Wednesday, October 17, 2007 CNU gets P2M speech lab from defeated senatorial bet
EVEN if he lost in the last senatorial race, Prospero Pichay made good his promise to donate a P2-million speech laboratory equipment to a government university.
Cebu Normal University (CNU) president Ester Velasquez said she cannot believe that the laboratory equipment offered to her before the May 14 elections will be realized.
She admitted that she initially declined Pichay’s offer, as she might be accused of electioneering.
But months after the election, Velasquez accepted the offer, and the equipment was installed and launched yesterday.
Now, she is looking forward to having world-class graduates to join the career in call centers, medical transcription, legal transcription and the new business process outsourcing (BPO).
Investment
“I don’t make promises, I’d rather be a miracle worker,” Pichay told the grateful CNU professors and students in a simple opening and launching activity.
Pichay said he was able to convince President Arroyo recently to invest in higher education where the return of investment is realized immediately.
“My advocacy doesn’t stop after public office, and I will bring it with me in my grave,” he said.
The former Surigao del Sur representative facilitated the installation of a P2-million Aspen Multi-System Corp. speech laboratory equipment composed of tables for 20 students with headphones, microphone and control panel.
He said the government now wants Filipinos to be competitive worldwide.
Pichay asked the students how they will feel working here in Cebu and at the same time enjoying as a wife or a girlfriend with pay comparable to those working abroad.
Transcription
He said India has 300,000 call center seats and the only reason is that the country has direct flights to Wall Street, a financial district in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
Given the proper training, he said, Filipinos are better than their neighbors in working for call centers, medical transcription, legal transcription and BPO.
His mother, Megdonia Arreza-Pichay, is a retired schools superintendent of Surigao del Sur and a graduate of Philippine Normal College (PNC).
“When I hear the word Normal nilalagyan ko agad ng tulong (I immediately give aid),” he told the crowd.
Demonstration
Velasquez learned only yesterday that Pichay’s mother was once her critic when she was still a 19-year-old demonstration teacher in Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental.
Velasquez fared well during her demonstration, with Mrs. Pichay’s guidance.
“Siya ang nitudlo sa ako pagamit og (She taught me how to use the) pitch pipe to keep me in tune,” Velasquez told Sun.Star Cebu. (OCP)
