MAKATI CITY, Philippines—Samar State University’s (SSU) Director for the Center for Lifelong Learning (CeLL), Prof. Marife Mustacisa-Lacaba, received the 2024 Filipina Achievers in Rural Education Award (FLORA) conferred by the Multinational Foundation, Inc. (MFI) in partnership with the TOWNS Foundation, on May 23, 2025 at Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati City. The award recognized Prof. Lacaba’s significant contributions to rural education and citizenship development among Filipino youth.
In her acceptance speech, Dr. Lacaba emphasized the importance of education and lifelong learning as a path out of poverty for youth and their families.
“Samar, my beloved province, remains among the poorest in the Philippines. According to the PSA 2023 Full-Year Official Poverty Statistics, 24.9 percent of Samar families live below the poverty line, and 32.3 percent of the population still experience poverty. Yet Samar is rich in hope, strength, and potential. I have served farmers, fisherfolk, single parents, women’s groups, and—most importantly—the youth. I remind them that education is a path out of poverty and that learning lasts a lifetime,” Dr. Lacaba shared.
Dr. Lacaba joined other Filipina educators from fourth- to sixth-class municipalities recognized for innovative projects conducted between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2024. The selection process of the FLORA highlights the recipients’ leadership in rural education.
Dr. Lacaba’s professional works are centered at SSU’s CeLL while fostering agricultural innovation and food security through her externally funded projects like sweet potato production under DOST-PCAARRD.
Dr. Lacaba also serves as a professor at the University, and a published author in Web of Science by Clarivate Analytics, SCOPUS, and the ASEAN Citation Index (ACI), with scholarly contributions spanning education, environmental science, and agricultural technology.