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More opportunities for IPs: Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva vows to push for programs that would provide more livelihood and job opportunities for indigenous peoples (IPs) during plenary session Wednesday, August 10, 2022. Reacting to Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda's privilege speech honoring IPs, Villanueva recalled the opening of technical-vocational education and training (TVET) for members of IP communities during his stint at the Technical Education And Skills Development Authority (TESDA). This, he said, "allowed them to seek better livelihood and employment opportunities." Further, he reported that of the 269,505 IPs enrolled in TESDA from 2019 to 2021, 246,844 completed their tech-voc trainings. Villanueva thanked his colleagues for their initiatives and support for IPs. "In the upcoming budget deliberations, this representation will continue to push for more expansive and inclusive opportunities to indigenous brothers and sisters, particularly, access to scholarship in TVET and in higher education," the Senate Majority Leader said. (Bibo Nueva España/ Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB)