Pasig City, Philippines – October 25, 2025. The University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), through its School of Education and Human Development (SED), held the culminating event of the 2025 Family Life Education (FLE) Certificate Course. Twenty-two students from various sectors finished the course, which ran from June to October 2025. The Assisi Development Foundation, Inc. (ADFI) enabled several family life education advocates to enroll in the course by providing generous scholarship grants.
The FLE program was developed to address the nationwide need to protect, strengthen, and sustain the well-being of Filipino families. The UA&P SED, spearheaded by its former Dean, Dr. Angelito Antonio, and FLE Program Director, Dr. Celerino Tiongco, deemed crucial the creation of a pool of family life educators equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, and values, and capable of crafting and carrying out need-based and well-thought-out programs that promote healthy family functioning.
Individuals in the following roles could be trained as family life educators: LGU and public school administrators; private school administrators, parent coordinators, and guidance counselors; parish and diocesan family and youth ministry leaders; corporate advocates of family life education, and similar positions involved in taking care of and nurturing families, parents, and children.
Participants of the FLE program emerge with a solid foundation of knowledge, skills, and values essential for family life educators in the Philippine setting. They are trained in developmental psychology, family laws, human values, Filipino culture, and ethical principles, and are equipped with communication, facilitation, empathy, and leadership skills. The course also emphasizes values such as love for God and family, integrity, civic spirit, and inclusiveness—anchored in the belief that family is the cornerstone of both personal and societal flourishing.
“The course reminded us that family life is not something we ‘manage,’ but something we live—with all its joys and imperfections,” shared Rene Ledesma of Educhild, an FLE Participant. “It rekindled in us the belief that the family is still the strongest foundation of our society, and that each of us has a role in protecting and nurturing it.”
“Family Life Education has proven to be such a valuable guide in building families and helping us become better individuals who contribute positively to the community,” said Bonnie Manlunas, President of the Federation of Parents-Teachers Associations (FPTA) of Antipolo City and one of the program participants. “Through FLE, I learned that strengthening families means strengthening our communities.”
As the program concluded, Dr. Celerino C. Tiongco II, an Emeritus Associate Professor of SED, reminded the participants of the deeper purpose of their work:
“As we close this Family Life Education certificate course, I want to thank each of you not only for having completed the sessions but, above all, for having embraced the deeper purpose of our work as FLE practitioners—to help families flourish,” Dr. Tiongco said. “When families are strong, the communities they live in become places marked by peace, compassion, and harmony. Every time a parent listens with patience, every time a child feels loved and secure, every time a family recovers a sense of hope because of your work—you are already changing the world.”
With the support of partners like the Assisi Development Foundation, UA&P continues to form educators and leaders who help transform families and communities for the common good.
