By Azer Parrocha/PNA
MANILA — Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Tuesday called on graduates of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) to help fuel the nation’s development, noting that they are longer scholars but graduates of the country.
“…You are not just Iskolar ng Bayan, you are now Graduates ng Bayan. Your success is the success of the people who helped shoulder the costs of your education,” said Nograles, who was the commencement speaker at PUP’s graduation rites in Quezon City.
Nograles also lauded PUP for producing graduates who, according to surveys, are top choices in employment.
“In recent surveys, PUP is the top school overall preferred by employers. By industry, PUP graduates are the top choices in the BPO industry, manufacturing, banking, and information technology,” he added.
Nograles said that the industries PUP graduates excel in dovetails with the human resource components of the Duterte Administration’s 10-Point Socioeconomic Agenda.
The agenda, Nograles said, calls for investment in human capital development, including health and education systems, and the matching of skills and training to meet the demands of businesses and the private sector as well as science, technology, and the creative arts.
He further stressed the significant role played by PUP in achieving the goals of the 2017-2022 Philippine Development Plan, which seeks to provide every Filipino with a “stable, comfortable, and peaceful” life.
Nograles, meanwhile, received the Tanglaw ng Bayan (Light of the Nation) Award from the PUP, tagged as “the largest state university in the country.”
In November this year, Nograles was appointed Cabinet Secretary while serving his third term as representative of the First District of Davao.
Prior to joining the Executive Branch, Nograles, a lawyer who obtained his law degree from the Ateneo School of Law, was the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations.
The Tanglaw ng Bayan Award is the highest award of recognition bestowed by PUP on individuals who have outstanding achievements and have made significant contributions to society.
PUP is considered the largest state university in the Philippines in terms of student population with over 65,000 students in 22 campuses in Luzon.
