Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 2819

Introduced by Rep. FERDINAND ALEXANDER A. MARCOS
1* District, Ilocos Norte

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The thrust of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is to
foster the development of technical education and skills training in the country for a world
class and highly competent Filipino workforce.

This bill seeks to establish a TESDA Training and Assessment Center in the
Municipality of Bacarra, Province of Ilocos Norte to be known as the Bacarra, Ilocos Norte
TESDA Training and Assessment Center. The town of Bacarra is rich in agricultural lands
surrounded by seas and river channels. Its primary sources of livelihood are farming and
fishing. Bacarra is also known for the bukto (fresh water fish), the ipon (season, from Natba
and Taguipuro), the bawang, empanada, and longganisa. Noteworthy, however, is the
booming tricycle manufacturing industry eager to flourish. The proposed TESDA center will
provide accessible and relevant technical-vocational training programs to the constituents of
Bacarra and neighboring municipalities. It will address the need to equip the local
workforce—especially the youth, farmers, _fisherfolk, skilled laborers, and
micro-entrepreneurs—with industry-based competencies and certifications in agriculture,
fisheries, food processing, metalwork, welding, electronics, automotive services, and
entrepreneurship. By doing so, the center will promote inclusive economic growth and
empower individuals to become self-reliant, productive, and competitive in their respective
fields.

This initiative affirms the declared policy of the State to encourage and support the
development of high-quality middle-level manpower that is responsive to the needs of local
economies and national development goals. Investing in human capital at the community
level is imperative for achieving long-term, inclusive progress.

The House of Representatives, acting during the Nineteenth Congress, approved this
measure on Third Reading on 7 November 2023, with two hundred eight (208) affirmative
votes, no negative votes, and no abstentions.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

FERDINAND ALEXANDER A. MARCOS


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 2819

Introduced by Rep. FERDINAND ALEXANDER A. MARCOS
1" District, locos Norte

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
AUTHORITY (TESDA) TRAINING AND ASSESSMENT CENTER IN THE
MUNICIPALITY OF BACARRA, PROVINCE OF ILOCOS NORTE, TO BE
KNOWN AS THE BACARRA, ILOCOS NORTE TESDA TRAINING AND
ASSESSMENT CENTER, 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 "Bacarra, Ilocos
Norte TESDA Training and Assessment Center". It shall be located in a highly accessible
area in the Municipality of Bacarra, Province of Ilocos Norte, 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 Bacarra, Ilocos Norte 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 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
(DTD, 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 the Municipality of Bacarra and adjacent
localities in the Province of Ilocos Norte.

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;

¢)

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;

dq)

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;

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;

Social communication skills and language proficiency courses in English and other
languages for business process outsourcing employment and overseas job placement;

g)

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
Municipality of Bacarra 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; (4) 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.

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 shall, in coordination with the DOLE, DTI, DOST, DA,
Department of Budget and Management, DepEd, DILG, NEDA, the concerned LGUs, and
such other relevant agencies and industry-business partners of the host locality, prepare and
issue rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 8. Separability Clause. — If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is
declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions thereof shall not be
affected and shall remain in force and in 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 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,