Power firm reveals new set of high school scholars

CEBU, Philippines -  The Visayan Electric Company presented 40 Grade 7 students as its new batch of high school scholars for the school year 2014-2015.

“Ayaw mo pagsige og Facebook, leave a little bit of mystery. Do not think that your first boyfriend or girlfriend will be your last kay di na tinuod. Work without complaints, be a team leader. God helps those who help themselves,” told VECO chief operating officer Sebastian Lacson in his inspirational speech before the scholars.

Lacson advised the scholars not to take on the responsibility of being parents by avoiding getting pregnant or impregnating someone.

“Getting pregrant or impregnating somebody else while you’re very young is a form of bondage and curtailment of freedom. Daghan pa mong mapaabot in the future,” Lacson said.

Aside from the new batch of high school scholars, VECO’s “Pag-ayuda alang sa Malampuson nga Edukasyon” also honors outstanding high school and college scholars who were given laptops.

VECO has now a total of 182 high school and college scholars since it started the program in 2011.

Carmelita Dulangon, regional director of the Department of Education-7, thanked VECO for its continued support in giving assistance to the scholars.

Dulangon also told the scholars not to engage in a romantic relationship yet.

“Ayaw sa mo pag ujab-ujab samtang wa moy job aron di mo ma jab-an sa inyong parents,” Dulangon said as she encouraged the scholars to work hard.

“We cannot succeed for you. We can only help you succeed. Your success lies on your efforts and strong determination. Have a clear goal or destination. You must have a plan and plan it well as early as now,” she added.

Danny Cerence, assistant vice president for operations of Aboitiz Foundation Inc., said education has always been a key focus of the entire Aboitiz group since they began work helping people help themselves.

“We have various areas of social interventions, but among them, we have invested the most in education because we believe that education is a critical component to nation building and gi-ving people new opportunities for growth and a better life,” Cerence said in his speech.

Cerence added that their intervention in education is always centered in nurturing a commitment to learning.

“We are proud of our interventions in education because they not only represent better ways to learn, but they are also catalyst for our beneficiaries to pursue better lives through a mix of skills and knowledge after graduation,” Cerence further said. — (FREEMAN)