SAN FABIAN – The so-called “brain drain” as a result of Filipino professionals seeking employment abroad is more than compensated for by the remittances they send to their relatives who can now send their children to school and become professionals too, President Macapagal-Arroyo observed Wednesday.

In a media interaction after lunch at the municipal town hall here, the President also noted that some 2 million jobs were created last year, about half of which were employment placements abroad. She claimed that her administration’s goal of six million jobs to be created during her term is on target.

She said that the money sent to the professionals’ relatives here will not only improve heir lives but will make them able to sent their children to school and become professionals someday.

Dollar remittances by overseas workers have made the economy stan afloat and is believed to be responsible for the strong showing of the peso against the U.S. dollar the past month until today.

Mrs. Arroyo went to this fourth district town to observe the feeding program of the Department of Education at the East Central School and to greet townsfolk o their town fiesta. She also distributed 123 irrigation pumps and 23 free land patents to beneficiaries coming from the fourth district towns.

Under the DepEd feeding program, identified malnourished children are given one kilo of rice daily for the entire school year. The nutrition-enhanced rice will not only benefit the pupil but also members of the family, she noted.

“Mas maraming pumapasok sa eskuwela ngayon at kokonti ang dropout,” (More pupils are attending their classes now, and there are lesser drop-outs), she said referring to the result of the feeding program. (DOS/PIA)