GMA graces PRISAA inaugurals

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – President Arroyo opened the week-long Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) National Games here yesterday before an estimated crowd of 10,000 at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center as she stressed the need to keep private schools alive.

Mrs. Arroyo, who spoke briefly, distributed with Education Secretary Fe Hidalgo high school vouchers to five public schools in Pangasinan with 50 student-recipients each. The vouchers funded by the national government at P4,000 each will be used by the beneficiaries in enrolling in private schools.

The funds came from Mrs. Arroyo’s educational funds for public schools. The recipients were Dulag Elementary School in Binmaley town, Cabayaoasan Elementary School in Mangatarem, Doyong Elementary School in Calasiao, Pogoroac Elementary School in Burgos and Matic-matic Elementary School in Sta. Barbara.

The President said she is hoping that there will be a champion from the PRISAA Games who will compete and win in the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

"We celebrated Manny Pacquiao. We celebrated the champions in the South East Asian Games. Now we are celebrating the private schools for our future," Mrs. Arroyo said in Filipino.

She said she wanted to make private schools alive especially those schools experiencing difficulty because most students enroll in public schools now.

She added that the vouchers she gave are for students who would later enroll in private schools and the government will pay P4,000 per voucher.

She said this is part of the pump priming project under her administration. She added that in the 2006 budget, the funds for the scholarship for private schools were doubled and the funds used for the vouchers was part of the P35 billion pump priming budget.

She added that this January alone, about P500 million has been released for the high school voucher.

Meanwhile, lawyer Gonzalo Duque, president of the PRISAA National Games and the Ilocos chairman, told the athletes that "Wag kayong mag-away away. Wag ninyong gayahin ang mga pulitiko natin (Don’t quarrel. Don’t imitate our politicians)," that led the audience laughing.

The national games is being hosted by the province for the first time in the 53-year history of the PRISAA and some 4,000 athletes and athletic officials from the 16 regions of the country are participating.

The games, which will feature athletics, baseball, basketball, lawn tennis, sepak takraw, volleyball, chess, table tennis, badminton, softball, swimming and taekwondo, started at various venues at 1 p.m. yesterday. — Eva Visperas and Cesar Ramirez