Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill NoSS11 ul

Introduced by Representative EVELINA G. ES;CUDERO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Human resource development is fundamental to the nation’s economic
development. The global and regional liberalization of trade and investments
aimed at accelerating economic growth necessitate the strengthening of relevant
and acquisition of new skills set that respond to the dynamics of the current
economy.

‘The Technical Education And Skills Development Authority (TESDA)
was created by Republic Act 7796 to ensure that the country’s human resource
is responsive to the present demands of the economy by providing Filipinos
relevant, accessible, high quality and efficient technical education and skills
development in accordance with Philippine development goals and priorities.

Cognizant of the role of TESDA in the development of the country’s
skilled workforce, this bill seeks to establish a TESDA Training and Accreditation
Center in the City of Sorsogon, to be known as the Sorsogon City TESDA
Training and Accreditation Center. The Center shall serve the constituents not
only of Sorsogon City but of the entire province of Sorsogon and shall
complement and strengthen the existing TESDA accredited schools and training
centers located therein.

As human resource is the primary force that drives regional and national
development, the approval of this bill is thus earnestly sought.

wh G. ESCUDERO

+ Skills Shortages And Training Needs Of MNCs In The Philippines (Issue No. 20). Accessible at
tp: / /www.tesda.gov.ph/ About/TESDA/62


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill Noes! 1

Introduced by Representative EVELINA G. ESCUDERO

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A TECHNICAL EDUCATION
AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (TESDA) TRAINING AND
ACCREDITATION CENTER IN SORSOGON CITY, TO BE KNOWN AS THE
SORSOGON CITY TESDA TRAINING AND ACCREDITATION CENTER, 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 knownas the "Sorsogon City TESDA
Training and Accreditation Center Act’.

Sec. 2, Establishment, -There is hereby established a Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Training and Accreditation Center in
Sorsogon City, under the supervision of the TESDA to be known as the Sorsogon City
TESDA Training and Accreditation Center. It shall be established in a highly
accessible location in Sorsogon City, pursuant to the purposes of this Act and to the
mutual agreement between the TESDA and the concerned local government units
(LGUs).

SEC. 3. General Mandate. - The Sorsogon City 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 the development of the host area and its
adjacent localities into human resource and productivity hubs.

The Center shall serve as a TESDA-accredited Assessment Center for acquired
competencies in TVET programs. It shall also provide technical-vocational training for
teachers and curriculum design assistance to the secondary schools in the province of
Sorsogon 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 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), 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 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 Sorsogon City and neighboring localities in the Province of Sorsogon.

The Center shall offer the following TVET programs with competencies
assessment leading to National Certification Levels I-III:

(@) 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;

(0) 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;

(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;

() Computer literacy and information technology-related skills, digital
technology, web design, animation, photoshop/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) Seminars in personality development, career counseling, job placement,
and work ethic and values; and

() Other preferred skills and trades training that may be needed by the people
of Sorsogon City and of neighboring 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 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; (¢) sustainable funding source and allocation of the budgetary requirement;
(a) 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 (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 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 shall 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. 7. 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. 8. 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 locality,
prepare and issue the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation
of this Act.

SEC. 9. 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. 10. 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. 11. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,