Senator Edgardo J. Angara stressed on Saturday the need to institutionalize an advanced studies development program for qualified employees of the government and private sector.

Angara said Senate Bill 907, which he filed, aims to supply the country with highly trained leaders for industry, research and academe, providing a critical mass of elite professionals who shall take the lead in harnessing science, technology and related disciplines towards accelerating productivity in the domestic workforce.

“Many Filipinos have acquired advanced degrees and specialized training abroad through scholarship grants either of local or foreign funding. These scholarships have produced a number of high-level  professionals from the country. But many returning scholars have not found opportunities to maximize their newly acquired knowledge and training.

In effect, they stay overseas or leave the country in search of greener pastures abroad,” said Angara, former President of the University of the Philippines.

Angara proposed that under the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) there will be an established fellowship program for Filipinos employed in the government and the private sectors and those who are self-employed.