Malacañan Palace
16 June 2016

President Benigno S. Aquino III received the 125 young civil engineers who have been selected for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Cadet Engineering Program (CEP), the agency’s Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Program, in a courtesy call in Malacañang.

“It is really heartwarming to see the youth really taking active role in building this country and putting their talent to be used for countrymen,” President Aquino said.

The aforementioned 26-week program was implemented in 2013 to set new entry standards for civil engineers in the bureaucracy. It is composed of six weeks of foundation course and 20 weeks of on-the-job training that encompass technical knowledge, strategic thinking, leadership, public service, values and professional ethics.

Out of the 125 cadets who were selected according to their academic background and performance through a series of interviews and examinations, 46 came from the National Capital Region. About 70% of them graduated from state universities and colleges (SUCs). A total of 81 cadets completed the program and 44 cadets are set to graduate by June 28, 2016.

“Hindi tayo nabubuhay para sa sarili lang. Lahat ng kilos natin, tama ba ng ginagawa natin kung ibabase natin sa epekto nito sa kapwa? ‘Yung ginagawa niyo, sinasabuhay niyo na ‘yon e. Sana hindi mawala ‘yung vision na ‘yun na mayroon talagang pinatutunguhan ang pinupuntahan niyo. At talagang kung hindi man agarang matikman ‘yung gantimpala sa tamang ginagawa niyo, ginagarantiya ko sa inyo, darating ang panahon, madadama niyo ito ng buong-buo,” he encouraged the graduates.

Aside from CEP, DPWH implemented the Young Engineers Recruitment Program last year to encourage top graduates to begin their career in DPWH instead of working overseas. The program hired 1,400 registered civil engineers nationwide with a starting salary of P30,417. These hired engineers were deployed nationwide.

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