the Educators in ASEAN context and the ASEAN in the 21st Century Skills.
One of the speakers is the President of Miss World Philippines and the grandson of
former president Elpidio Quirino, the ever gorgeous Cory Quirino. Quirino discusses the
role of teachers in nation building. She begins her topic by an exercise as one of her
programs as wellness guru. Also she said that being a human we should do the unity of
body, mind and spirit. These all begins with ourselves. Though Cory Quirino did not
focus on her main topic instead she equated it with the health of a professional
(teacher), still she made the crowds’ interaction full of energy and disposed the
boredom of every participants in the event. That is how Cory Quirino made the seminar
a knowledgeable and informative one.
The second topic was discussed by the head of Diliman Preparatory School, in
the person of former senator Nikki Coseteng. A very talented, hardworking and open-
minded person Senator Coseteng started her discussion by asking “How do we prepare
ourselves for the ASEAN Integration?”Coseteng rounds her talk with the 6 important
“we should learn/know of teachers in line with the ASEAN context”. She also said that
Philippines should have been prepared 10 years before. It simply stresses the
importance of learning to make it more enjoyable.
The 3rd and the last of the 3 most important topics was discussed by the Doctor
of Education, Juris Doctor holder and the owner of Carl Balita Review Center, the
handsome 45 year old Carl Balita. Balita as one of the lecturers in his review center
produced 14 topnotchers in the board exams of different fields in 2014. He presented
the strengths of our country in the professional field, he pushed the participants to listen
as he discusses the great opportunity being thrown to the Filipino people of the 21st
century. Philippines being called as Asia’s Rising Tiger, Asia’s Brightest Spot and Asia’s
Rising Star very far from the former Sick Man of Asia status during the past
administrations, with the integration of ASEAN 2015 Philippines will rock the world as
the 16th largest economy if the growth continues until 2030.
 Balita also specifies the standard of the present educational system of our
country, the K to 12 status and the help of it to the improvement of the economy and for
the other countries to trust Philippines for more investment and give each citizens the
work to progress, for the minimization of unemployment status of our country.
The 2015 ASEAN Conference marked the minds of some participants.
“I have learned that the ASEAN Teachers Conference is a way to guide and orient
future educators of the country to be aware of the increasing demands for teachers and
in line with it we must be able to become globally competitive teacher embodied with
lifelong learning and excellence in the pedagogical field.”-BSED Physical Science
Student
“I learned the things that we teachers can make as one of the professionals being called
to release and use the expertise with the demands of ASEAN 2015.”-
“ Ang ASEAN 2015 ay isang oportunidad para sa lahat. Para magkaroon ng pagkakaisa
at pagkakataong makapunta, makapag-aral at makapagtrabaho sa ibang bansa na
nasa paligid ng Timog-Silangang Asya ng libre at walang iindahing hindi inaasahang
pagkakataon.”

Before the event ended its purpose the CBRC announced the raffle draw prizes
to students who participated. The prizes are composed of free books of LET reviewer
and 100 and 50% review scholarships. Students from different colleges won the raffle
draw prizes.
The event was participated by the students of Bicol University College of
Education, Bicol University College of Industrial Education, Bicol University Institute of
Physical Education, Sports and Recreation, Aquinas University, Bicol College and
Daraga Community College. It was held at Albay Astrodome from 8:00-12:00 in the
afternoon. The half-day event was opened with the invocation and singing of Philippine
National Anthem both performed by Daraga Community College Chorale followed by
the opening remarks and the introduction to the first speaker made by different
personalities such as the Dean of DCOMC, a representative from DepEd and others.