By Jelly F. Musico / Philippines News Agency
MORONG, Rizal—Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. exhorted students on Wednesday to study hard and be not contended with “bahala-na-si-Batman-style” (leave-it-to-Batman) and “Rak-en-Rol-to-the-World” mentality.
“Be industrious and study hard. You should not be contented with bahala-na-si-Batman and Rak-en-Rol-to-the-World style in acquiring knowledge here in your school,” Marcos told the students of the Renaissance School of Science and Technology (RSST) in this town during its 11th anniversary celebration.
Marcos also urged the RSST family, led by Chairman Cathy Guiyangco Curtis and President Nelson Gonzales to always stay on the course of giving their students enough knowledge to achieve their dreams as productive citizens of the country.
”I take this opportunity to exhort the RSST family to always stay on course, and ever vigilant in setting its sights on reaching the goal of increasing the employability of its graduates to a perfect 100 percent,” the senator said.
He, however, reminded the students that the efforts of their school professors are not enough to mold them as experts and professionals of their respective choice of field.
“It is still up to you as students to use your brains, to dream, to work hard and to persevere to achieve your goal,” Marcos, chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government, said.
Marcos also commended the RSST for partnering with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) in producing technical-vocational experts.
“As a purveyor of technical-vocational education on this side of the country, RSST is on track to becoming a leading producer of competent and able Filipino workers for the economy,” he said.
“The ongoing expansion efforts of RSST bear valid semblance to the idea of the ‘Renaissance man’ or a ‘polymath,’ which refers to a person with multiple talents and expertise, just like the famous Italian renaissance men Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei,” he added.
According to Tesda, based on the combined performance of its 7-million strong graduates, the present employability of Filipino tech-voc graduates has grown to a historic high of 65-percent to 91-percent rate.
“And there is sound economic logic for all this. For as long as applied science and technology continues to be the mainframe of our businesses and industries, which, in turn, are the great drivers of our economy, there certainly and always will be strong labor demand for our tech-voc graduates,” Marcos said.
“Continued rebirth and revival; to always strive to transcend and flourish from the Dark Ages to Modernity—through education and the faculty of the mind and body. This historically rich idea is what should always inspire and motivate you within the halls of this institution of learning,” Marcos challenged the RSST family.
Marcos also commended his fellow parents for working hard “to the point of breaking our backs” to be able to raise resources for their children aspiring to finish school despite hardships and difficulties.
“On the other hand, as a legislator and public servant, this occasion provides me the opportunity to personally visit and pay tribute to a vanguard of education in the province of Rizal, which has proven itself to be an effective avenue through which the legacy of education is channeled to the youth of Rizal,” Marcos said.
Marcos was joined by local leaders of Rizal province—Gov. Rebecca Ynares, Morong Mayor Armando San Juan, Baras Mayor Katherine Robles and other legislators.