The Department of Education (DepEd) has recognized the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF) as one of its “DepEd Heroes,” honoring the foundation’s strong and sustained partnership in advancing STEM education.

Launched in August 2025, the “DepEd Heroes” program celebrates the courage, dedication, and exemplary service of teachers and education partners across the country. It highlights best practices and meaningful contributions that strengthen the education sector to encourage replication and foster pride and unity within the education community.

Since August DepEd has awarded teachers, students and parents for their exemplary contribution, while GBF is the second organization to be given this award. GBF leaders were recognized for their impactful collaboration with DepEd—particularly in scaling initiatives that support educators, expand access to STEM education, and empower school communities nationwide.

GBF’s initiatives have been anchored on its long-standing belief that quality education—especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)—is key to national development.

Through its scholarship programs, GBF has supported over 3,500 lifetime scholars, providing opportunities for high-potential Filipino learners to pursue STEM-related courses and transition into meaningful careers. Also, as aligned with DepEd's educator development goals, GBF scholarships are also being offered to pre-service and in-service public school teachers to strengthen their STEM content mastery and pedagogy.

The foundation has also invested heavily in other capacity building programs, recognizing educators as central to improving student outcomes. Its GBF STEM Collab community, now with over 320,000 members nationwide, serves as a platform for teachers to access professional development, exchange best practices, and engage in peer learning.

In the last two years alone, GBF delivered 26 learning sessions and webinars, issuing CPD units to 103,000 educators across the country. A major highlight was the ARAL remediation learning series, which reached over 210,000 teachers nationwide, demonstrating strong engagement in addressing foundational learning gaps.

Beyond training, GBF has focused on translating teacher learning into classroom practice.

Through its GBF Class Builder platform, the foundation provides DepEd-aligned lesson materials and coaching support for teachers, helping them implement effective strategies in areas such as numeracy and reading remediation. GBF continues to expand current coverage of 5,000 schools across 45 school divisions nationwide.

Complementing this effort, GBF has also partnered with Khan Academy Philippines to support the Mathtalino Remediation Program, which provides technology-enabled learning access to over 3,000 students in NCR and CARAGA.

Through this initiative, GBF underscores the role of digital tools in scaling effective learning interventions and expanding access for students who need additional support.

GBF’s support extends beyond learners and teachers to include broader school communities.

Through the Juan Community Program, the foundation mobilizes partnerships to provide educational donations and volunteerism initiatives involving employees from across the Gokongwei Group.

In 2025, these efforts engaged multiple partner organizations, benefiting 169 schools nationwide through thousands of volunteer hours and community-driven education initiatives.

The foundation also commits to invest in infrastructure, including the construction of new classrooms to help address classroom backlog and create safer, more conducive learning environments.

In accepting the recognition, GBF emphasized that the award reflects the collective impact of its collaboration with DepEd and its stakeholders.

“This recognition is not just for our organization—it is for every teacher, learner, and partner we have worked with”,” shared Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng, General Manager of GBF. “Our role has always been to support DepEd’s mission and contribute to meaningful, scalable solutions that improve learning outcomes.”

DepEd’s recognition of GBF as a “DepEd Hero” highlights the importance of strong public-private partnerships in addressing the evolving needs of the Philippine education system.

Secretary Sonny Angara expressed his gratitude to GBF saying, “They didn’t have to do it—but they chose to, and they never stopped. For more than three decades, tuloy-tuloy ang suporta ng GBF sa ating mga public schools—mula sa libo-libong scholarships, hanggang sa pag-empower ng ating mga guro at pagpapalakas ng STEM education sa bansa. Dahil sa kanila, mas maraming batang Pilipino ang nabibigyan ng oportunidad na mangarap, mag-aral, at magtagumpay.”

As both institutions continue to work together, the shared goal remains clear: to ensure that every Filipino learner has access to quality education, and that every teacher is empowered to shape the future of the nation. (Dhel Nazario)