Use 'good skills' to improve your lives, Gordon urges urban poor

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today urged the urban poor to use "good skills" instead of depending on dole-outs from the government to improve their lives and uplift their dignity.

Gordon made the call at the graduation rites of the livelihood training under the Bigay-Buhay Para Sa Bagumbayan Program of the Simulaing Gabay sa Entrepinay (SIGE) Foundation.

"Ang kamay na nasasanay sa pagtanggap ay mas mababa sa kamay na nag-aabot. Pati ang inyong katauhan ay bababa, ang inyong values ay mawawala, ang inyong ambisyon ay mawawala," he said.

"Kaya ngayong araw na ito, nagkaroon kayo ng good skills na matuto na gamitin ang utak at mga kamay at lumikha ng mga produkto. Huwag niyong mamatahin yan," he added.

Gordon was invited as guest of honor and speaker at the graduation held at the Batasan National High School , Covered court in Barangay Batasan Hills, Quezon City .

The Bigay-Buhay programs aims to train women from various cities, provinces and municipalities nationwide on various livelihood technologies in an effort to provide alternative employment to combat the effect of the global financial crisis.

After the training, the participants will go to various barangays to hold seminars on livelihood programs, such as Chinese dimsum making, meat processing, home bakeshop, balloon making, and candy making.

Gordon, who filed Senate Bill 2402, also known as the Health and Education Acceleration Program (HEAP), stressed the importance of education and hard work in attaining a better life.

"Ang unang gagawin kapag may pera, pag-aralin ang mga anak.. Kahit magsimula sa maliit, basta may pagsisikap kayang umangat," he said.

Gordon filed the HEAP bill in a bid to address the need to beef up the country's public educational and health care systems, such as the shortage of classrooms, totaling to 57 million nationwide.