A gift to the youth of Imus

IMUS, Philippines — Somewhere in the vicinity of Liwayway Marketing Corp.’s sprawling manufacturing complex in Cavite is a new three-storey building where a better future awaits for the sons and daughters of the city and the entire province.

Designed to be a “center of excellence” for technical learning and skills development, the Imus Polytechnic Institute is a project of the local government of Imus, the Huanggang Polytechnic College in China and Liwayway Marketing, the company behind the iconic snacks brand Oishi.

It will benefit the youth of Imus and the whole of Cavite.

Liwayway Marketing spearheaded the construction of the building, which amounted to roughly P60 million.

The company formally turned over the building to city government officials during ceremonial turnover rites held last June 19.

Lamenting that millions are deprived of educational opportunities as a result of poverty, company chairman Carlos Chan said education is a fundamental human right and essential for the exercise of all human rights.

“It is in this light that we have taken the initiative to spearhead the construction of the school building in cooperation with Huanggang Polytechnic College in China led by its president Juang Anxin and mayor Chen Shaomin,” Chan said.

He went on to narrate why he has a soft spot for the city.

“Liwayway built its first manufacturing plant and facility of Liwayway was built there in the ’70s, making Imus a city close to my heart,” Chan said.

He is optimistic that the technological courses to be offered by the Imus Polytechnic Institute will go a long way in helping Filipino cities.

“In technology, the things we are using now become obsolete in a few or more years. I look forward to seeing future graduates of this institution as they will be the future of Imus,” Chan said.

The turnover ceremony coincided with the 156th birthday of Jose Rizal.

“It is timely to use one of his famous quotes, that the ‘youth is the hope of the fatherland’ and that certainly includes the aspiring millennials and students of Imus, Cavite,” Chan added.

The local government of Imus will run the facility while the Huanggang Polytechnic College in China will provide technical assistance.

For his part, Imus City Mayor Emmanuel Leonardo Maliksi said the idea was conceptualized during a visit to the Huanggang Polytechnic College in China. He recalled saying during the visit that it would be nice to have a similar school in Imus.

In response, Chan, the country’s Special Envoy to China, said achieving that dream was possible.

With the help of Liwayway, the dream became a reality.

Maliksi welcomed the project, saying that with the learning center, the youth of Cavite would now gain a better chance of finding employment.

“They no longer have to go out of Cavite to study technology,” he said during the turnover ceremony.

Rolando dela Torre, provincial director of TESDA in Cavite, said the courses to be offered include electronics, electrical, technical drafting and mechatronics.

Indeed, with the project, the future looks brighter for the youth of Cavite.