Pay your interns, Lacson urges big companies, gov’t offices

Senator Panfilo Lacson during an online forum sponsored by FINEX. Screengrab from Facebook / FINEX

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential aspirant Senator Panfilo Lacson is urging big companies as well as government offices to provide fair compensation to their interns.

Speaking before a presidential economic forum hosted by business groups over the weekend, Lacson committed to capitalizing on the youth sector should he win the presidency in 2022.

“We should capitalize on our able and talented youth sector which has the potential to drive our economy,” Lacson said during the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) forum.

Lacson, who is running under the Partido Reporma, said government offices and big companies should “open their doors to these potential youths” and maximize their talents while ensuring that their services are compensated fairly.

The government and the private sectors, he said, must develop and promote a paid internship program among college graduates and undergraduate students, where their skills can be further developed and eventually can be used to maximize development and productivity.

This, as he stressed the need to tap young talents, which can potentially boost the government’s economy.

“We must promote a paid internship program where college graduates and undergraduates can undergo internships in government offices, as well as in private corporations and businesses, in order to maximize skills development and productivity,” Lacson added.

Many private companies and even government offices accept interns but most of them do not actually give compensation while some provide allowances.

According to Lacson, the paid internship program he will be pushing for will form part of the economic agenda which he seeks to introduce should he win in next year’s election.

EDV