Local Government Units in the country have the greatest contribution to achieving excellence in providing education to learners, hence the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Education recognized LGUs for the support extended to the Department of Education (DepEd).

The municipality of Luna led by Honorable Jaime N. Atayde, a small town in the province of Isabela, yet shown dedication and support to continue the education of Luna learners despite the threat of the Covid 19 pandemic.

With the blended learning implemented by the DepEd as an alternative to continuing the education of the learners, LGU Luna poured resources into the education sector in the locality as a contribution to reach out to the learners of the town.

The technical assistance of SDO Isabela and human resources of DepEd Luna District Office and the alternative learning platforms plus the all-out support of LGU Luna resulted in the delivery of learners' needs with the use of TV Eskuwela and libreng Wifi sa barangay.

“The LGU Luna is very much supportive in sharing the LGU resources in implementing the DepEd’s blended or alternative learning platforms to reach out to our learners,” Atayde said.

Atayde said the LGU Luna is willing to invest its resources just to give the necessary support for upscaling the literacy of the learners.

With his support to the education sector in his municipality, the LGU Luna was recently recognized and adjudged as national champion in the LGU Local Learning Continuity Innovation - municipal category during the 1st Gawad Edukampyon for Local Governance Awarding Ceremony at Novitel Hotel, Quezon City on June 3, 2022.

DepEd Isabela Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Madelyn Macalling said the LGU Luna's projects TV-Eskwela with the assistance from SDO and the implementation of Libreng Wifi sa Barangay which provided alternative learning platforms to the Lunanian learners during the pandemic school years won the nods of the evaluators, giving Luna an overall rating of 95 percent. 

“A total of 117 entries from all over the country competed for the municipality category, but Luna's quality and exemplary services, immense support to SDO-Isabela's Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BELCP), innovative practices, and the impact of its projects on education sealed its stronghold for the top,” Macalling said.

She said the innovative projects of Luna on education were even featured in the 2021 National Education Forum, GMA 24 Oras, and in the National Circle of Innovators as well.

Macalling sent her congratulatory remarks to Mayor Atayde as she believed that the award affirms how the smallest municipality in the province turns into a giant in championing education despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic. 

The award is sponsored by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Education (DepEd), Center for Local Governance and Professional Development Inc., Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council, and REX Publication. (OTB/MGE/PIA Isabela)