Saturday, August 27, 2011

Panatang Kabataan

 Iniibig Ko ang Pilipinas.
Ipagtatanggol ko ang ating Saligang Batas.
Magsisikap ako sa aking pag-aaral at gagamitin ang taglay kong talino at kahusayan.
Magiging mabuti akong halimbawa ng kasipagan, para sa aking kapwa.
Sisikapin kong maging kapaki-pakinabang sa aking komunidad.
Aalamin ko ang aking karapatan at ang aking responsibilidad bilang manggagawa.
Sasama ako sa proseso ng kaunlaran at sa paglutas ng mga problema ng ating bayan.
Lalahok ako sa mga programang pangkabataan ng pamahalaan at pribadong sektor.
Kung ako ay mangingibang bayan, taglay ko ang pangakong babalik kasama ng aking mga natutunan.
Ipaglalaban ko ang marangal na trabaho para sa kabataang Pilipino.
Congressman Mong Palatino leading the Panatang Kabataan
KA JAM! Volunteers

From left to right: Bianca Gonzales, Jason Canete, Cong. Mong Palatino, Mikael Daez, Rafa Esplana
From left to right: Rafa Esplana, Victor Basa, Mikael Daez, Cong. Mong Palatino, Jason Canete, Bianca Gonzales

    Monday, August 22, 2011

    PNOY's Speech: Celebrating International Youth Day 2011 - “KA JAM!” (Kabataan: Jobs and Alternatives to Migration)



    Speech
    of
    His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
    President of the Philippines
    Celebrating International Youth Day 2011: “KA JAM” (Kabataan Jobs and Alternatives to Migration)
    [Delivered at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City on August 12, 2011]

    President Benigno *PNOY* S. Aquino III


    Magandang umaga po, maupo ho tayong lahat.

    Secretary Linda Baldoz; Your Excellency Jorge Domecq; Mr. Lawrence Johnson; Kuya Leon Flores III; Ms. Jacqueline Badcock; Tito Joel Villanueva; Congressman Raymond Palatino; of course, our idol Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel; and Percival Cendaña, Earl Saavedra, and Georgina Nava of the National Youth Commission; country representatives and directors of the United Nations agencies and aid development agencies; friends from the business sector; members of the academe; community leaders, stakeholders, and advocates; fellow workers in government; honored guests; at mga kapwa ko kabataan:

    Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat.

    It has often been said that the youth is the future. All of you gathered here today will one day be captains of industry, champions of your own causes, leaders of men and women. One day, you will have to manage and inspire others into moving toward one direction to achieve a common goal.

    Many years from now, when you have grown wrinkles on your faces, perhaps one of you will be on this podium, delivering a speech to the most brilliant minds of the next generation.

    By then, the important questions in your lives will no longer be: “Why is my crush taking so long to reply to my text?” or “What do I do when my mother adds me on Facebook?” [Laughter] The important questions will carry so much more weight; and they will have a significant impact on the lives of your fellowmen. I am telling you now: it will happen one day, and you must prepare yourselves for the responsibilities that will inevitably rest on your shoulders.

    As your government now, we have an important role in preparing you for the challenges you will confront in the future. It is our duty to equip you with the knowledge and the skills you need to succeed; and to give you opportunities to achieve that success here. Here are some of the things we are and have been doing:

    The Department of Education has been exploring ways to widen access to schooling and to give our students education that is at par with global standards. Within our term, they have already constructed almost 2,500 classrooms, with around 9,000 more on the way after the proper bidding and procurement processes are observed.

    They are also set to begin their phased implementation of the K + 12 program, which will add two more basic years to the basic curriculum. We are doing this not to give students a harder time; we are doing this to equip them with the skills necessary to succeed in a job market that is increasingly becoming more globally competitive.

    Moreover, one of the conditions of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s large-scale conditional cash transfer program is that the beneficiaries send their kids to school. So with this, we hope to have even more of our youth graduate with the necessary skills for employment.

    The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is implementing the 700 million peso Training-for-Work Scholarship program (TWSP) this year. The TWSP is designed to directly intervene in the provision of training programs to supply highly critical skills and competencies needed by the economy, particularly the key employment-generating industries, or the ones directly connected to existing jobs for immediate employment.

    The Department of Labor and Employment has also been hard at work to create opportunities for our youth. If you have not heard of it, they are implementing the YE-YE project, which means Youth Education – Youth Employability, where DOLE collaborates with private companies and schools to give our high school graduates tuition fee advances, so that they may take vocational courses or even go to college. Jollibee Foods Corporation, in collaboration with partner schools, has actually already absorbed as regular workers more than a hundred YE-YE participants, and we are hopeful that this number will grow in the future.

    I know that many people your age are concerned whether the skills they learned in school will enable them to find well-paying jobs. We are hearing stories of newly graduated nurses who are met with a job market with no place for them. At the same time, we hear about how there are so many unfilled positions in the BPO sector, for example. This is what we call job mismatch; and this is why we are working to give our students the skills they need to find jobs in industries that are actually hiring.

    Four months ago, DOLE launched the Online Career Guide, which allows both high school students and jobseekers to see what the labor market is like—specifically, what jobs will be in demand in the next five to 10 years—and this is updated every two years.

    CHED has likewise issued a moratorium on the opening of new programs in nursing, business administration, education, hotel and restaurant management, and information technology education for 2011 to 2012. And they have done this for two reasons: so that the quality of existing programs is sustained, and so that we can focus on other courses that can offer the best chances of employment.

    There is also Phil-JobNet, which is an initiative of our Labor Department as well. It is an online portal for jobs and skills matching; and we have recently enhanced it through the establishment of a Skills Registry System so that potential employees can better advertise their skills and qualifications. Think of it as a dating site between employers and jobseekers—one that we are constantly upgrading so that more people can find their match.

    Why are we doing all of this? Why are we working overtime to address these issues when we can just fulfill the minimum that is required of us? The answer is simple: Because it is worth it. It is worth it if we can give our youth the knowledge, the opportunity, and the quality of life they truly deserve. It is worth it if we can create enough opportunities for success here so that the most brilliant of our people, should they decide to work overseas, do so not out of necessity but rather as a choice. It is worth it if we can build a Philippines we can all be proud of.

    So as someone who is slightly older and a bit more experienced, and as President of the Philippines, I am calling on all of you to contribute to this cause—to make the most of your opportunities; to constantly strive for excellence; to go beyond yourselves, to push yourselves, and to always raise the bar. Perhaps, more importantly, I am calling on you not only to harness the positive energy that is prevalent in our country again, but also to contribute to it: by extending to others compassion and gratitude, and by always being responsible for the effects your actions have on others.

    And while I speak here mostly to the Filipino youth, I am certain that even other countries—the whole of humanity—will be well-served by a generation that is motivated, compassionate, and responsible.

    Rest assured, I will follow through on my own commitments as well, so that my generation can bequeath to our young citizens a Philippines whose progress they can build upon. We do our work in different environments and different settings, and carry different responsibilities on our shoulders. But rebuilding our country, after all, is a team effort. Together, as one team, let us do what we can to our individual capacities to bring our beloved country back to its rightful place in the sun.

    And in closing, may I just stress: We are confident that when the time comes that you will pass on the mantle of responsibilities to the next generation, you will undoubtedly even build upon the successes we are now achieving.

    Thank you. Good day.

    Jacqui Badcock's Speech: Celebrating International Youth Day 2011 - “KA JAM!” (Kabataan: Jobs and Alternatives to Migration)

    Jacqui Badcock, United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Philippines


    JACQUI BADCOCK
    United Nations Resident Coordinator
    United Nations in the Philippines
    ON THE OCCASION OF THE
    INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY CELEBRATION 2011
    KA JAM! Kabataan: (Youth) Jobs and Alternatives to Migration
    12 August 2011, 9:00 am
    2nd floor, Function Room 5, SMX Convention Center
    SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City



    Greetings:
    ·         Secretary Baldoz of the Department of Labor and Employment
    ·         Chairperson Flores of the National Youth Commission
    ·         Director-General Villanueva of the Technical Vocational Skills Development Authority
    ·         Ambassador Domecq of the Embassy of Spain
    ·         Officials and partners of the MDG F Joint Programme on Youth Employment and Migration
    ·         Representatives from the government, employers and workers’ organizations, civil society, the international community and the media
    ·         My colleagues from the United Nations Country Team
    ·         Youth leaders,  students and advocates
    ·         Ladies and gentlemen,

     Magandang umaga sa inyong lahat!

    It is a delight to be with you today.  All of you are young leaders but you are also important agents of change!

    Kabataan: Jobs and Alternatives to Migration, is the International Youth Day celebration in the Philippines.

    More than a celebration, this day is an opportunity to encourage all of you, the young people of the Philippines to speak up and take action.  You can help address the many challenges faced by the Government and its partners in delivering basic services to everyone and meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  In fact, many young people are already making great contributions but you can all help to do more.

    The United Nations in the Philippines supports the country in keeping the promise of achieving the MDGs by 2015.  The clock is on the countdown – we have only 4 years to go!

    Everyone including all of you deserves full access – amongst other things - to: Decent and productive employment, Education, Adequate healthcare including information on HIV, Financial services, and  Participation in public life

    However, young people are so often among the most vulnerable and get left out. Without being inclusive and ensuring equity the MDGs will not be met.

    Whether it is poverty, hunger, lack of access to decent and productive work, poor education, maternal mortality, environmental degradation, or HIV, the impact on young people can also be far greater than on your older counterparts.

    The sad truth is poverty affects young people in striking ways.  A few weeks ago, I had the chance to meet young people in Bukidnon in Mindanao.   Previously, high school students were forced to drop-out of school to work in menial jobs and help support their family.  Earnings of their parents were not enough to feed their family or send them to school. 
    Some did not even have the money to pay for transportation to school.

    Kabataan: “Alternatives to Migration, Decent Jobs for Filipino Youth”, reached out to these young people.  It is a joint programme funded by the Government of Spain and implemented by the Philippine Government and the agencies of the UN Country Team.

    The programme supports the country’s initiatives to achieve the MDGs by 2015.
    Specifically, it aims to end extreme poverty and hunger and achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people.

    The young people I met in Bukidnon, told me how the programme had supported their families and the community to keep them in school so that they could learn skills to eventually have much better work opportunities. We need to keep as many young people in school for as long as possible so everyone can enjoy this opportunity.

    In his message for the International Youth, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said, “The international community must continue to work together to expand the horizons of opportunity for young women and men, and answer their legitimate demands for dignity, development and decent work.  Failing to invest in our youth is a false economy.  Investments in young people will pay great dividends in a better future for all.”

    Partnering and investing in the Filipino youth is a key to addressing present challenges. We stand ready to work as one in the UN to support young people. 

    To the Filipino youth, I challenge you to do your part to help achieve the MDGs and to be the generation that can end poverty!

    Maraming Salamat!  Mabuhay!

    Ambassador of Spain, Jorge Domenq's Speech: Celebrating International Youth Day 2011 - “KA JAM!” (Kabataan: Jobs and Alternatives to Migration)





    SPEECH OF H.E. JORGE DOMECQ
    AMBASSADOR OF SPAIN

    ON THE OCCASION OF THE
    INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY CELEBRATION 2011
    KA JAM! Kabataan: (Youth) Jobs and Alternatives to Migration
    12 August 2011, 9:00 am
    2nd floor, Function Room 5, SMX Convention Center
    SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City

    Acknowledgements

    His Excellency President Benigno Simeon Aquino III
    Ms. Jacqueline Badcock, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations
    Mr. Lawrence Jeff Johnson, Director of the International Labor Organization
    Mr. Leon G. Flores III, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Commission

    Magandang umaga, buenos días, good morning

    It is a great honor and a pleasure for me to join you today in this International Youth Day Celebration 2011 held in the Philippines.  Since 1999 August 12 has been known as International Youth Day owing to the United Nations General Assembly backing.  Each year a theme has been associated with it and events take place worldwide in celebration of young people.  The idea behind this UN awareness day is to draw attention to youth issues, to youth development and youth participation, to capture the energy and spirit of motivated young people, and celebrate our commitment to them.


    I wish to highlight Spain’s full commitment with this momentous celebration and to express my Government’s support to the World Programme of action for Youth.  In this framework, allow me to mention that, days from now, my country will be hosting the World Youth Day.  Thousands of young people will be gathering in Madrid for the 26th World Youth Day along side Pope Benedict the 16th.  Nearly 4000 Filipinos will attend this event of great significance. World Youth Day will provide the opportunity for the ones attending to celebrate their faith but also to emphasize unity in diversity as it will be open to all regardless of religious convictions and therefore will connect with the UN International Youth Day in commemorating the passion and energy of youth across the globe.

    We all recognize that youth are key agents of socio-economic development and technological innovation, they are the bearers of the next generation and our own future is ours as it is theirs.  The best way to understand and address youth concerns and issues is to give youth a voice through facilitation of their active participation.  Providing a voice for youth in society however requires tackling prior key issues such as equality and access to opportunities. Both are prerequisites for the ability to influence and play an active role in all spheres of society.

    In the Philippines, where average population age is 22, the debate on youth policies is timely and of the utmost importance.  Spanish Development Cooperation in the Philippines wishes to strengthen the Philippines’ ongoing efforts to enhance youth development and employment, particularly through the support for the Government’s vision of a more productive and competitive youth.

    I am proud to say that Spain supports already the Filipino youth and contributes to Government-led youth policies and programs by providing the funds to the UN Joint Programme titled “Alternatives to Migration, Decent Jobs for Filipino Youth”.  A three year endeavor, it aims to guarantee decent work opportunities for Filipino youth, as an alternative to migration, an objective of crucial importance for the sustainable development of the Philippines.

    As we very well know in Spain from our experience in the twentieth century, migration provides a significant source of income through remittances.  However, it also means the country’s loss of its most skilled and talented human beings and of a work force, which is vitally important for its development.  In this manner, employment opportunities should enable a nation’s most precious resource, to stay in their home country if they wish to.

    The Joint Programme attempts to contribute to the development of the most far-flung and vulnerable regions of the Philippines and thus to avert the negative impact of massive migration on big cities, namely overcrowding, crime and the abandonment of rural areas, which are key to a country’s economy and its food reservoir.

    I seize the opportunity here to pay my tribute to the Philippine Government for its vision and leadership and particularly to the Department of Labor and Employment and to NEDA in charge of the overall coordination of the Joint Programme, as well as to United Nations Country team as the main execution partner.

    Spain has invested in the Philippines more than 1.8 billion pesos per year in grants for the last five years.  This amount reflects primarily Spanish Cooperation’s unwavering support and commitment with the development of the Philippines.  As a consequence, the Philippines ranks as one of the main beneficiary countries of the Spanish-UNDP Trust Fund for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG-F) set up in 2006.  Under the MDGF, four Joint Programs are already under way in the Philippines which amount to an investment of 17 million Euros.

    Dear friends, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to extend my congratulations to the youth who are the engines of growth and development in this country.  I am no longer, unfortunately, what you could call a youngster.  However, I fully realize that many of you are right now shaping your personal and professional future.  Looking ahead, you face daunting challenges but you also have tremendous opportunities in this global information age that you are lucky to call your age.  You are bound to play a prominent role in your society.  Do not rest assured we know our part but remind us of it.  We are obliged to you as we want you to be able to rise to the challenges and we also expect your constructive an effective participation for the sake of your individual and collective future, for the future of the generations to be.

    Let me summon them to rise to their best of their abilities for their well-being and for the advancement of society.  Let me convey to them that we want to share their burden to build a better future.  For that purpose, I will take the license of quoting the first lines from a poem of Dr. José Rizal entitled “A la Juventud Filipina” or “To the Filipino Youth”.


    (Original Spanish Version)
    Alza su tersa frente,
    Juventud Filipina, en este día!
    Luce resplandeciente
    Tu rica gallardía,
    Bella esperanza de la Patria Mia!

    (Translated Tagalog Version)
    Ita-as ang i-yong ma-linis na no-o
    Sa araw na i-to, Kabata-ang Pilipino!
    I-gilas mo na rin ang kumi-kinang mong
    Maya-mang sang-haya
    Magan-dang pag-asa nang Bayan kong Mut-ya!

    Maraming salamat, muchas gracias.

    BATANES ADVENTURE! (South Region Tour)

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