Chito Sobrepeña ‘never ran out of hope or ways to do good things’
Since his passing last month, Aniceto “Chito” Sobrepeña continues to be remembered for his enduring contributions and the way he touched the lives of many who do good in this country.
Chito served our country in different ways over many years —more than 22 years in government and 30 years at Metrobank.
On behalf of the hundreds of teachers, cops and soldiers, we thank his family for sharing him with the rest of us. Your generosity is felt by many Filipinos out there.
By giving him the space, the time and the support that only a loving and understanding family could provide, he became the covisionary of Dr. George Ty.
Together, they defined excellence not only by birthing several award programs, but also by actually making excellent processes for all stages of the searches.
The Metrobank Awards have become an aspiration for many. The program has led to teachers, cops and soldiers wanting to earn this recognition. Through his work, Chito inspired many to do better in their work and to serve the Filipino people with love, integrity and excellence. Many teachers have told me that they dream of becoming a Metrobank [Foundation] Outstanding [Filipino] Teacher.
Raising the bar
Chito’s excellence programs have shaped the way agencies, schools and universities nurture their own awards and recognition for their employees by aligning with the criteria and metrics of the Metrobank Foundation’s awards.
This is proof that Metrobank’s exemplary processes have opened arteries, influenced pathways and, most importantly, created opportunities for persons to be recognized for their hard and honest work within their own institutions and agencies.
The Metrobank Foundation Awards program is now the destination and is preceded by local recognition programs. This is the impact of Metrobank on us and our institutions and it is the result of your family’s support for the unique and wonderful Chito Sobrepeña.
He knew each one of us
I first met Chito in 2007 during the Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service search. That was the start of a nearly 20-year relationship.
In 2009, I had the opportunity to join the Metrobank Search for Outstanding Teachers and be recognized among the winners. I was uncomfortable with all the attention being given to us.
But I realized that Chito Sobrepeña took such efforts to make the winners feel that they deserved the recognition.
Metrobank inspired other institutions to recognize our educators. I feel that one of the greatest contributions is that more teachers are now recognized.
Chito personally knew every one of us teachers, cops and soldiers who have been recognized by Metrobank.
He knew what we did. He knew where we worked and whom we worked with. He knew about our families.
This quality of Mr. Sobrepeña is something all of us can learn from. He knew each one of us.
Tireless
Receiving the award was a high, but after that, it was a burden—a challenge to continue doing good, of being good.
We think about Chito and how he sustained the standard of excellence throughout his career. And so we thank him for that example. We thank him for putting all of us together.
Chito Sobrepeña was always there in every meeting I attended when I was at the Department of Education, which had something to do with teachers’ welfare, Teacher’s Day, meetings for literacy and meetings for awards.
He was there, always smiling, always making people feel happy and always telling people, “You know, there’s a way to do this. There’s a way to get partners to work.”
We need to be like Chito, never running out of hope, never running out of ways to do good things.
When we get tired, we just have to remember his example. We all get tired, but we need to keep on creating our communities and ourselves into people who continue to value good work, remembering the people we serve.
Thank you very much again to the Sobrepeña family for sharing your husband and father with the rest of the country and with all the outstanding teachers, cops and soldiers.
(Dina Ocampo received the Metrobank Outstanding Teacher award in 2009.)
