The Link, August 11, 2026

By Caleb Alvin I. Garay

In Jose Rizal’s “Noli Me Tangere,” a young man named Crisostomo Ibarra came home from his studies in Europe with a dream – and that was to build a school in San Diego, so his fellow countrymen could finally attain the education that they had long needed. He believed, maybe too willingly, that a single school could initiate a crack along the wall – that providing people with knowledge was how to solve a problem caused by the unjust treatment of Filipinos. History, and Rizal’s pen, however, did not let him finish what he started.

It was the middle of the pandemic, over a century after the successful publishing of Rizal’s two novels, when a college freshman found himself asking the same questions Ibarra once did. Corruption, injustice, and a constant sense of dread. The country felt like it was coming undone all over the place, as he sat down with a question he couldn’t shake: “What could someone like him – who barely had any connections, who isn’t part of a political dynasty – actually do about it?” 

He didn’t really have an answer then, until now. And, unlike Ibarra, Mr. Rafael Anthony Melendez or Sir Rafa gets to see it through – one lesson, one activity, one section, and one classroom at a time. Moreover, it’s the reason he has the opportunity to stand in front of his Grade 10 students at Lourdes School of Mandaluyong today.

“Ang daming nangyayari, ang daming problema sa paligid,” he recalls, “Ano ngayon  ang puwede kong magawa?” The answer, when he sought it – genuinely surprised him: it was teaching.  Not because he believed that a single teacher could be instrumental to society, but because he wanted to be near the people to inspire them. “Gusto kong maging instrumento para ma-instill sa kanila ang social change at progress sa pamamagitan ng Filipino," he says. It’s something he still applies to every lesson plan, helping his students realize what change they can make – correlating to his core motto, “Baguhin mo ang mundo, Sir Rafa.”

During his first few weeks at Lourdes School of Mandaluyong, Sir Rafa was still relatively the new guy, and he admitted it. A new school, new environment, new colleagues, new culture system, and new faces to see in every section. “Lahat ay bago,” he stated, “at lahat din ay kailangan ko pang aralin at makasanayan.” Yet, the adjustment has been a good one.

Sir Rafa’s decision to choose LSM wasn’t something expected – rather, it was because of timing. Lourdes School of Mandaluyong was the first school to respond to his application, which turned out to be a good decision since they had a spot for a Filipino teacher. Additionally, it was halfway through the hiring process when he realized what he had stumbled upon – it was a Catholic School, exclusive for boys, with strong development for teachers. What started as a “wala na akong iba pang alam tungkol sa LSM” turned out to be something he accepted with open hands.

However, ask any teacher – they’ll tell you the profession asks more than you think, and Sir Rafa agrees with that. “Kahit na overworked, underpaid, at unprioritized ang mga teachers,” he explained, yet he says it with the same pride. Because for every effort he puts into his teaching, there is the exchange of how his students participate, think, and apply his lessons in their daily lives.

That doesn’t mean the job never gets heavy. When it does, his way of relaxing isn’t that complicated – he steps away for a bit, breathes, walks around, reads something while scrolling through Facebook, eats, and talks to friends. It’s nothing really out of the ordinary, just enough to pass the time and catch a break. It’s something small and tiny, but maybe that’s the point. That behind a jubilant and joyous profession is someone who gets tired like everyone else, and knows how to bounce back from it.

If there’s one thing Sir Rafa wants his students to take with them this academic year, it’s this: study hard, give everything that you have, don’t be afraid to try and act as an example. Choose kindness, and choose what makes your heart genuinely graceful. Love your country, love your friends, love your family, and most importantly – love God.

Ibarra never got the chance to experience his school prospering in education, but Sir Rafa gets to experience that every single day, five days a week – in a classroom that’s far from fiction. And so, the line that started all of this from day one is now handed off to his dear students in front of him:

“Naniniwala akong kaya rin ninyong baguhin ang mundo, Masters!”