BONTOC, Mountain Province – Concerned residents of the province are questioning the motive of some members of an influential political family to stop concerned government agencies from partnering with the private sector and other volunteers in pursuing their partnership for the conduct of Nihongo language trainings under the auspices of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) training center in nearby Sabangan town.
Sources, who requested anonymity for personal and security reasons, claimed there is now a desperate attempt by some members of an influential political family in the province to put pressure on TESDA officials to stop the ongoing Nihongo language training of some prospective trainees as this is allegedly initiated privately despite the memorandum of agreement (MOA) between concerned government agencies and their partners to undertake such training for the benefit of skilled workers that will be deployed in Japan.
The source pointed out that such effort to put a stop on the said noble undertaking is uncalled for and obviously politically-motivated because the people spearheading this are family members of their political rivals.
urther, the source argued that instead of supporting the noble initiative that will benefit their constituency, the members of this political family are trying to block this without even providing alternatives for the displaced workers to have jobs amidst the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the overall economy.
There are already concrete testimonies of those who were already deployed in Japan over the past 3 years on the significant benefits of the Join Us for Progress (JUP): Jobs, Jobs, Jobs Program, especially in the lives of families which cannot simply negate the efforts to ruin the image of the program from the perception of the residents by stopping the implementation of the required language training prior to the deployment of the skilled workers to their projected work in Japan.
According to them, the numerous skilled workers regularly visiting the TESDA and the residence of a political family inquiring on how to avail of this program is a clear indication that people prefer decent jobs instead of simply relying on limited dole-outs from the concerned government agencies and the local government.
The sources explained that the continuous efforts by the members of the influential political family to derail the implementation of this training and livelihood program is a very clear manifestation of political vengeance directed against the very people these politicians have promised to serve in their political campaign.
The sources expressed hope that the people of the province will wake up to the reality that they should not simply rely on dole-outs but should embrace programs and projects that will have a significant impact on their lives in the long term.
