Thursday, March 16, 2006
No. 1 PB absentee tops medtech test
By Minerva B. Gerodias
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
The hardships of Ramon Martin Calderon, in balancing the demands of his work as a provincial lawmaker and the requirements of student life, have finally paid off.
He ranked sixth in the latest medical technology board exams given earlier this month.
Calderon, 21, obtained his degree from Velez College in November last year. He had barely three months to attend review classes.
The young politician previously blamed his absence from Provincial Board (PB) sessions—the highest number among PB members last year—on his internship and graduation requirements.
But after his board exam, Calderon said he will now focus more on his being a public servant. He plans to be “very active” this summer, while the youth are also on vacation.
He plans to organize leadership trainings, livelihood programs and sports activities.
Calderon sits in the PB as head of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation. He comes from a political family, his father being the son of former congressman Emerito Calderon and physician Beatriz Durano-Calderon.
He is the nephew of PB Members Agnes Magpale and Judy Durano, who both represent the fifth district of Cebu.
Calderon is the SK chairman of Samboan and his father, Raymond Joseph, is the twin brother of Samboan Mayor Peter John Calderon.
With the board exams now behind him, Calderon can organize a planning seminar where the SK Federation will map out all their activities for the rest of the year.
Also this year, the federation hopes to formulate the Medium-Term Youth Development Plan for Cebu, a plan for the next five years.
Youth issues such as drug abuse, adolescent reproductive health, governance and livelihood will be addressed in this plan.
Calderon plans to proceed to medicine in June but said he will have more time now as a board member, because he will only have half-day classes.
Calderon admitted it was not easy to balance his life as a student, a legislator and a teenager.
Since he became SK Federation president in 2002, Calderon said, he has sacrificed his nightlife, love life and other teenage preoccupations.
When his work as a legislator called for it, he also had to skip important exams and school lectures, Calderon added.
It was only toward the end of his school life that he had to give more time to his internship, as only a limited number of absences were allowed.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (March 16, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
