With the growing Philippine economy, President Benigno S. Aquino
III assured the Filipinos in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. that the
government is capable of providing them employment if they wish to return to
the country.
President Aquino spoke before the Los Angeles World Affairs
Council on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila, Feb. 17). After his speech, the
President fielded questions from the audience on issues ranging from South
China Sea to local jobs situation.
“Well, the only guarantee I can give you is an opportunity that
is increasing. The numbers speak for themselves. We are at our lowest
unemployment figure,” the President said when asked about jobs and
opportunities available for Filipinos.
“Overseas foreign workers, when I started out were pegged at
about 10 million of our countrymen. The number now at the height point is about
9.4 million. They didn’t disappear, they went back home or a lot of them did
come back home,” he said.
President Aquino assured the Filipinos of employment
opportunities once in the Philippines, citing as example the Arab Spring in
2011.
“Even at the height of the Arab Spring in 2011, we were just
starting out, engineers from Libya and quite a large number of them actually
had jobs already waiting for them by the time they landed in Manila,” he said.
“The economy definitely is growing, there are so many
opportunities,” the President added.
President Aquino cited two major foreign companies, one Japanese
and the other American, that wanted to expand their businesses in the country
by putting up a research and development center.
The President also mentioned the training courses being offered
by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for
returning Filipinos to enhance their skills and help them find jobs.
President Aquino was in Los Angeles for a working visit from
February 16 to 17 following his participation in the US-ASEAN Leaders Summit
hosted by US President Barack Obama with Southeast Asian leaders. (PCOO News
Release)
No comments:
Post a Comment