President Marcos has honored the achievements of young Filipino talents who represented the country in the recently concluded 14th WorldSkills ASEAN 2025.

Marcos congratulated the winners and praised their dedication, skill, and exceptional performance during the delegates' courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

“We did very well, and we're all very proud of you because there is more to this than just a contest or just a competition between different countries in ASEAN. It also shows the quality of the training that we have given our workers,” Marcos said in his speech.

The Philippine delegation delivered a strong performance at the competition, held from Aug. 26 to 28 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, winning 10 gold medals, seven silver medals, eight bronze medals, and five Medallions for Excellence.

“Considering that we are working so hard to retrain, reskill, upskill all our workers, this is going to be very, very important. But I said if we are going to host it, we should do well... I think that you have achieved our purpose,” the President said.

He stressed that the delegates’ success serves as an inspiration to Filipino youth and a testament to the quality of technical and vocational education in the country.

“Ito, dito sa inyong ginawa at sa naging successful na resulta, ay pinakita natin, hindi ito haka-haka na sinasabi na magaling ang Pilipino na manggagawa. Ay masasabi natin, ito may pruweba na tayo (Through what you have done and the successful results you’ve achieved, we have shown that Filipino workers are truly skilled, and it is not just talk. It’s something we can now prove),” Marcos said.

“You have made our reputation better, you have once again proved to the world the value of the Filipino worker,” he added.

The President has also granted the winners cash incentives through the Office of the President: P100,000 for each gold medalist, P80,000 for silver medalists, P60,000 for bronze medalists, and P50,000 for recipients of the Medallion for Excellence.

“It is a small price to pay, ika nga, for all the work that you do and all the excellence that you have shown and what you have done for the Filipinos and our reputation outside the Philippines, our reputation around the world,” Marcos said.

The 14th WorldSkills ASEAN brought together over 1,000 delegates from 10 ASEAN member states, with Timor-Leste participating for the first time.

Nearly 300 young professionals competed across 32 official skill areas, ranging from traditional trades in construction and manufacturing to high-tech fields such as CoBot Systems Integration, Industry 4.0, Cyber Security, Internet of Things, Autonomous Mobile Robotics, and 3D Digital Game Art.

The Philippines' hosting of the ASEAN WorldSkills came after almost three decades. The country last hosted the event in 1996.