Deputy Speaker Santos-Recto to TESDAMAN: Support candidates who rally for job creation

Senator Joel Villanueva has found an ally in Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto in advocating the creation of jobs and employment opportunities, especially for millions of displaced workers to allow them the means to earn a decent living.

Interviewed on "AksyonTime" which aired on A2Z on Saturday night, Santos-Recto greatly expressed her support to the advocacies of Villanueva, the chair of the Senate labor committee, as they are aligned with her own programs and projects in Batangas. The Batangas lawmaker underscored the importance of backing candidates who champion the cause of jobs as this would be crucial to the country’s economic recovery.

Santos-Recto, who is also a Deputy Speaker and a three-term governor of Batangas and mayor of Lipa, recalled the value of providing skills training and jobs to people, which Villanueva has been tirelessly espousing.

"People are not asking for more or for millions. Our people only want to live comfortably, and by that, it means they are able to eat three times a day. Basta't mayroong tamang trabaho ang ama ng tahanan, at kung minsan, pati ngayon ang nanay nila, kailangan nagtatrabaho na rin," Santos-Recto recounted to Villanueva, who was TESDA director general from 2010 to 2015 at the time the agency and the Batangas provincial government forged several partnerships to provide trainings and jobs to Bat angueños.

In 2014, the Batangas provincial government and TESDA implemented the Special Training for Employment Program (STEP), a community-based, specialized training program designed to generate employment at the grass roots level, which benefited thousands of residents in the various towns and cities of the province.

Conceptualized during Villanueva's term as Tesda director general, STEP likewise provides tool kits to trainees who complete their respective programs to enable them to practice their newly-acquired skills. Trainees also receive stipends which serve as seed capital for their ventures.

"Yung TESDA natin, nagbibigay ng training 'yan. Nandoon lang sila sa mga barangay nila, munisipyo o lungsod nila kahit hindi na sila masyadong lumayo.