A London-based Filipino teacher was named Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) by His Majesty King Charles III for his contributions to the education sector in the United Kingdom (UK).
Edison David, an executive headteacher in the London Borough of Lambeth, and a lead inspector for Ofsted, the UK’s national education body, was part of the 2025 New Year Honors List, published in the Gazette, the official newspaper of the Crown.
“I wasn’t doing my job, thinking that I would get an MBE one day; not even in my dreams, that I think that I’m going to get an MBE because this is such an ultimate accolade,” Mr. David told BusinessWorld in an interview on Tuesday.
“I make sure that I work hard on a daily basis, I always give my best to everything that I do because if I don’t start anything at the point of excellence, there’s no point in doing it,” he added.
Before moving abroad, Mr. David began his teaching career in a public school in Tarlac City in 1994.
“I think my experience is a testament that anything and everything is possible if you work hard,” he said. “It’s not one thing that happens overnight, you really have to work hard for it; the accolades come as a consequence of your hard work.”
“Never in my wildest dreams have I thought that first and foremost I’m going to be a school leader in the United Kingdom, but also that I will be given a membership to the most excellent order of the British Empire,” he added.
The MBE is the third-highest ranking Order of the British Empire level, excluding a knighthood/damehood, trailing behind Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE).
An individual is recognized as an MBE for their “outstanding achievement, or service to the community that has had a long-term, significant impact.”
Among the known personalities appointed an MBE are English singer-songwriter Adele and professional football manager and former player Steven Gerrard.
In 2023, Filipino nurse Brenda Deocampo was also awarded the MBE medal for her excellence in managing the admitting ward during the COVID-19 pandemic at Charing Cross Hospital.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO PHL’S EDUCATION LEADERS Before receiving his recognition from the UK, Mr. David said he had already reached out to different government officials in the Philippines, including Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, who heads the Senate education committee, to help improve the country’s education system.
“I think what is most important as well for the Philippines itself is probably a recognition that there are Filipinos out there who have earned a lot of knowledge and wisdom that they can share within the Philippine education system,” he said.
“The recommendations I gave are actually very clear, they’re quite precise,” he added. “If they have time to read them, they will find the wisdom and the knowledge in it because it’s actually backed by evidence.”
One of the key recommendations made by Mr. David tackled the importance of synthetic phonics and the systemized approach to its implementation nationwide.
“I think every single school in the country, in the Philippines, should be able to teach synthetic phonics as a way,” he said. “There should be a comprehensive reading program that, first and foremost, relies on synthetic phonics.”
“The ability to discern and really understand what the text is actually telling you involves the improvement of skills around inference and deduction, and most basically, the ability to decode as fluently as possible,” he added.
Data from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) found that about 24.8 million Filipinos are functionally illiterate or those who struggle to comprehend and use written information in daily tasks. — Almira Louise S. Martinez