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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representative ERIC G. YAP 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is a vital tool in empowering 
communities, especially in rural and developing areas, by means of equipping 
individuals with employable skills that can directly uplift their socio-economic status. 
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has been at the 
forefront of this mission, bridging the gap between education and industry needs, and 
ensuring that Filipinos are prepared for both domestic and global labor demands. 
This bill seeks to establish Technical Education and Skills Development Authority 
(TESDA) Training and Assessment Centers in the municipalities of Mankayan, 
Kibungan, Kabayan, Atok, Itogon, and Tuba in the Province of Benguet. The proposed 
measure is filed in recognition of the need to bring accessible, high-quality skills 
training closer to communities, especially in geographically isolated areas where 
access to education and employment opportunities remains limited.  
The proposed measure will allow each municipality to operate a dedicated TESDA 
Training and Assessment Center that offers industry-relevant programs tailored to 
the specific needs and potential of its locality. These programs include skills training 
in industrial technology, agriculture, entrepreneurship, information technology, and 
trades, alongside support for marginalized groups such as out-of-school youth, 
indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities. It will also enable the Centers to 
collaborate with local schools, government agencies, and business partners to ensure 
alignment with economic and development priorities. 
The establishment of these Centers is expected to accelerate rural development by 
expanding access to skills training, increasing local employability, and promoting 
grassroots entrepreneurship. It will significantly contribute to bridging the urban-
rural opportunity gap and lay the groundwork for a more self-reliant and resilient 
labor force in Benguet. The passage of this bill, therefore, holds great promise in 
transforming lives, building strong local economies, and supporting the national goals 
for inclusive and sustainable development. 
September 4, 2025
2:41 pm
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In view of the foregoing, consideration of the passage of this bill is respectfully urged. 
HON. ERIC G. YAP


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representative ERIC G. YAP 
AN ACТ ESTABLISHING A TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS 
DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (TESDA) TRAINING AND ASSESSMENT 
CENTERS IN THE MUNICIPALITIES OF MANKAYAN, KIBUNGAN, 
KABAYAN, ATOK, ITOGON, AND TUBA, PROVINCE OF BENGUET, AND 
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
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 "Mankayan 
Kibungan, Kabayan, Atok, Itogon and Tuba, Benguet TESDA Training and 
Assessment Centers Act" 
SEC. 2. Establishment. - There are hereby established training and assessment 
centers, under the supervision of TESDA, to be known individually as follows:  
a. Mankayan, Benguet TESDA Training and Assessment Center;
b. Kibungan, Benguet TESDA Training and Assessment Center;
c. Kabayan, Benguet TESDA Training and Assessment Center;
d. Atok, Benguet TESDA Training and Assessment Center;
e. Itogon, Benguet TESDA Training and Assessment Center; and
f. Tuba, Benguet TESDA Training and Assessment Center.
They shall be located in highly accessible areas in the Municipalities of 
Mankayan, Kibungan, Kabayan, Atok, Itogon, and Tuba in the Province of Benguet, 
pursuant to the purposes of this Act, and to the agreement between the TESDA and 
the concerned local government units (LGUs).  
SEC. 3. General Mandate. - The Mankayan, Kibungan, Kabayan, Atok, Itogon, 
and Tuba, Benguet TESDA Training and Assessment Centers, hereinafter referred to 
as the Centers, shall primarily provide technical-vocational education and training 
(TVET) programs to students and local residents from low-income families and out-
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of-school youth, including persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples to help 
them become productive, self-reliant and globally competitive labor assets.  
 
The Centers shall provide effective employment interventions through training 
programs on relevant skills trade competencies, craftsmanship, and entrepreneurship 
activities that will help hasten the development of the host areas and the adjacent 
localities into human resource and productivity hubs.  
 
The Centers shall each serve as TESDA-accredited Assessment Center for 
acquired competencies in TVET programs. They shall also provide technical-
vocational training for teachers and curriculum design assistance to the secondary 
schools offering the technical-vocational livelihood track under the K to 12 Program 
in coordination with the Department of Education and the TESDA. 
 
SEC. 4. Training Programs. - The Centers shall offer short-term certificate 
courses and modular training courses in preferred technical-vocational skills and 
trades specialization. To this end, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), 
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology 
(DOST), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Interior 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 to enable the Centers to 
develop skilled manpower to achieve a robust and inclusive economy.  
 
The Centers may establish research and technology hubs, technology 
development farms, satellite or extension training centers, and promote mobile 
training programs to strengthen linkages among the industry partners, the academe, 
and the Centers geared towards the acquisition of practical livelihood, employable 
skills, gainful employment, and entrepreneurship capabilities.  
 
The Centers shall offer the following TVET programs with competencies 
assessment leading to National Certification Levels I-III:  
 
a. Skills training in industrial technology and hard trades such as metal and steelwork, 
machine fabrication and operation, heavy equipment operation, automotive 
mechanic, refrigeration and air conditioning, electronics, and operation of power tools 
and equipment for both medium skills grade and industrial purposes;  
 
b. 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; 
 
c. Livelihood skills development courses for preferred skills employment and small-
scale entrepreneurship, including practical skills education in arts and crafts, 


 
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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;  
 
d. Basic business literacy training in financial management and marketing, practical 
accountancy, bookkeeping and 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 use 
of social media business marketing;  
 
e. Technical-vocational occupation and trades skills such as carpentry, masonry, 
plumbing, welding, practical electricity and installation, automotive servicing, 
electronics servicing, personal computer servicing, and such other relevant practical 
skills courses;  
 
f. Computer literacy and information technology-related skills, web development, 
animation (3D Digital), game development, and computer-aided design application;  
 
g. Social communication skills and language proficiency courses in English and other 
languages for business process outsourcing employment and overseas job placement; 
 
h. Seminars in personality development, career counseling, job placement, and work 
ethic and values; and 
 
i. 
Other preferred skills and trades training that may be needed by the people of the 
Municipalities of Mankayan, Kibungan, Kabayan, Atok, Itogon, and Tuba, and of 
adjacent localities to enhance their capacities for practical livelihood, gainful 
employment, and entrepreneurial activities.  
 
SEC. 5. Compliance with TESDA Requirements. - The provisions of this Act 
notwithstanding, the Centers shall become operational only upon the issuance by the 
TESDA of a formal recommendation and certificate of compliance attesting that the 
Centers have satisfactorily complied with the minimum standards of quality it has 
prescribed governing the following:  
 
a. Standard procedures and guidelines for the establishment and operation of a Center; 
 
b. Operational sustainability of the Centers, in terms of licensed faculty-trainers and 
personnel, equipment, training and laboratory facilities, instructional materials, and 
other standard requirements of a Center;  
 
c. Sustainable funding source and allocation of the budgetary requirement; 
 
d. Full alignment of the training programs offered with the minimum standards of 
competency-based quality technical-vocational skills technology and the needs of the 
host areas and adjacent communities served within the context of the Association of 


 
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Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) integration and the Philippine Qualification 
Framework for TVET; and  
 
e. Compliance with such other TESDA conditionalities and standards, as may be 
necessary and applicable in establishing a Center.  
 
SEC. 6. Administration. - The Centers shall each be headed by a Technical-
Vocational Administrator, under the supervision of the TESDA, who shall render full-
time service and be responsible for the Centers' respective administration and 
operation.  
 
The Technical-Vocational Administrator 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 office. The Technical-
Vocational Administrator shall enter into agreements with locally-based private and 
public counterpart agencies or instrumentalities and persons for such assistance as 
may be necessary to effectively implement this Act, subject to the approval of the 
TESDA Director General. 
 
SEC. 7. Appropriations. - The Director General of the TESDA shall include in 
the Authority's program the operation of the Centers, the funding of which shall be 
included in the annual General Appropriations Act.  
 
The LGUs concerned, in consultation with the TESDA, shall set aside from any 
available local revenue an amount deemed appropriate as annual counterpart fund to 
support the operation of the Centers herein established. 
 
SEC. 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations. Within ninety (90) days after the 
approval of this Act, the TESDA shall, in coordination with the DOLE, DTI, DOST, 
DA, Department of Budget and Management, DILG, NEDA, the concerned LGUs, and 
such other relevant agencies and industry-business partners of the host localities, 
prepare and issue the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation 
of this Act. 
 
SEC. 6. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, any section or provision of this 
Act shall be deemed unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions 
thereof shall not be affected and shall remain in force and in effect. 
 
SEC. 7. 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. 8. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication 
in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved,