Francisca Tomarong Uy, often known as Doc Franz, is a doctor of education who served 22 years with the Department of Education, 19 years as a college instructor; 5 years as a graduate school program professor; and 8 years as the principal of the ACT Bulacao Campus. She founded PAU Excellencia Global Academy Foundation, Inc. in 2020, and it has since grown to become Toledo City’s premier senior high school provider, continuing to provide high-quality education to senior high school students. This year, she established the ECT Excellencia Global Academy Foundation, Inc. with the same goal of producing well-rounded, globally competitive individuals. It has already been proven how the institution assists students in becoming renowned in various fields and competitions.
She is now realizing her dream of making a significant contribution to society through education by helping others, particularly those who have never had the opportunity to attend a private institution. Doc Franz was not born into a wealthy family; she understands the struggles of the less fortunate. When she was five years old and in first grade, she recalls crossing a river to get to Subayon Elementary School, bringing ginamos (fermented fish) and/or buwad (dried fish) in a banana leaf. She had to walk several kilometers to get to school, and when it rained, she had to use banana leaves as an umbrella. She had faced numerous difficulties as a child with seven siblings.
Despite the challenges she experienced, she never gave up and kept chasing her dream. Education is always a top priority for Dr. Franz. She believed it is about time for her to devote the remaining years of her life to assisting the younger generations in this uncertain world. She founded a pro-poor multiple intelligence school in order to leave a legacy of service to others. She believed that in order to attain your goals, you must compete with yourself, not others. Just recently, she donated community park for the people of Toledo City. This was developed in the hopes that it would bring joy to all the people of Toledo City and serve as a place where they could play, unwind, and pray. The family believes that this will become the heart of the community, a new landmark for Toledo City, and, most importantly, improve the general well-being of the community.
Last year, after Typhoon Odette’s severe effects on Toledo City’s residents’ families. She helped build 22 houses for (1) senior citizens who have no immediate family, have a distant family, or have a poor immediate family. (2) people with disabilities who live alone or live with their poor extended relatives. (3) Those who are sick (4) Those who have just built a house with a loan and were unfortunately destroyed by Odette (5) Those families who can barely afford three meals a day. (6) Those who have solely relied on government and non-government organizations for assistance.
Dr. Francisca T. Uy, the school’s founder/president, is a visionary leader who was always thinking of ways to give back to God for the blessings she had received, to the community, and other people. She never stopped planning how she could contribute to the development and prosperity of our community. She even worked with the teachers on events and activities at school and even went as far as to stay up late to lead by example. She is a great leader who cares about her team. Her teachers love her.
- Programs she implemented
BakasPuso – The BakasPuso is happened every February during February 14. The students will sew a heart shape fabric where they put their 5 kilos rice there. This should be accomplished a month earlier because the student will be tasked to care of the heart, they will carry the heart for the rest of the month in all class hours and days. They are prohibited to laid down the heart on the ground or show not carefully caring the heart. Student who will be caught or reported not carefully caring the heart will have its proper sanctions. This is implemented by the school not only because it will be given to the benificiaries on February, but because the school wanted to instill to our students that getting marriage at the early age is difficult, the heart that they carried symbolizes the baby they will carry and care if they will enter into early motherhood.
Community PAUntry – The community pantry, which took place in November 2021, was based on local food pantries. The community pantry is a student-led initiative that aims to provide food and clothing to the residents of the nearby community in order to accommodate their fundamental needs. With the help of their teachers and advisers, the students organize an “elephant white bazaar” where they sell their used clothing in order to raise funds for the school’s PAUntry. They use the profit they raise on food like canned goods, bags of rice, and other items. The clothes that weren’t sold at the bazaar were also given to the recipients.
Housing Project – The Philippines is a developing country with a GDP per capita of $377 billion in 2021 (Venzon, 2022). Like other developing countries, the Philippine economy has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last December 16, 2021, Super Typhoon Odette (Rai) with maximum sustained winds of 150 kph and gustiness of up to 185 kph entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) affecting almost 4.5 million people and damaging over 530,000 houses (Reuters, 2021). With the help of its learners, parents, and all faculty and staff, the educational institution was able to construct 22 houses for the less privileged families with the help of the catholic church and its organization, Parish Caritas. Due to the collaboration of parents, teachers, school administrators, and students, the school was able to raise enough funds and manpower.