(Photo grabbed from GMA News online)
CABANATUAN CITY – Sen. Cynthia Villar called on graduates to pursue entrepreneurial career as many of them would look for jobs and get employed.
In her speech as guest in the graduation ceremonies at the state-run Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology (NEUST) here Friday, Villar noted the “harsh reality that many graduates face now–the lack of job opportunities.”
“Hindi naman kaila sa ating lahat na malaking problema pa rin ngayon ang unemployment at underemployment,” Villar said.
But graduates, she said, should never be discouraged. Instead, they should be ready to face the challenges that await them.
“The unemployment rate is still high. Pero hindi lang naman paghahanap ng trabaho ang option na available sa inyo. There is always the option to go to entrepreneurship — to be an entrepreneur, to employ people instead of getting employed,” Villar said.
She expressed hope that many of the graduates will be entrepreneurs even as she narrated how she and her husband former Sen. Manny Villar started their business with minimal capitalization before getting low-interest loans.
Villar who has been advancing the cause of farmers has authored the Open Learning and Distance Education Act of 2014 and the Ladderized Education Act of 2014, both to open wider access to youth for education.
She also authored the Universal Access to Tertiary Education or Republic Act 10931.
Villar further acknowledged the sacrifices that parents had to endure to have their children sent to schools. “I share the mixed emotions of mothers and fathers here today. Parents work hard to provide their children with good education, because we believe it is valuable inheritance – something that cannot be taken away by anyone, something that cannot be diminished but rather even enhanced,” she stressed.
She commended NEUST, headed by its president Fely Jacoba, for excellent performance.
