Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _____________
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Introduced by Representative 
BRIAN DANIEL POE LLAMANZARES, PhD, MNSA 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TRIPARTITE COUNCIL TO ADDRESS 
UNEMPLOYMENT, UNDEREMPLOYMENT AND JOB-SKILLS MISMATCH, AND 
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Unemployment, underemployment, and job-skills mismatch remain persistent challenges 
in the Philippine labor market. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), millions 
of Filipinos either have no work, are forced to take jobs below their skill level, or are employed 
in positions that do not match their qualifications. This situation not only hampers productivity 
and economic growth but also prevents many Filipinos from attaining a dignified standard of 
living. 
One key reason for this disconnect is the gap between the skills produced by our 
educational institutions and the actual needs of industry. While our higher education institutions 
(HEIs) and technical-vocational institutions (TVIs) produce a significant number of graduates 
every year, many employers still report difficulty finding applicants with the right competencies. 
This indicates a systemic misalignment between education and labor market demand. 
To address this, there is a pressing need for a Tripartite Council that will serve as a 
permanent, institutionalized platform for collaboration between the government, academe, and 
industry. By monitoring labor market trends, assessing current educational and training 
August 13, 2025
5:41 pm
3723


programs, and recommending policy reforms, the Council can ensure that our workforce is 
equipped with relevant and competitive skills. 
This proposed measure seeks to: 
●
Institutionalize cooperation between government agencies, educational institutions, and
business sectors to tackle unemployment, underemployment, and job-skills mismatch;
●
Review and align curricula and training programs with national and international labor
market demands;
●
Provide accurate and timely labor market intelligence to guide both policy and
education planning; and
●
Recommend actionable policies to bridge the skills gap and improve employability of
graduates.
By enacting this bill, we invest in a future where every Filipino has the opportunity to
develop skills that match industry needs, where employers can readily find qualified talent, and 
where our economy benefits from a more productive, competitive, and adaptable workforce. 
In view of the foregoing, the swift passage of this measure is earnestly sought. 
HON. BRIAN DANIEL POE LLAMANZARES, PhD, MNSA 
Representative 
FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-List 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _____________
3723
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Introduced by Representative 
BRIAN DANIEL POE LLAMANZARES, PhD, MNSA 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TRIPARTITE COUNCIL TO ADDRESS 
UNEMPLOYMENT, UNDEREMPLOYMENT AND JOB-SKILLS MISMATCH, AND 
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy  —   It is declared the policy of the State to reduce the 
levels of unemployment and underemployment, increase productivity, and improve the standards 
of living in the country through the sustained development of a skilled citizenry and maintenance 
of a reservoir of national talents consisting of Filipino scientists, entrepreneurs, professionals, 
managers, high-level technical manpower, and skilled workers and craftsmen in ail fields. To this 
end, the State shall ensure the relevance and adequacy of academic programs of higher education 
institutions (HEIs) and training programs offered in technical-vocational institutions (TVIs) in 
relation to the needs and requirements of the business and industry sectors and the over-all 
human resource requirement of the country pursuant to its socioeconomic development goals. 
SECTION 2. Creation of a Tripartite Council. — There is hereby established a Tripartite 
Council, hereinafter referred to as the Council, that shall formulate policies and programs to 
address the problems of unemployment, underemployment and job-skills mismatch in the 
country. It shall be a coordinating body among the government, academe and industry sectors to 
primarily monitor economic trends in the global and domestic markets, including those 
pertaining to business and commerce and the local labor market, and to generate information 


relative to employment, unemployment, underemployment, and job-skills mismatch. The 
Council shall be made up of representatives from the government, academe, and industry. 
The government representatives shall be composed of the following: a Commissioner of 
the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); a Deputy Director-General of the Technical 
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); an Undersecretary of the Department of 
Education (DepEd); an Undersecretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); an 
Undersecretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST); an Undersecretary of the 
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); a Commissioner of the Civil Service 
Commission(CSC); and a Commissioner of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). 
The representatives of the academe shall be composed of the presidents of the federations 
of public and private HEIs, public and private TVIs, and accreditation bodies of higher and 
technical-vocational educational institutions, which shall include the following: Philippine 
Association of State Universities and Colleges; Association of Local Colleges and Universities; 
Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations; Technical-Vocational Schools and 
Associations of the Philippines; National Network of Quality Assurance Agencies; and the 
Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines. 
The representatives of the industry sector shall be composed of the presidents of the 
following business and industry federations: Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; 
Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines; Employers Confederation of the Philippines; 
Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Incorporated; 
Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines; Philippine 
Business for Education; Management Association of the Philippines; Philippine Business for 
Social Progress; and the People Management Association of the Philippines. 
The Council shall be headed by a CHED Commissioner as Chairperson, and the Deputy 
Director-General of the TESDA shall be its Vice-Chairperson. The members of the Council, 
except for the ex-officio members, shall receive per diem for every meeting attended in 
accordance with existing rules and regulations. The Council shall be attached to the CHED for 
administrative and budgetary purposes. 
The CHED shall provide a secretariat to the Council to be manned by the organic 
personnel of the CHED and may be augmented by the employees from the member-agencies of 
the Council through detail or secondment. 
For the effective performance of its functions, the Council may, upon the 
recommendation of the CHED and the TESDA, revise the composition of its members. 
SECTION 3. Powers and Functions of the Council. - The Council shall have the following 
specific powers and functions: 


a) Monitor the trends in the domestic and international labor market vis-a-vis the 
incidence of unemployment, underemployment and the job-skills mismatch in the 
country; 
b) Formulate short-term and long-term policies, plans and programs that shall address 
job-skills mismatch, unemployment and the job-skills mismatch in the country; 
c) Conduct and inventory, review and evaluation of courses, academic programs and 
curricula of public and private HEIs and technical education and training programs of 
TVIs; 
d) Conduct an assessment of qualifications, skills and competencies of students and 
graduates of higher education courses and technical-vocational education and training 
and benchmark these with national and international standards such as the Philippine 
Qualifications Framework, Association of Southeast  Asian Nations Qualifications 
Reference Framework, and other relevant frameworks and international agreements to 
which the Philippines is a signatory. 
e) Conduct an inventory of job specifications and skills requirement of various industries; 
f) Recommend to the President of the Philippines, Congress and other government 
institutions such policies to address the problems of unemployment, underemployment 
and job-skills mismatch; 
g) Request the assistance of government agencies in the performance of its duties and 
functions; 
h) Hold regular quarterly meetings; and 
i) Perform such other functions as may be necessary for its effective operation to achieve 
the objectives of this Act. 
SECTION 4. Annual Report and Assessment. — Upon effectivity of this Act, the Council shall 
submit an annual report to Congress on the status of employment of college students and new 
HEI or TVI graduates for the last five (5) years, as well as an assessment of the trends in the 
labor market and the skills required by various industries and business establishments. 
SECTION 5. Appropriations. —  The amount necessary for the effective implementation of this 
Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. 
SECTION 6. Implementing Rules and Regulations. —  Within sixty (60) days after the 
effectivity of this Act, the CHED shall, in coordinationwith the TESDA, DepEd, DOLE, DOST, 


DTI, CSC, and PRC, as well as other education stakeholders, promulgate the rules and 
regulations for the effective implementation of this Act. 
SECTION 7. Separability Clause. —  
If any provision or part hereof is declared 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provision not affected thereby shall remain in 
full force and effect. 
SECTION 8. Repealing Clause. — All laws, acts, decrees, executive orders, issuances, and rules 
and regulations or parts thereof which are contrary to and inconsistent with this Act are hereby 
repealed, amended or modified accordingly. 
SECTION 9. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the 
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
HON. BRIAN DANIEL POE LLAMANZARES, PhD, MNSA 
Representative 
FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-List