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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session  
House Bill No. _________ 
Introduced by Representative Richard I. Gomez, DPA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Republic Act No. 7796, also known as the Technical Education and Skills Development 
Act of 1994, provides that the State shall, “provide relevant, accessible, high quality and efficient 
technical education and skills development in support of the development of high-quality Filipino 
middle-level manpower responsive to and in accordance with Philippine development goals and 
priorities.” 
This bill seeks to establish the TESDA Skills, Training and Accreditation Center in the 
City of Ormoc, Province of Leyte to be known as Ormoc TESDA Training and Accreditation 
Center Act.   
The establishment of an accessible and high-quality skills development center would  
benefit not only high school and fresh college graduates but also any citizen in the area and its 
neighboring municipalities who wish to learn new skills as an added means for livelihood. Such 
an institution would open new possibilities and opportunities for families to augment their 
incomes. 
This bill was originally filed in the 19th Congress where it was approved on third reading 
and was transmitted to the Senate in August 2024. This refiled version is the substitute bill after 
approval on third reading.  
In view of the foregoing, the swift passage of this bill is requested. 
RICHARD I. GOMEZ, DPA 
July 21, 2025
3:36 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session  
House Bill No. _________________ 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by Representative Richard I. Gomez, DPA 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING A TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT 
AUTHORITY TRAINING AND ASSESSMENT CENTER IN THE CITY OF ORMOC, 
PROVINCE OF LEYTE AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Establishment of a Training and Assessment Center. - There is hereby 
established a training and assessment center, under the supervision of the Technical Education and 
Skills Development Authority (TESDA), to be known as the "Ormoc City, Leyte TESDA Training 
and Assessment Center". It shall be located in a highly accessible area in the City of Ormoc, 
Province of Leyte, pursuant to the purposes of this Act and the agreement between the TESDA 
and the concerned local government units (LGUs). 
SEC. 2. General Mandate. - The Ormoc City, Leyte TESDA Training and Assessment 
Center, hereinafter referred to as the Center, shall primarily provide technical-vocational education 
and training (TVET) programs to students and local residents from low-income families and out-
of-school youths, including persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples, to help them become 
productive, self-reliant, and globally competitive labor assets. 
The Center shall provide effective employment interventions through training programs on 
relevant skills in trade competencies, craftsmanship, and entrepreneurship activities to help hasten 
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the development of the host area and its adjacent localities into human resource and productivity 
hubs. 
 
The Center shall also provide technical-vocational training for teachers and curriculum 
design assistance to the secondary schools in the Province offering the technical-vocational 
livelihood track under the K to 12 Program, in coordination with the Department of Education 
(DepEd) and the TESDA. 
 
SEC. 3. Training Programs. - The Center shall offer short-term certificate courses and 
modular trainings 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 
the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Economy, Planning, and Development 
(DEPDev), business-industry partners, and other relevant agencies and instrumentalities, both 
local and international, shall provide the necessary assistance to enable the Center to develop 
skilled manpower to achieve a robust and inclusive economy in the host area and its adjacent 
localities. 
 
The Center may establish research and technology hubs, technology development farms, 
satellite or extension training centers, promote mobile training programs, and strengthen linkages 
among the industry partners, the academe, and the Center geared towards the acquisition by 
residents of practical livelihood, employable skills, gainful employment, and entrepreneurial 
capabilities in priority areas in the City of Ormoc and adjacent localities in the Province of Leyte. 
The Center 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 mechanical assembly, 
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, workmanship and design, 
high-speed sewing, dressmaking and tailoring, horticulture, livestock raising and breeding, food 


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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 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, digital technology, web 
design, animation, photoshop or online photography, computer design and advertising; 
 
(g) Social communication skills and language proficiency courses in English and other 
languages for business process outsourcing employment and overseas job placement; 
 
(h) 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 City 
of Ormoc and of adjacent localities to enhance their capacities for practical livelihood, gainful 
employment, and entrepreneurial activities. 
 
SEC. 4. Compliance with TESDA Requirements. - The provisions of this Act 
notwithstanding, the Center shall become operational only upon the issuance by the TESDA of a 
formal recommendation and certificate of compliance attesting that the Center has 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 Center, 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 area and adjacent communities served within 
the context of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations integration and the Philippine 
Qualifications Framework for TVET; and (e) compliance with such other TESDA conditionalities 
and standards as may be necessary and applicable in establishing a Center. 
 


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SEC. 5. Administration of the Center. - The Center shall be headed by a Technical-
Vocational Administrator who shall render full-time service and be responsible for its 
administration and operation, under the supervision of the TESDA. 
 
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 may enter into agreements with locally-based 
private and public counterpart agencies, instrumentalities or persons, and seek such assistance as 
may be necessary to effectively implement this Act, subject to the approval of the TESDA Director 
General. 
 
SEC. 6. Appropriations. - The Director General of the TESDA shall include in the 
Authority's program the operation of the Center, 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 Center herein established. 
 
SEC. 7. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days after the approval 
of this Act, the TESDA, in coordination with the DOLE, the DTI, the DOST, DepEd, the DEPDev, 
the Department of Budget and Management (DMB), the DILG, the concerned LGU, and such 
other relevant agencies and industry-business partners of the host locality shall prepare and issue 
the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of this Act. 
 
SEC. 8. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act shall 
be deemed unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof not affected thereby 
shall remain in force and effect. 
 
SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, decrees, instructions, rules and 
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with any provision of this Act are hereby repealed or 
amended accordingly. 
 
SEC. 10. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in 
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
 
Approved,