NINETEENTH CONGRESS
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
Flrsl Regular Sesslon
lntroduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez
This bill was filed during the
Representatives.
House Bill No. _
EXPLANATORY NOTE
18th Congress and was approved by the House of
Article XlV, Section 2, Paragraph (1) of the 1987 Constitution provides:
SECTION 2. The State shall:
(1) Establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate, and
integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people
and society;
This bill seeks to convert the Cagayan de Oro (Bugo) School of Arts and Trades (COBSAT)
located in Cagayan de Oro City, Province of Misamis Oriental, into the Cagayan de Oro
Polytechnic lnstitute (COPI) under the supervision of the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA). The conversion shall establish COPI as a globally
competitive institution by providing relevant technical and vocational programs that shall be
made available to the people of Cagayan de Oro City.
It is worth noting that polytechnic institutes are included in the priority legislative agenda of
TESDA and also consistent with the "TESDA Abot Lahat"' advocacy campaign.
Graduates of the COPI shall be exposed to diverse opportunities in the domestic and in the
international labor market. Further, it will highly contribute to the economy of the City.
ln view of the foregoing, immediate approval of this measure is earnestly requested.
RUF
B.R
UEZ
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 1, 2022
6:13 pm
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NINETEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
FtTst Regu/ar Session 
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
lntroduced by Represenlative Rufus B. Rodriguez
AN ACT
CONVERTING THE CAGAYAN DE ORO (BUGO) SCHOOL OF ARTS AND TRADES
(COBSAT) IN THE CITY OF CAGAYAN DE ORO, PROVINCE OF i'ISAMls ORIENTAL,
INTO A TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPTIENT AUTHORITY (TESDA).
SUPERVISED AND ADI'INISTERED SCHOOL TO BE KNOWN AS THE POLYTECHNIC
INSTITUTE TO BE KNOWN AS THE CAGAYAN DE ORO POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
{COPI), AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of lhe Philippines in Congress
assemb/ed
SECTTON 1. Short fifre. - This Act shall be known as the "Cagayan de Oro Polytechnic
lnstitute Act".
SEC 2. Convercion. - The Cagayan de Oro (Bugo) School of Arts and Trades (GOBSAT)
located in Cagayan de Oro City, Province of Misamis Oriental, is hereby converted into the
Cagayan de Oro Polytechnic lnstitrite (COPI) under the supervision and administration of the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
House Bill No. 
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SEC 3. General Mandate. -The COPI shall restructure its technical-vocational education and
training (WET) programs to effect a major curricular shift in response to the demand of the
local and international labor market for technical skills, and align them with the standards of
the industry.
To this end, the COPI shall upgrade its curricular standards as a tediary TESDA-
polytechnic skills educational institution and provide higher level competency qualifications for
instructors in TESDA-registered WET programs and certificate courses. lt shall provide a wide
anay of relevant skills trainings and trade specialization courses to facilitate the acquisition by
the citizenry of the necessary technical skills that will enhance their access to gainful
employment, practical livelihood, and entrepreneurial opportunities, and thus hasten the
development of the host area and the adjacent localities in the Province of Misamis Oriental
into human resource and produc{ivity hubs.
Priority admission to the lnstitute, including availment of scholarships, grants-in-aid
and student financial assistance, shall be given to the most economically disadvantaged
students, out-of-school youths, persons with disabilities, and indigenous peoples in Cagayan
de Oro City and the adjacent localities in the Province of Misamis Oriental to ensure their
development into productive and globally competitive skilled labor assets.
Priority admission to the COPI, including availment of scholarships, grants-in-aid and
studentfinancial assistance, shall be given to the most economically disadvantaged students,
out-of-school youths, persons with disabilities, and indigenous peoples in the City of Cagayan
de Oro and the adjacent localities to ensure their development into productive, self-reliant and
globally competitive skilled labor assets.
The COPI shall serve as a TESDA-accredited assessment center for acquired
competencies in TVET programs in the Province of Misamis Oriental. lt shall also provide
teachers' training and cuniculum design assistance to the secondary schools offering the
technical-vocational livelihood track under the K to 12 Program in coordination with the
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Department of Education (DepEd), the TESDA, and the Department of Labor and Employment
(DoLE).
SEC 1. Cunicular OffeingslTraining Programs -The COPI shall offer TESDA+egistered
TVET programs, undergraduate certificate courses, and short-term courses and modular
trainings in preferred technical-vocational skills. lt shall aim to meet the competency
requirements under Level V of the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF), which is the
Diploma Level in TVET.
To this end, the DOLE, Department of Trade and lndustry (DTl), Department of
Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of the lnterior
and Local Government (DILG), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA),
business-industry partners, and other relevant agencies and instrumentalities, both local and
international, shall provide the necessary assistance so the COPI can produce skilled
manpower to supply the needs of a robust and inclusive economy.
The COPI may establish research and technology hubs, technology development
farms, satellite or extension training centers, promote mobile training programs, and
strengthen linkages with industry partners and the academe.
It shall also adopt the use of innovative training modes such as information technology-
assisted instruction, dual learning system, open or distance education, community laboratory,
and such other instructional programs that will allow local residents greater access to TVET
program offerings of the COPI.
Course completion at the COPI shall be credited through skills competency
assessment under National Certification (NC) Levels lll to V. When applicable, TVET
competency shall qualify for academic degree recognition under the ladderized interface
system for tertiary education, provided that the requirements of the Commission on Higher
Education are complied with.
The COPI shall offer skills development for higher competency qualifications in areas
relating to technical industrial education, trade technology, tourism, agricultural technology,
business literacy, and innovation in TESDA-registered skills courses as follows:
(a) Skills training in industrial technology and hard trades such as metal and steelwork,
machine fabrication and operation, heavy equipment operation, automotive
mechanictrl assembly, refrigeration and air conditioning, electronics, and operation of
power tools and equipment for both medium skills grade and industrial purposes;
(b) Tourism and hospitality-related courses relating to hotel, restaurant and tourism
development management;
(c) Agriculture and aquaculture-related trainings and skills development in such areas as
farming technology, fishing operations technology, backyard farming and home-based
aquaculture and propagation innovations, mechanized farming, fishing tools and
equipment operation, agribusiness, agri-aqua trade technology and innovations, and
relevant training seminars for farmers and fisherfolk to encourage entrepreneurship
and thus increase their productivity;
(d) Livelihood skills development courses for preferred skills employment and small-scale
entrepreneurship, including practical skills education in arts and crafts, workmanship
and design, high-speed sewing, dressmaking and tailoring, horticulture, livestock
raising and breeding, food processing technology, home technology, culinary arts and
commercial cooking, cosmetology, and health and wellness training;
(e) Basic business literacy training in financial management, marketing, practical
accountancy,
(0 bookkeeping, office procedures, business processes and application procedures
including registration, licensing, documentation, business patent and intellectual
property regulation, business financing and investment opportunities sourcing, import-
export accreditation, online home-based business operation, and social media
business marketing;
(g) Technical-vocational occupation and trades skills such as carpentry, masonry,
plumbing,
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(h) welding, practical electricity and installation, automotive servicing, electronics
servicing, personal computer servicing, and such other relevant practical skills
courses;
(i) Computer literacy and information technology-related skills, basic computer operation,
web
O development, digital animation, game development, and computer-aided design
application;
(k) Social communication skills and language proficiency courses in Engllsh and other
languages for business process outsourcing employment and overseas job placement;
(l) Seminars on personality development, career counseling, job placement, and work
ethic and values; and
(m) Other preferred skills and trades training that may be needed by the people of Cagayan
de
(n) Oro City and the adjacent localities to enhance their capacities for practical livelihood,
gainful employment, and entrepreneurial activities.
SEG 5. Compliance with TESDA Reguirements. - The provisions of this Act notwithstanding,
the conversion of the COBSAT into the COPI shall become operational only upon the issuance
by the TESDA of a formal recommendation and certificate of compliance attesting that the
COPI has satisfac;torily complied with the minimum standards of quality it has prescribed
governing the following: a) standard procedures and guidelines for the conversion and
operation of a TESDA polytechnic institute; b) operational sustainability of the COPI in terms
of licensed facultytrainers and personnel, equipment, training and laboratory facilities,
instructional materials, and other standard requirements of a TEsDA-accredited and
supervised school; c) sustainable funding source and regular allocation of budgetary
requirement for TESDA-operated schools; d) full alignment of the training programs offered
with the minimum standards of competency-based quality technical-vocational technology
skills and the needs of the host area and adjacent localities served within the context of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) integration and the PQF for TVET; and e)
compliance with such other TESDA conditionalities and standards, as may be necessary and
applicable, on the conversion of the COBSAT.
SEC 6. Administration. - The COPI shall be headed by a School Superintendent under the
supervision of the TESDA, who shall render full-time service and be responsible for its
administration and operation. The School Superintendent shall be appointed by the TESDA
Director General in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Civil Service Commission
and the qualification requirements for such ofiice.
The School Superintendent shall enter into agreement with locally-based private and
public counterpart agencies or instrumentalities and persons, and seek such assistance as
may be necessary to effectively implement this Act, subject to the approval of the TESDA
Director General.
The academic and administrative staff of the COPI shall be organized following the
staffing pattern of TESDA for such type of schools, pursuant to existing laws, rules and
regulations, and the position classification and compensation of the Department of Budget and
Management (DBM). Pursuant to existing laws and promulgations, the COPI shall likewise
establish its governing board thereafter.
SEC 7. Assets, Liabilities and Personnel. -All assets, fixed and movable, personnel, records
and documents, as well as the liabilities or obligations of the COBSAT, shall be transfened to
the COPI: Provided, That the positions, rights and security of tenure of faculty and personnel
therein employed prior to its conversion into the COPI, shall not be impaired, pursuant to
existing laws.
All parcels of land belonging to the govemment occupied by the defunct COBSAT are
henceforth declared property of the COPI and shall be titled under that name: Provided, That,
should the COPI cease to exist or such aforementioned parcels of land be no longer needed
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by the COPI, the same shall revert to the concerned local government unit (LGU), or to the
City of Cagayan de Oro, Province of Misamis Oriental,
SEC 8. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the initial funding of the operations of
COPI shall be charged against the current yeads appropriations of COBSAT. Thereafter, the
funding of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
SEC 9. lmplementing Rules and Regulations. - Wthin ninety (90) days after the approval of
this Act, the TESDA shall, in coordination with the DOLE, DTl, DOST, DA, the DBM, DILG,
NEDA, the concerned LGUs, and such other relevant agencies and industry-business partners
of the host locality, prepare and issue the necessary rules and regulations for the effective
implementation of this Act.
SEC 10. Separability Clause. - lf, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act shall be
deemed unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof shall not be affected
and shall remain in force and in effect.
SEC I {. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, decrees, instructions, rules and
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with any provision of this Act are repealed or amended
accordingly.
SEC 12. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days afier its publication in the
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,
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