Press Release
March 15, 2007

At the 'City of Gentle People' and 'University Town'...
VILLAR TALKS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE SENATE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS KEY TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Senate President Manny Villar, President of the Nacionalista Party, discussed the political, social and economic future of the country in his speech during the university convocation of the Siliman University in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental. According to Villar, the government should encourage labor-intensive businesses to set up shop in the country in order to generate more jobs for Filipinos. 'Job creation in the country is dismally low, from 1993 to 2005, an annual average of some 138,000 jobs is not absorbed by the economy even in periods of relative growth. The unemployment rate is at 7.9 percent, translating to 2.8 million Filipinos without jobs. The promise of 1.4 million to 1.6 million jobs per year has not been realized. Last year, there were only 650,000 jobs created," cites Villar in his speech. Villar adds, "The task of the Senate in the coming years is this: We need to sustain the growth and make it work for the poorest of the poor. They are the ones that direly need the benefits of economic growth. Progress that will not benefit the poor is useless." Likewise, Villar says that the government should be more proactive and wake up to the real problems and needs of the people. "Kailangan gumising sa katotohanan ang mga namumuno sa pamahalaan at magsilbing halimbawa sa mga tao. Ang pinakamahirap gisingin ay ang mga nagtutulog-tulugan at nasa state of denial." Villar also led the turnover of donation for the Jovito Salonga Center of the College of Law and Development at Siliman University, which is the oldest Protestant university in the country and the oldest American-established university in Asia. "You could not have chose a more fitting name for the center...when I became Senate President, I was humbled by the illustrious careers of the men who came before me, especially of Jovito Salonga who was at the forefront of the Senates finest hour, when he stood against great pressure and led the Senate in throwing away the US Military bases in the country. The Senate That said No as he proudly calls it in his book reminds us that the Senate is indeed a great institution of democracya bastion of independence," says Villar.

Dumaguete City is referred to as a university town because of the presence of vaious universities and colleges. Besides Siliman, other universities located in the city are Foundation University, Negros Oriental State University and St. Paul University. There are also many colleges in the city, including AMA Computer College, AMA ACLC, Asian College of Science and Technology, STI Colleges, Maximo College, and COSCA College. The education sector contributes more than P2 billion of economic activity into the city annually.

Villar told Dumaguetenos: "Because we asked the people for more taxes in the past two years, I will see to it that the EVAT collections will indeed go to education and health, two of the most important sectors needing greater allocation. Health and education are key to empowering the poor and enabling them to participate in development."

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