On presidents and passports wrong term used Gentlemen,

This has reference to the above subject. (The FREEMAN Sept. 5 issue Page 4 article titled “September 9 declared non-working holiday”.)

May I invite your attention to the second to the last paragraph of the article which reads, quote “At the outbreak of World War II, Osmeña became one of the most famous politicians in the country and became acting president in 1943 and later succeeded the presidency when president Manuel L. Quezon died in New York during exile” unquote.

Emphasis is focused on the underlined phrase “became acting president in 1943”. The late Sergio Osmeña Sr. never became acting president of the Philippines in 1943 because during the Japanese occupation from 1932 up to the middle of 1944, the Philippine Commonwealth Government led by Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmeña Sr., president and vice president, respectively, was in exile in America. During this period the Japanese authorities appointed Jose P. Laurel, Sr. as a puppet president and caretaker of the government.

The late Sergio Osmeña Sr. became president by succession on Aug. 2, 1944 upon the death of Quezon on Aug. 1, 1944 in Saranac Lake, New York. His (Osmeña Sr.) reign as president lasted for almost two years because he lost to Manuel A. Roxas in the presidential elections held on Apr. 23, 1946.

For your information.

Very truly yours,

Roland Enojardo

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College degree: A passport to jobs or not?

Prices are increasing while employment is decreasing. Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the Philippines, where unemployment is ranked highest in Southeast Asia. A definite trend is evident here in the country that three out of ten fresh college graduates are unemployed.

As you are reading this article a high number of college students are soon going to be marching towards their diplomas across different universities. With this diploma all hopes and dreams of finding a good job are sealed. For it guide us within a career journey that can hopefully make a difference in the country if we use our schooling to its fullest extent.

As the lining up for the much-awaited diplomas surcease, the long frustrating list of the unemployed begins. Five-hundred thousand college graduates are produced yearly, all trying to be employed. According to statistical analysis only a fraction of them will find a job with financial stability while the rest would grab the last resort of an odd job that technically does not match up with what they have studied in college.

Graduating months are also known as the increase-of-the-unemployed month. The economy could only offer 900,000 job opportunities, making 200,000 people unemployed, all with a college ring on their finger. Sad to say that for this year's college graduates, the opportunities are worse than it seems. A higher level of difficulty in finding a job is increased at 7.1 percent.

Many critics have even spoken out their minds saying that this is just an artificial number since those who are working in family farms and part-time jobs are counted as employed. For those who won't give up and really want to land a decent paying job, the last option available is grabbing a passport and flying to an alien land far away from home, wherein this last opportunity would earn them their status as employed.