Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

ReCeiveD

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No, 4996

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE ARTHUR C. YAP

EXPLANATORY NOTE

With a declared policy to provide relevant, accessible, high quality and
efficient technical education and skills development Republic Act No. 7796
was ordained in August 1994. The Technical Educations and Skills
Development Authority was thus born.

The creation of TESDA was a result of the then Congressional
Commission on Education, which in 1991 undertook a national review of the
state of Philippine education and manpower development. The then National
Manpower and Youth Council (NMYC) and Apprenticeship Program of the
Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) under the Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE) and the Bureau of Technical and Vocational Education
(BTVE) under the then Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS)
were fused to form TESDA.

Today, 22 years after its inception TESDA has become synonymous to
the authority in technical vocational education and training (TVET). It has
laid out clear directions, with formulated plans and policies for the sector. It
has pioneered a job matching system and created training programs that can
be specifically utilized and applied for available jobs in the market.

It has developed competency assessment and certification of workers
continuously done in the pursuit of professionalizing skilled workers. It offers
several training modalities, which may be school-based, center-based,
enterprise-based and community-based. It has several administered schools,
training centers, enterprise-based training through apprenticeship and
community-based training in cooperation with LGUs and other governmental
partners.

This bill seeks to create the Department of Technical Education and
Skills Development. The TESDA shall be subsumed under the said new
Department. This new Department shall be the primary policy formulation,
planning, coordinating, implementing, regulating and administrative entity of

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the government for technical education and skills development policies, plans
and programs. It shall now be headed by a Secretary with 3 Undersecretaries
and 3 Assistant Secretaries. There will be regional offices headed by Regional
Directors. The existing TESDA secretariat would be enlarged and empowered
more.

With this proposal, the TESDA will be strengthened as an institution,
It would have a better capacity to fulfill its mandate for the Filipino workforce,
the world’s primary manpower source, a truly world class worker.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate consideration and passage of
the bill is earnestly sought.



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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Ss Session

irene Bill No. A596 596

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE ARTHUR C. YAP

AN ACT

ESTABLISHING THE DEPARTMENT OF TECHNICAL

EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT (DOTESD),

DEFINING ITs POWERS AND FUNCTIONS,

APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AMENDING

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7796, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS.

THE TESDA ACT OF 1994, AND FOR OTHER

PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines
in Congress assembled.

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the
"Department of Technical Education and Skills Development Act of 2016."

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policies ~ It is the continued objective
of this Act to further promote quality technical education and skills
development programs to attain international competitiveness; meet the
changing demands for quality middle-level manpower; disseminate scientific
and technical knowledge base of middle-level manpower development
programs; recognize and encourage the complementary roles of public and

private institutions in technical education and skills development and training

systems; and inculcate desirable values through the development of moral


character with emphasis on work ethic, self-discipline, self- reliance and
nationalism,

SECTION 3. Creation of a Department of Technical Education and
Skills Development. - There is hereby created a Department of Technical
Education and Skills Development (DOTESD), hereinafter referred to as the
Department, which shall, replace the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA) created under Republic Act No. 7796, as
amended, and implement the policies of this Act.

SECTION 4. Mandate. - The Department shall be the primary policy
formulation, planning, coordinating, implementing, regulating and
administrative entity of the Government for technical education and skills
development policies, plans and programs.

SECTION 5. Powers and Functions of the Department. — Other than
the powers and function of the TESDA Board under Section 8 of R. A. 7796,
the Department shall have the following powers and responsibilities, which
shall be exercised by its offices:

a) Formulate and recommend national policies and guidelines and conduct
in-depth studies on all policy areas and options that will promote
technical education and skills development, in consultation with the
relevant stake holders;

b) Assess, review, harmonize and coordinate all technical education and
skills development policies and programs to ensure overall consistency
and implementation of the national policies;

c) Promote, advance and implement general and specific government

objectives for technical education and skills development;


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d) Promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of its policies
and related laws;

0) Administer, accept, hold and utilize property, both personal and real,
subject to existing laws, for the purpose of assisting or expediting the
work of the Department, and,

p) To perform such other functions as maybe needed to achieve its goals
and objectives to the fullest and as may be provided by this Act.

SECTION 6. Composition. - Department shall be headed by a
Secretary. The Department proper shall be composed of the Office of the
Secretary, the Offices of Undersecretaries, and Assistant Secretaries and
Regional and Assistant Regional Directors.

The TESDA Board created under Sections 6 and 7 of R. A. 7796 is
hereby abolished.

SECTION 7. Secretary of Technical Education and Skills
Development. — The Secretary shall be appointed by the President of the
Republic of the Philippines with confirmation of the Commission on
Appointments. The Secretary shall have the following functions:

a) Provide executive direction and supervision over the entire operations
of the Department and its attached agencies;

b) Establish policies and standards for the effective, efficient and
economical operation of the Department, in accordance with the
programs of the government;

c) Review and approve request for financial and manpower resources of

all operating offices of the Department;


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d) Designate and appoint officers and employees of the Department,
excluding the Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries, in
accordance with the Civil Service laws, rules and regulations;

¢) Coordinate with other government agencies and public and private
interest groups, including non-government organizations (NGOs) and
people's organizations (POs) on Department policies and initiatives;

f) Undertake consultations with other members of the Cabinet and
officers of the government relating to technical education and skills
development concerns;

g) Advice the President on the promulgation of executive and
administrative orders and regulatory and legislative proposals on
matters pertaining to technical education and skills development
development;

h) Advise the President of the activities, programs, plans and all
information necessary or relevant to technical education and skills
development development;

i) Coordinate all policies and programs relating to technical education
and skills development,

j) Formulate such rules and regulations and exercise such other powers
as may be required to implement the objectives of this Act; and,

k) Perform such other tasks as may be provided by law or assigned by the
President from time to time.

SECTION 8. Undersecretaries. - The Secretary shall be assisted by

three (3) Undersecretaries who shall be appointed by the President upon

recommendation of the Secretary: Provided, That one (1) of the


undersecretaries shall be a career officer coming from the ranks of existing
government labor agencies. The undersecretaries shall aid the Secretary in the
performance of his/her operational duties, and shall perform such other
functions as may be directed by the Secretary, Provided further that, two
Undersecretarics shall assume the functions of the former TESDA Deputy
Director Generals for Vocational and Technical Education and Training and
for Policies and Planning.

SECTION 9. Assistant Secretaries. - The Secretary shall be assisted
by three (3) assistant secretaries who shall be career officers appointed by the
President upon the recommendation of the Secretary.

SECTION 10. Qualifications. - No person shall be appointed
Secretary, Undersecretary or Assistant Secretary of the Department unless he
is a citizen and resident of the Philippines of good moral character and of
proven integrity.

SECTION 11. Regional Offices. - The Department shall be authorized
to establish, operate, and maintain a Regional Office in each of the
administrative regions of the country as the need arises. The regional office
shall be headed by a Regional Director, who may be assisted by one (1)
Assistant Regional Director. The regional offices shall have, within their
respective administrative regions, the following functions:

a) Implement laws, policies, plans, programs, projects, rules and
regulations of the Department;
b) Provide technical expertise and know-how and information to

technical education and skills development and efficient services;


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c) Coordinate with regional offices of other departments, offices, and
agencies and local government units for the consolidation and
integration of technical education and skills development programs;
and,

d) Perform such other functions as may be provided by law or assigned
by the Secretary.

SECTION 12. Transfer of TESDA Secretariat. - The TESDA
Secretariat created under Section of R. A. 7996 shall comprise the manpower
of the Department, Provided That, no employee shall be terminated by virtue
of this transfer.

The laws and rules on government reorganization as provided for in
Republic Act No. 6656, otherwise known as the Reorganization Law, shall
govern the transfer and reorganization process of the Department.

SECTION 13. Sectoral and Industry Task Forces - The Department
may create sectoral and industry task forces, technical working groups,
advisory bodies or committees for the furtherance of its objectives. Additional
private sector representatives, such as from the labor sector, academe and
private industries directly involved in the development of technical education
and skills developments, as well as other National Government Agencies
(NGAs), LGUs, and GOCCs, may be appointed to these working groups.

SECTION 14. Structure and Staffing Pattern - The Department shall
determine its organization structure and create new divisions or units as it may
deem necessary, and shall appoint officers and employees of the Department

in accordance with the Civil Service law, rules, and regulations.


SECTION 15. Appropriation - The appropriation allotted for the
TESDA shall be transferred to the Department: Provided, That the amount
needed for the initial implementation of the this Act shall be taken from the
current fiscal year's appropriation of the transferred agencies to the
Department of Overseas Filipino Workers. Thereafter, the amount needed for
the operation and maintenance of the Department shall be included in the
General Appropriations Act: Provided, That for the next fiscal year, following
the approval of this Act, the appropriation for the Department shall not be
lower than five billion pesos.

SECTION 16. Separability Clause - If any part or provision of this
Act is held unconstitutional or invalid, the other parts or provisions hereof
which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SECTION 17. Repealing Clause - All laws, orders, rules or
regulations which, are inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this
Act are hereby amended or repealed accordingly.

SECTION 18. Effectivity - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general
circulation.

APPROVED.