YOUNG PROFESSIONALS CAN RAISE PHL COMPETITIVENESS--ANGARA

Senator Edgardo J. Angara urged the new members of the country's pool of professionals to serve the country by contributing to its international competitiveness ranking during the 15th Commencement Exercise of the Southeast Asian College Inc. at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC)

"I am glad to see so many new graduates in science and technology-related courses. You probably do not know it, but our country needs a lot of you. There has been no more exciting time in our history to be a student of science and technology than today, where technology aids and drives almost all that we do," he said.

According to Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, we need to be able to transport and transplant the world's most advanced technologies into the country, make them useful to the Filipino people. And to make this happen, we need qualified scientists, researchers, technologists and healthcare professionals.

He reminded the graduates of the college that most of them would be the future practitioners in the field of medicine and other related disciplines and therefore would be shouldering enormous responsibility in our society.

He recalled that he himself had grown up in a very health-conscious household as both his parents were nurses.

"Growing up in my hometown of Baler, with both my mother and father serving the townspeople, we developed a deep respect for the medical professionals, especially those in the countryside where they are badly needed," he said.

Angara further recalled that as a young student, they had to pore over voluminous tomes at the library, noisy typewriters and listened to music on big vinyl records--in contrast to the tiny gadgets used now to do practically everything.

"Now, you have access to a wealth of knowledge through the Internet, with everything going digital," he said.

Angara, who also chairs the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering, concluded by encouraging the young graduates to take advantage of each opportunity offered to them by the fast-paced S&T industries.

"With the world so open, so accessible through technology, only your imagination will limit the opportunities you can create and seize. You must not pass up the chance to contribute to the growth of our country," he urged.