Written by Jaime Layug and Ashley Yu, Student Apprentices of Reedley International School
Edited by Ralph Lauren M. Alomia
The PACT-National held its General Assembly on May 11, 2024 in Sheraton Manila Bay Hotel, Malate, Manila. The program began with the singing of the Philippine National Anthem and an Opening Prayer, followed by a Welcome Message from Dr. Voltaire G. Organo, PACT President.
Dr. Edwehna Elinore S. Paderna, PACT Executive Vice President, introduced the guest speaker for the event, Mr. Resty C. Collado. Mr. Collado is a science faculty and Innovation and Technology Officer of Miriam College High School. Mr. Collado’s talk “When Teachers Design: A Confluence of Pedagogical and Content Knowledge” centered on the importance of design thinking in education, and how teachers themselves can also be considered as designers. He emphasized that in order to foster good learning environments, teachers must refrain from rushing into making a solution when designing. Instead, they should follow steps including explaining the problem, considering various solutions, and evaluating the requirements for each solution. This follows a problem-solving paradigm. Mr. Collado also highlighted the difference between designing for students versus designing with them. Considering the students’ strengths and weaknesses is essential for being a good teacher-designer. This can be applied in writing a lesson plan or in developing a learning material. Overall, Mr. Collado’s talk provided a unique viewpoint for teachers that aim to continuously improve their students’ learning environment.
After the talk, the Business Meeting started with the presentation of the official nominees for the elections for the 3 seats for the PACT Board of Trustees. There were 7 nominees, namely, Ralph Lauren M. Alomia (UP Los Banos), Vic Marie I. Camacho (Philippine Normal University), Ruel Valerio de Grano (UST College of Pharmacy), Voltaire G. Organo (UP Manila), Edwehna Elinore S. Paderna (UP Diliman College of Education), Ma. Cristina Salazar-Pascua (Centro Escolar University), and Cynthia Talens (Manila Tytana Colleges). The members of the Electoral Council were given the time to vote.
PACT’s Business Meeting highlighted on the following, the President’s Report by Dr. Voltaire G. Organo, the Treasurer’s Report by Dr. Fedeliz S. Tuy, and the Membership Committee Report by Ms. Maria Theresa T. Bonus.
During the business meeting, the PACT’s apprentices, Ashley Yu, Clarence Cabrido, and Jaime Layug of Reedley International School were awarded with a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition for their invaluable services to PACT, which includes graphic designing and research. These apprentices provided their time and effort to help PACT with some of their tasks.
Ms. Maria Florencia Male, Chair of the Election Committee, presented the three newly elected members of the board: Dr. Voltaire G. Organo, from UP Manila, Dr. Edwehna Paderna from UP Diliman, and Asst. Prof. Ralph Lauren M. Alomia from UP Los Baños. After which, all members of PACT’s Board of Trustees took their oath officiated by Dr. Glenn V. Alea, PFCS President.
The program was then formally concluded by Dr. Edwehna Elinore S. Paderna, followed by the announcement of the 39th Philippine Chemistry Congress (PCC) on July 2-4, 2025 at Iloilo Convention Center, with the theme: “Beyond the Orbitals: Exploring Multi-Realms in Chemistry.” The theme is in connection with the celebration of the International Year of Quantum Science in 2025. A video which promotes the Iloilo tourism was then presented on-screen to entice the viewers to attend the 39th PCC.
Finally, a same-day edit was played to the participants to recapture the highlights of the event.
Link to the video.