While many Filipinos go abroad for greener pastures, a growing number of Filipino-American students abroad is now considering finding jobs in the Philippines.
The reverse trend has been noted by Philippine Ambassador to United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.,who said college and post-graduate students in the US are now interested to explore their opportunities in the Philippines given the country’s positive economic outlook.
Citing a recent visit to Yale University, Cuisia noted the positive feedback he received about the Philippines not only from Filipino-American but also other foreign students. He attended the Global Perspectives Symposia in the university sponsored by the Kasama-The Filipino Club of Yale and the Yale International Relations Association where he talked about the recent economic achievements in the Philippines.
“Most of the Filipino-American youths I have talked to see bright prospects for the Philippines and have expressed their desire to find work there,” he said in a statement. “You would not be hearing this from them two to three years ago.”
He added he was surprised over the enthusiasm of Filipino-American students who asked many questions about the Philippines in the open forum that followed.
“There seem to be this surge in their desire to learn more about the Philippines.”
In his remark, he cited projections made by Filipino economist Dr. Bernardo Villegas that the Philippine economy will grow at an average of 7 to 9 percent in the next 20 years.
“According to Dr. Villegas, this is a strong demonstration of the ‘tipping point’ phenomenon–the result of the transformational leadership changes and the policy reforms introduced in almost 30 years,” he told Yale students.
Junior student Ulysses Isidro, whose parents are from Bataan and Capiz, is among who wants to try his luck in the Philippines.
“I was reminded not to forget my heritage and now hope to visit and possibly work in the Philippines after graduation to learn more about my culture and country firsthand,” Isidro, also the president of Kasama-co, said.
This is the same thought of Hannah Gonzales, a sophomore majoring in History as she said: “Although I knew quite a bit about the Philippines beforehand, Ambassador Cuisia added a new dimension to the Philippines’ role on the world stage that I was not quite familiar with. Now, I can see the Philippines as both an emerging economy and a fun place to travel to.” (Ron B. Lopez)
0 comments:
Post a Comment