Press Release
March 9, 2007

ANGARA WOWS YOUTHS

DUMAGUETE CITY Reelectionist Sen. Edgardo Angara has won the support and admiration of young professionals and students in the city without asking for their votes.

"We admire you because you are very different from the rest. Instead of asking for our votes, you shared with us your wisdom," remarked Ronald Tinio, a recent criminology graduate.

Angara met the young professionals and students at the Bethel Hotel here in the course of his campaign in Negros Oriental. During the meeting, however, Angara did not talk about his reelection bid. Rather, he used the meeting to hear from the youths about their plans and aspirations and to counsel them on careers, counseling, job openings and scholarships. A number of the youths came from provinces outside Negros Oriental like Bohol and even from Lanao.

Angara was impressed when most of them said they preferred to stay and work in the Philippines rather than abroad. He noted that about 129,000 youths leave the country for work abroad. He was also impressed by the youths' mastery of English, which he said could qualify them for employment in call centers. He predicted that call centers in the Philippines would be employing hundreds of thousands in the coming years. Angara said he would secure scholarships for those who would meet his criteria. He vowed to meet with them again after the May election for follow-up action.

Angara, former president of the University of the Philippines has made education his top priority in his three terms as senator. He authored the law mandating free public high school education. When the public high schools could not accommodate all enrollees, he solved the problem by authoring a law allowing students to enroll in private high schools. Under the Government Assistance for Students in Private Education Law authored by Angara, the government will pay the fees of the students in the private schools.

He recently authored a joint resolution creating a joint commission to review and assess the status of competitiveness of science, technology and engineering research and development in the country.

"After solving the problem of access in education, we should now tackle the problem of quality. To grow as a country, we must prioritize spending and improve our capacity for innovation in science, technology and engineering," Angara explained.

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