CATBALOGAN CITY- Some 378 students recently graduated from the vocational skills training program of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Samar Provincial Office.
The mass graduation ceremony was held on Feb. 6, 2019 at the social hall of St. Mary’s College in this city.
Among the graduates, 262 were beneficiaries of the Consuelo Foundation’s bread and pastry-making and cookery hot meals while 116 students were graduates of the special training for employment provided by the provincial government of Samar. They finished courses in bookkeeping, organic agriculture, tiles setting, and carpentry courses.
The graduates, who came from the cities of Calbayog and Catbalogan, and from the municipalities of Sta. Margarita, and Gandara, received certificates of competency and national certificate from TESDA.
Gema Reyes, 50, from Gandara, who graduated from bread and pastry said, “I am thankful for this opportunity. I will use what I learned to put up a small business in bread-making.”
“I will now have an additional source of income. This is very helpful to me and my family,” Reyes added.
On the same day of the graduation, TESDA also conducted food fair and skills competition to showcase the skills learned by the graduates.
For the food fair bread and pastry category competition, Catbalogan City placed first place, while Gandara, Calbayog and Sta. Margarita garnered the second, third and consolation, places, respectively.
On the other hand, Gandara won in the competition for the bread and pastry cookery category, while Catbalogan, Calbayog and Sta. Margarita got the second, third and consolation prizes, respectively.
For the skills competition for bread and pastry, Artemio Amita of Gandara garnered the first place while Jean Celmar, from Catbalogan City and Roselle Andaya who is from Calbayog City got the second and third spots.
For the cookery category, first place went to Jolena Alcober of Catbalogan City and Glenn Guantic of Gandara and Marlyn Gentallian of Calbayog City placed second and third.
The 3-in-1 event: Food Fair, Skills Competition and Mass Graduation was initiated by the TESDA and participated in by collaborating agencies and organizations such as Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Labor and Employment, Center for Community Transformation and the Balicuatro College of Arts and Trade. (NBQ/GMTabao/PIA Samar)

TACLOBAN CITY- Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez has justified her decision to lower the age of children for criminal liability.
In an interview, Romualdez said that children nowadays are capable of committing crimes and could escape from any criminal liabilities due to their minor age.
Romualdez was among the members of House of Representatives who voted to lower the criminal liability of children to 12 from the current 15.
Originally, the Congress has proposed to put the criminal liability of children to just 9 years which was met with strong opposition.
“I voted for it because we are not here to punish the children but to protect them from nefarious groups who are trying to take advantage of the children (in carrying out their illegal activities),” she said.
According to her, she has been receiving reports that minors who were involved in various illegal activities could not be detained by the law enforces due to their sheer young age.
“They are showing their birth certificates to prove that they are still minors and the police could not arrest them because they are still minors,” Romualdez said.
The lowering of age on the criminal liability of children is being vigorously opposed by various sectors saying it will go contrary to the policies in protecting children.
Under the proposed measure, children of age 12 could be criminally liable if they are involve in crimes like kidnapping, murder, infanticide and serious illegal detention.
And to soften those who opposes the measure, the bill now uses the term ‘age of social responsibility’ instead of criminal liability.
Rep. Romualdez, who is seeking for a congressional seat under the party-list Tingog, said that any issues that appears to be controversial relative to the lowering of the criminal age of minors, could still be solved.
“There is still a long process (involving it),” she said.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)