The provincial government of Cebu joined the Department of Migrant Workers on April 19 in recognizing three women who traded careers abroad for classrooms at home, holding up their stories as proof that the government’s flagship teacher reintegration program is delivering results.
Aileen Montilla, who spent years working in the Middle East and Thailand; Aileen Faye Adlawan, a returnee from Thailand; and Dina Marie Afarente, formerly based in Indonesia, were the honorees at the “Bayanihan Para sa Balikbayang Manggagawa” National Reintegration Network Fair. All three are now full-time public school teachers after completing the Sa Pilipinas, Ikaw ang Ma’am at Sir program, known as SPIMS.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac has framed SPIMS beneficiaries in terms that go beyond the standard “modern-day hero” label applied to overseas workers. In his view, teachers who came home through the program occupy a category of their own — “twice the heroes,” he said, for having served both as migrant workers and as educators in Philippine public schools.
The recognition was led by DMW Undersecretary Bernard P. Olalia and Assistant Secretary Francis Ron C. De Guzman, who also used the occasion to encourage other licensed teachers currently working abroad to consider applying for the program and entering the DepEd system upon their return.
Since the program began, SPIMS has placed 11,056 licensed teachers into Philippine public school classrooms, while also extending financial assistance to 8,047 participants and enrolling 521 others in online refresher courses. The program, a joint undertaking between DMW and the Department of Education, is structured to provide returning OFWs with a direct path into permanent public school employment.
Officials at the fair reiterated the call for licensed teachers still working overseas to register with the program, citing the country’s ongoing need for qualified educators as well as the professional stability the placement offers those choosing to repatriate.
