Alan Cayetano gets stamp of approval from student leaders
Students hail Cayetano as their partner in the fight for affordable education

"We are supporting Senator Alan because of his PTK plan - the price of education and the need for quality jobs is at the top of every students agenda. Senator Alan is the only senator who has spent the time to listen to and understand students' concerns, and we know he will fight for us to make education affordable and create jobs."

This was the statement made by various student organizations hailing from the Pangasinan, Bicol, Laguna, and Zambaoanga - all of whom Cayetano connected with during his Listening Tour.

The Pangasinan State University Federated Student Government was particularly vocal in endorsing the senator whose fight for affordable education truly resonated with the students he talked to. "He is our inspiration. We feel his sincerity in fighting for our rights as students," said Lanie Montemayor, president of the Pangasinan State University Federated Student Government.

The formation includes nine other satellite offices housed in various campuses: Urdaneta, San Carlos, Lingayen, Binmaley, Alaminos, Bayambang, Asingan, Sta. Maria, and Infanta.

His reaction to the tragedy that befell University of the Philippines - Manila student Kristel Tejada particularly endeared him to students all over the country.

"Senator Alan's call to not ignore this event and expose the glaring truth education has become too expensive shows us that he is able and willing to fight for our rights in the Senate just as he has done so in the past," they said as they recalled how Cayetano gave his assurance to Kristel's parents that he, along with his fellow lawmakers, will continue to push for reform and work hand-in-hand with the government to make their promise of a truly accessible education system a reality.

In dialogues with various student leaders from different state universities, Cayetano reiterated his call to the Aquino government to veer away from its assumption that state universities and colleges (SUCs) should be self-sufficient. Instead, he said that education must be viewed as an investment and must be made accessible to all Filipinos.

To allow the youth to find their ideal jobs after graduating, Cayetano proposed an Education for Employment Program. "This can be done through a partnership with schools, both private and public, with companies in the information technology (IT), manufacturing, business process outsourcing (BPO) industries and other booming industries," he said.