Jeepney barker turned call center agent cited in SONA

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – A former jeepney barker from this city who is now a supervisor at a business process outsourcing (BPO) company was hailed by President Aquino in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

Polio victim Mark Joseph Escora, 25, credited the Training-for-Work program of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for his success as call center agent and now supervisor at the Panasiatic Solutions in this city.

“If not for TESDA, I won’t be where I am today. Our life at present is far better off than before,” said Escora, who took his training at the Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center (NOLITC) through TESDA’s scholarship for call center agents.

The President mentioned Escora in his SONA as one among the 223,615  scholars who benefited from the TESDA program funded by the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program.

A total of 146,731 or 66 percent of those who availed themselves of the scholarships are currently employed.

Escora shared his story in a video interview introduced by the President.

“I am Mark Joseph Escora, a high school graduate who, through TESDA’s help, was able to earn a career in the BPO industry,” he said in the video.

“For seven years, I worked as a jeepney barker at the Libertad public market. My parents could not afford to send me and my siblings to school simultaneously, so I needed to find a way to finish my studies,” he added.

Aquino met Escora when he visited Negros Occidental last May 15. He acknowledged him during a speech in Sagay City.

Escora’s story was featured in a three-minute video that won Best in Video-School category in the 1st Tatak TESDA Video Making Contest last May 1.

When asked for his reaction to the SONA, he said: “The speech was true, Filipinos should realize that being a President is not an easy task. We should try to put ourselves in his shoes and maybe we might realize how hard it is to lead a country that used to be governed by corrupt politicians.”

Meanwhile, NOLITC head Ma. Cristina Orbecido was elated that Aquino highlighted the accomplishments of TESDA and the NOLITC by featuring Escora’s success story.

“We are thankful to the national government for providing scholarships to the out-of-school youth through tech-voc training. The story of Mark Escora is just one of the many success stories of NOLITC graduates who availed themselves of the training program and have improved their lives,” Orbecido said.