NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
Second Regular Session 
)
Senate
of rljf '%r< ■:rrtnr^
23 JUL20 P2 37
SENATE
s. No. 2333
RECEIVED
Introduced by Senator MARK A. VILLAR
AN ACT
CREATING A TRIPARTITE COUNCIL TO ADDRESS UNEMPLOYMENT, 
UNDEREMPLOYMENT, AND THE JOB-SKILLS MISMATCH PROBLEM IN THE 
COUNTRY, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Job-skills mismatch is a situation where there are more jobs available than there 
are qualified jobseekers, or a mismatch between qualifications and available positions. 
Despite the high employment rate, forty percent (40%) of Filipino employees are 
overqualified for their jobs with academic credentials beyond what is needed in their 
jobs yet earning only five percent (5%) more for finishing their education according 
to a study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). Also, jobseekers 
accept jobs that require less skills than what they trained for, most likely because they 
took a college degree program with little demand in the job market.
According to the Philippine Business for Education, job-skills mismatch in the 
Philippines is a huge problem that stems from years of disconnect. It is largely 
contributory to unemployment and underemployment in the Philippines, which 
prevents the State from fully maximizing the potential of our young workforce. 
Employers are actively hiring yet many vacancies remain unfilled. As such, many 
people still have difficulty finding jobs.
This proposed bill seeks to address this problematic situation of jobs and skills 
mismatch that has plagued our fresh graduates and the workforce.


Through this bill, a Jobs-Skills Mismatch Resolution Tripartite Council will be 
created which will formulate policies and programs to address this issue. It shall 
conduct an inventory, review, and evaluate courses, academic programs, and curricula 
of public and private higher educational institutions (HEIs) without violating their 
academic freedom, and the training programs in Technical Vocational Institutions. It 
will have an assessment of the qualifications, skills and competencies of students and 
graduates of higher education courses and technical-vocational education and training 
or TVET. This shall be a needs-basis inventory of job specifications and skills 
requirement of various industries. Ultimately, the council will serve all sectors of the 
workforce, may It be government or private.
The Council shall be composed of representatives from the government, 
academe, and industry sectors. It shall be attached to the Commission on Higher 
Education (CHED) for administrative and budgetary purposes.
This bill is a step closer in addressing the problem of unemployment, 
underemployment, and job-skills mismatch in the country will soon be addressed.
Therefore, passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
MARK A. VILLAR


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
Second Regular Session 
)
SENATE 
S. No. 2.S33
; J -li
i£>ffif*" of Tl]!’ i3r'r?r:in>
23 JUL20 P2 37
RITEIVlDBV;
Introduced by Senator MARK A. VILLAR
AN ACT
CREATING A TRIPARTITE COUNCIL TO ADDRESS UNEMPLOYMENT, 
UNDEREMPLOYMENT, AND THE JOB-SKILLS MISMATCH PROBLEM IN THE 
COUNTRY, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
1 
Sec. 1. Declaration of Policy. —The State hereby declares its policy to promote
2 
the sustained development of a skilled citizenry and maintain a reservoir or national
3 
talents consisting of Filipino scientists, entrpreneurs, professionals, managers, high-
4 
level technical manpower, and skilled workers and craftsmen in all fields. Skills
5 
development can reduce unemployment and underemployment, increase productivity,
6 
and improve the standards of living.
7 
The State shall ensure the relevance and adequacy of academic courses in the
8 
higher education curriculum and training programs offered in technical-vocational
9 
institutions in relation to the needs and requirements of the business and industry
10 
sectors and the over-all human resource requirement of the country pursuant to its
11 
economic development goals.
12 
Sec. 2. Creation of a Tripartite Council. — A Tripartite Council, hereinafter
13 
referred to as the Council, shall be established that shall formulate policies and
14 
programs to address the job-skills mismatch in the country. It shall be a coordinating
15 
body among the government, academe and industry sectors to primarily monitor


1 
economic trends in the global and domestic markets, including those pertaining to
2 
business and commerce and the local labor market, and to generate information
3 
relative to employment, unemployment, underemployment, and job-skills mismatch.
4 
The Council shall be made up of representatives from the government, academe, and
5 
industry.
6 
The government representatives shall be composed of the following: A
7 
Commissioner of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); a Deputy Director-
8 
General of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); an
9 
Undersecretary of the Department of Education (DepEd); an Undersecretary of the
10 
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); a Commissioner of the Civil Service
11 
Commission (CSC); and an Undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry
12 
(DTI).
13 
The representatives of the academe shall be the presidents of the federations
14 
of public and private higher education institutions (HEIs), public and private technical-
15 
vocational institutions (TVIs), and accreditation bodies of higher and technical-
16 
vocational educational institutions, which include the following: Philippine Association
17 
of State Universities and Colleges; Association of Local Colleges and Universities;
18 
Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations; Technical-Vocational Schools
19 
and Associations of the Philippines; National Network of Quality Assurance Agencies;
20 
and the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines.
21 
The representatives of the industry sector shall be the presidents of the
22 
following business and industry federations: Employers Confederation of the
23 
Philippines; Makati Business Club; Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the
24 
Philippines Foundation, Incorporated; Information Technology and Business Process
25 
Association of the Philippines; Philippine Business for Education; Management
26 
Association of the Philippines; Philippine Business for Social Progress; and the People
27 
Management Association of the Philippines.
28 
The Council shall be headed by a CHED Commissioner as Chairperson, and the
29 
Deputy Director-General of the TESDA shall be its Vice-Chairperson.


1 
The members of the Council, except for the ex officio memers, shall receive per
2 
diem every meeting attended in accordance with existing rules and regulations.
3 
The Council shall be attached to CHED for administrative and budgetary
4 
purposes.
5 
The CHED shall provide a secretariat to the Council to be manned by the organic
6 
personnel of the CHED and may be augmented by the employees from the member-
7 
agencies of the Council through detail or secondment.
8 
Sec. 3. Powers and Functions of the Councii. — The Council shall have the
9 
followins specific powers and functions:
10 
a) Monitor the trends in the labor market, both domestic and international, and
11 
the incidence of unemployment, underemployment and the job-skills
12 
mismatch problem in the country;
13 
b) Formulate short-term and long-term policies, plans and programs that shall
14 
address job-skills mismatch, unemployment, and underemployment;
15 
c) Conduct an inventory, review and evalutation of courses, academic
16 
programs and curricula of public and private HEIs and training programs
17 
implemented by TVIs;
18 
d) Conduct an assessment of qualifications, skills and competencies of
19 
students and graduates of higher education courses and technical-
20 
vocational education and training and benchmark these with national and
21 
international standards such as the Philippine Qualifications Framework,
22 
Association of Southeast Asian Nations Qualifications Reference Framework,
23 
other frameworks, and international agreements to which the Philippines is
24 
a signatory;
25 
e) Conduct an inventory of job specifications and skills requirement of various
26 
industries;
27 
f) Recommend to the President of the Philippines, Congress and other
28 
government institutions policy measures that need to be undertaken in
29 
addressing the problems of unemployment, underemployment and job-skills
30 
mismatch;


1 
g) Hold regular quarterly meetings; and
2 
h) Perform such other functions as may be necessary for its effective operation
3 
to achieve the mandate of this Act.
4 
Sec. 4. Annual Report and Assessment — Upon effectivity of this Act, the
5 
Council shall submit an annual report to Congress on the status of employment of
6 
college students and new graduates for the last five years, as well as an assessment
7 
of the trends in the labor market and the skills required by various industries and
8 
business establishments.
9 
Sec. 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days after
10 
the effectivity of this Act, the CHED shall, in coordination with the TESDA, DepEd, DTI,
11 
DOLE, and CSC, as well as other education stakeholders, issue the rules and
12 
regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.
13 
Sec. 6. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the implementation of this
14 
Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
15 
Sec. 7. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or
16 
unconstitutional, the provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force
17 
and effect.
18 
Sec. 8. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, presidential decrees,
19 
presidential proclamations, letter of instruction, rules and regulations or parts thereof
20 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified
21 
accordingly.
22 
Sec. 9. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
23 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,