There is something poetic about the way Gabay Guro, the country’s longest-running privately led advocacy for teachers, has come of age. What began as a small act of gratitude from a handful of professionals in the PLDT Managers’ Club has truly and successfully evolved into a widespread national movement, with thousands of scholars, arena-sized tributes, and ever-expanding support programs spanning education, livelihood, connectivity, and wellness.

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At the heart of it all — though she will never say so herself — is June Cheryl Cabal-Revilla, currently the Chief Finance, Risk, and Sustainability Officer of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation and President and CEO of subsidiary company mWell digital health solutions. This well-liked corporate hotshot, who founded the initiative, always deflects credit for the advocacy’s immense success.

Gabay Guro chairperson and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. executive Chaye Cabal-Revilla leads with faith, humility, and purpose in championing the nation’s teachers.

In fact, Cabal-Revilla quickly responds to every given praise that “Gabay Guro is not about one person.” And she’s not wrong to a certain extent. This initiative, now 18 years old, has always been powered by the spirit of volunteerism.

“There are no salaries here nor egos at play,” she chuckled, albeit this time with a hint of pride. “Only a shared mission to honor teachers, empower them, and give back to the faceless individuals who have shaped generation after generation of Filipinos.”

Leading the 2025 Gabay Guro Grand Gathering media conference on Oct. 13, Cabal-Revilla (center), who is also president and CEO of digital health platform mWell, is happily joined by fellow volunteers, (from left) mWell Chief Marketing Officer Gary Dujali and singers Poppert Bernadas, Jed Madela, and Jona.

Still, ask anyone who’s worked on Gabay Guro — and so many have, from PLDT and Smart Communications executives to the biggest celebrities, business partners, and education sector leaders — and they’ll point to Cabal-Revilla as the movement’s soul. They wouldn’t be wrong. After all, it’s this unassuming architect who mapped out the advocacy’s vision from the very beginning, laid down its seven target pillars — Scholarships, Teachers’ Training, Classroom Donations, Connectivity and Computerization, Livelihood, Digital Innovations, and Health & Wellness — and rallied partners from across industries to build a support network for teachers that has grown far beyond what she ever set out to create.

“Ms. Chaye has never been about the spotlight,” one of the longtime volunteers shared at this year’s media conference, using Cabal-Revilla’s well-known nickname. “But we all look to her. When she prays, we pray. When she says let’s push forward, we do.”

The foundation of quiet faith

To say that Cabal-Revilla wears many hats is an understatement. But when she speaks about Gabay Guro, there’s a different timbre to her voice — one that reveals just how close this advocacy is to her heart.

“Like you’ve heard me say again and again, we’ve always believed that teachers are nation builders,” she said during a one-on-one interview with The Sunday Times Magazine. “And for the longest time, we saw that there were many who were giving up on the profession because of hardship, because they felt unseen, unheard. We wanted to help keep their passion alive.”

With longtime mentor and PLDT Group Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, whose early support helped transform Gabay Guro from dream to movement

She fondly looks back on the earliest days of Gabay Guro, when she and a few like-minded colleagues would pool together what little extra money they had — “patak-patak lang,” she recalled — to fund simple teacher gatherings, scholarships, or livelihood opportunities.

“We didn’t imagine it would grow this big,” she said happily, her eyes wide with amazement. “We just wanted to make a difference.”

The noble difference they began to make became far more profound when her longtime mentor and boss, PLDT Group Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, stepped in. “If MVP hadn’t given us that seed money in the beginning,” she says, “Gabay Guro would have remained just a dream.”

With the tycoon’s support and his protégé and right-hand woman’s quiet persistence, the advocacy found not just legs but wings to soar, eventually bringing Gabay Guro’s mission to teachers and would-be teachers in the farthest-flung areas of the archipelago.

Nevertheless, throughout this journey, Cabal-Revilla remained the constant. A woman of deep faith, she often says that every milestone Gabay Guro reached was guided by prayer — from the first scholarships offered to the growing mission to ensure that teaching, as a noble profession, would not be left behind. Over the years, their famed Grand Teacher’s Tribute concert drew an ever-growing roster of the biggest stars to give thanks to teachers from across the country every October. More importantly, programs continued to be mounted and innovated in response to the unforeseen challenges each year would bring — each one ever-rooted in the same commitment: to uplift those who uplift generations.

“Every time we thought we’d reached our limit, something would open up,” Cabal-Revilla continued. “A sponsor would call. A partner would come in. The right person would show up. And we knew it was God working behind the scenes.”

18 years of heart

More than marking a milestone, a reflective Cabal-Revilla is rightfully honoring the journey that has brought Gabay Guro to this remarkable chapter. At a media conference held at the Rockwell Business Center to herald this year’s grandest Teachers’ Tribute yet (see sidebar), she gathered longtime sponsors and celebrity volunteers like Jed Madela, Popert Bernadas, and Jona to celebrate the impact they have made together to keep alive a shared belief: that teachers deserve—and will always deserve—the country’s unwavering support.

A sea of joy and applause fills the MOA Arena as educators celebrate their special night.

“Eighteen years is no joke,” she said. “Yet some of our earliest volunteers are still with us to this day, even those who’ve retired from their jobs in our fellow MVP-led companies.”

Besides 18, the numbers now propping up this advocacy speak for themselves. Gabay Guro has produced more than 2,700 scholars nationwide, many of whom now serve as teachers — and in some cases, even as principals — in the public school system. It has also built classrooms, provided connectivity support, conducted nationwide training programs, and launched livelihood and wellness initiatives.

Always moved by teachers’ stories, Cabal-Revilla tears up as she listens to an inspiring testimony during a Grand Tribute beside MVP and other volunteer executives.

Among its latest program additions is mWell OnTheGo — a portable clinic initiative developed in partnership with Cabal-Revilla’s digital health platform. The project brings wellness consultations and basic medical services directly to schools in underserved areas, extending Gabay Guro’s support beyond education and into holistic care.

“We realized during the pandemic how essential health access is,” she explained. “It’s hard to teach when you’re not well. So we want to keep supporting our teachers not just professionally, but holistically.”

From purpose to legacy

When asked what has kept her going all these years — through corporate transitions, personal challenges, and the sheer logistics of sustaining a volunteer-led advocacy — the multi-tasking expert smiled and gave the humblest yet most meaningful of answers.

“It’s love,” she said simply. “Love for the teachers. Love for the country. And love for God who made all this possible.”

Delivering a sincere message of faith and gratitude before thousands of teachers at the annual tribute.

And perhaps that is the true legacy of Gabay Guro. Not just the scholarships, or the concerts, or even the numbers on paper, but initiative’s consistency and unwavering presence. The way Cabal-Revilla and all of her equally selfless have shown up year after year, even during crises, because people cared enough to keep going.

In a landscape where many advocacies rise and fall with trends, Gabay Guro’s staying power is something rare. It is fueled not by branding, but by belief. By people who show up after hours, in between jobs and across careers, all moved by the same desire to give thanks to the country’s most overlooked heroes.

And whether she admits it or not, that belief is something Cabal-Revilla has quietly cultivated.

“I think if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that when you anchor yourself on purpose, you’ll never run out of energy,” she said. “You’ll get tired, yes. But you’ll also get filled again with purpose and strength soon enough.”

Looking ahead

Eighteen years in, Gabay Guro is no longer the underdog. It is now a pillar of nation-building. A recognized partner of government agencies. A trusted friend of the education sector. A source of inspiration for corporate social responsibility programs.

Gabay Guro is not about one person,’ says its founder as the initiative marks its 18th year this October still with the spirit of volunteerism at its very core.

Still, Cabal-Revilla is quick to say the work isn’t done.

“We’re only scratching the surface,” she said. “There are still so many teachers who need help. And we want to continue showing them that they are not alone.”

As the next chapter of Gabay Guro begins, she hopes it will evolve with the times — embracing more digital tools, expanding mental health initiatives, and reaching teachers in the farthest corners of the country.

But at its core, its soul and founder vows, the mission will stay the same: to lift the ones who lift the nation.

Gabay Guro donates computer units to Iriga educators to enhance digital learning in local schools.

“We owe them that,” she said.

And for as long as Chaye Cabal-Revilla is around, one gets the sense that Gabay Guro will keep finding new ways to do just that.