Rationale and General Guidelines
The Metrobank Foundation, Inc. (MBFI) was established on January 8, 1979. As the corporate social responsibility arm of the Metrobank Group, the MBFI implements various programs on recognition of excellence among key professions, education, visual arts and design, and healthcare.
One of its programs is the Metrobank Foundation (MBF) Outstanding Filipinos. It is a recognition program which annually recognizes teachers, soldiers and police officers who serve above and beyond their call of duty. There are three awards under the MBF Outstanding Filipinos:
- Search for Outstanding Teachers (SOT)
- The Outstanding Philippine Soldiers (TOPS)
- Country’s Outstanding Police Officers in Service (COPS)
The Search for Outstanding Teacher (SOT), launched in 1984, is conducted in cooperation with the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education, and with the support of school heads of public and private elementary, secondary, and tertiary institutions in the Philippines.
The SOT is divided into two levels. The first is the regional level where the Metrobank Foundation chooses candidates to represent their respective regions. The nominee of the UP Diliman belongs to the National Capital Region. After the selection of the regional finalists, the Metrobank Foundation chooses among the regional finalists for the national finalists, which is the second level. Teachers or professors around the country will compete to become the Metrobank SOT Awardee.
The role of the Office for the Advancement of Teaching is to screen the applicants from UP Diliman and to assist them in the application process and competition.
Eligibility Requirements
The requirements for qualifying in the Metrobank SOT Award are set by the Metrobank SOT Committee. These can be viewed in the primer provided by the Metrobank. However, for the UP-Diliman nominee, the applicant must be awarded the Gawad Tsanselor sa Natatanging Guro. The following are the requirements applicable to the UP Diliman candidate (as prescribed by the Metrobank SOT Award 2017):
- Must be a Filipino citizen with full-time or permanent appointment and with full teaching load, i.e. must have at least 12 units of faculty load
- Have been actively teaching in the Philippines for the last 10 years (inclusive of leaves not exceeding three (3) years, provided the nominee is not on leave, i.e., actually teaching at the time of nomination). Moreover, the nominee must not be on leave for more than two years immediately prior to nomination and must still have a least 3 years of remaining service before retirement.
- Have valid PRC license or have pertinent license for tertiary courses where a license is required in the exercise of the profession, e.g. medical doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc.
- Must be a doctorate degree holder. Research and Professional Doctorate degree holders are eligible to join. Applicants must have completed the terminal degree of their discipline and profession.
Note: These requirements may change.