A Privilege Speech of the HON

A Privilege Speech of the HON. ANICETO G. SALUDO, JR.

Delivered on April 15, 2002, 4PM

Mr. Speaker, I rise as a past Chairman and currently a member of the Special Committee on 20 Depressed Provinces to second the expression of gratitude and appreciation for the leadership of Dr. Amable Aguiluz V, Chairman of the AMA Computer University, and Mr. Sarge Colambo, a former colleague here in the august halls of Congress and now the AMA Vice President for Community and Government Relations, for the charitable program that they have extended to the Special Committee.

I have known Dr. Aguiluz to be a very generous man since our college days and the program that the AMA has offered to 20 Dep is a genuine act of altruism. Even as we were staying in the same dormitory in UP and doing socio-civic activities together as fraternity brothers, I already knew that he had that certain desire to be of help to other people. Founding the AMA Computer College was his family’s collective act of helping young Filipinos cope up with the rising global demand for information technology.

Mr. Speaker and my dear colleagues, I am so honored to inform you that in its effort to help us secure a brighter prospect for our young constituents, the AMA Computer University has granted scholarships to deserving students who come from each of the twenty depressed provinces.

With this joint project of the 20 Dep and AMA, I am confident that our young constituents who qualified to this scholarship program will have better chances in making their dreams come true. They will be given trainings that will make them competent in this era when aggressive advancements in information technology are being made.

Although it is never easy to say that the province which we come from has not graduated from the Club 20 as identified by the National Economic Development Authority to be economically depressed, it is oftentimes comforting when we know that various institutions sincerely signify their support for our constituents and help alleviate the suffering that they may have felt as a result of many social injustices.

Mr. Speaker, it is indeed with great honor that I take this opportunity, in behalf of the Special Committee on Twenty Depressed Provinces, to sincerely thank the AMA Computer University, the first IT university in Asia, for the sincere dedication that it has manifested to advance computer education in the country. And more importantly, for the interest it has shown in order to expand the opportunities for our young constituents.

Thank you AMA and may we look forward to a rewarding partnership.