Palace cites internship programs for students

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang said yesterday that college students who are seeking on-the-job training (OJT) in government offices this summer vacation may avail of the internship programs in the Executive Branch that will help gain the youth an experience of working in the government.

“With these internship programs, the government hopes to capitalize on the creative energy and idealism of our youth, and to give training to future leaders in order to help bring about genuine change,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

“The reason why we started the internship program is we noticed that a lot of youths are willing to serve in government,” he said, citing applications of college graduates from top universities.

Lacierda said that since not all applicants can be accommodated, they decided to open an internship program for college students.

“We hope to have more interns as much as we can accommodate to let them be exposed to the workings of the government and also this administration,” Lacierda said. “We promised ‘Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap,’ and we hope this will infect also the youth of today.”

Lacierda said that among the government offices that offer internship programs include the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO); the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of National Defense (DND), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Department of Tourism (DoT), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Transportation and Communication (DoTC), and the Presidential Management Staff (PMS). -MADEL R. SABATER, Manila Bulletin