08/10/2026
𝓔𝓛𝓢𝓖 𝓐𝓬𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓶𝔂 𝓷𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓭 2026 𝓖𝓪𝔀𝓪𝓭 𝓟𝓪𝓰𝓪𝓼𝓪 𝓡𝓮𝓰𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓠𝓾𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓲𝓮𝓻
What began in 2021 as an initiative to develop exemplary school leaders has, five years later, earned regional recognition.
The Exemplary Leadership and School Governance (ELSG) Academy of the Schools Division Office of Masbate has been named one of the Regional Qualifiers for the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Regional Office V’s 2026 Gawad Pagasa – Group Category during the 2026 Regional Awards Rites held on October 8, 2026, at the Marison Hotel in Legazpi City.
The recognition honors the ELSG Academy team’s creative initiatives, teamwork, and contributions to improving public service delivery, government operations, and workplace conditions.
More than a professional development program, the ELSG Academy is an SDO-initiated learning and development platform designed to bridge leadership competence and improved learner outcomes. It seeks to transform school heads and master teachers into high-impact instructional leaders through a structured, needs-based professional development framework responsive to the unique capacity-building requirements of the Schools Division.
The SDO Masbate took the initiative to create its own leadership development platform, one that responds to local needs and aligns leadership development with the Division’s standards, priorities, and performance targets.
For five years, the ELSG Academy has continuously equipped school heads and master teachers with competencies anchored on the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads (PPSSH) and the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST). Through its structured learning experiences, mentoring, apprenticeship, application of learning, and professional outputs, the Academy has evolved into a sustained leadership development mechanism within the Division.
The Academy was established in 2021 under the leadership of then Schools Division Superintendent Nene Rosal-Merioles, with a vision of strengthening leadership capacity and institutional governance across the Schools Division of Masbate. The initiative was sustained under the leadership of SDS Raymundo M. Cantonjos in 2023 and continues to be implemented under the leadership of OIC-SDS Joel E. Caolboy.
Behind the Academy’s sustained implementation is a team committed to turning leadership development into a continuing culture of professional growth and organizational improvement. The ELSG Academy team is led by former SGOD Chief Education Program Supervisor Mark Anthony H. Rupa, together with Atty. Melody A. Vargas, Paul Jowen R. Blancaver, Gerald B. Olivar, and Jobert A. Bonita. The team was nominated for the award by Dr. Marcia Corazon P. Rico, a professor of Bicol University, in recognition of the Academy’s innovative and sustained contribution to strengthening leadership development and governance in public education.
The Gawad Pagasa recognition marks a significant milestone in the Academy’s five-year journey. From a Division-initiated response to the evolving needs of school leaders, ELSG Academy has grown into an institutional platform for developing leadership, strengthening governance, and ultimately supporting better outcomes for learners.
