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Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Constitution Hills, Batasan Complex, Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. ____________ 
Introduced by Representatives ALFEL M. BASCUG and EDDIEBONG G. PLAZA 
AN ACT CONVERTING THE AGUSAN DEL SUR SCHOOL OF ARTS 
AND TRADES (ASSAT) IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF PROSPERIDAD, 
PROVINCE OF AGUSAN DEL SUR, INTO A TECHNICAL EDUCATION 
AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (TESDA)- SUPERVISED 
AND ADMINISTERED SCHOOL TO BE KNOWN AS THE AGUSAN 
DEL SUR POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION 
(ADSPITE), AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Explanatory Note 
This bill seeks to convert the Agusan del Sur School of Arts and Trades 
(ASSAT) into a polytechnic institute to be known as the Agusan del Sur 
Polytechnic Institute for Technical Education (ADSPITE).  
Agusan del Sur School of Arts and Trades (ASSAT) is a TESDA-
administered school in the Province of Agusan del Sur.  It is located in 
Government Center, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur. 
The institution is the primary caterer of basic technical skills among 
aspiring students in Agusan del Sur because of its course offerings and programs. 
It offers TESDA-registered training programs with training regulations leading 
to National Certification Levels I to IV in various sectors:  automotive and land 
July 1, 2022
8:47 am
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transport; construction; electronics; garments; health, social and other community 
development services; information and communication technology; metals and 
engineering; processed food and beverages; tourism; and TVET (Technical 
Vocational Education and Training). It is a TESDA-accredited competency 
assessment centers for various TVET Qualifications in the above-mentioned 
sectors. 
The clout for this initiative sprung from the turnover and developments in 
our education sector. With the three major developments that have taken place 
recently: (1) the passage into law of the Philippine Qualifications Framework, (2) 
the ASEAN Economic Integration, and (3) the Senior High School Program of 
DepEd, it becomes necessary for ASSAT to restructure its education and 
curricular landscape and thereby evolve into a polytechnic college in order to 
make it capable to respond to the rapidly changing demands of the industry and 
the labor market.  It cannot continue offering only training programs pegged at 
the four National Certification levels.  As a matter of fact, the first two National 
Certification levels are now part of the Senior High School curriculum in DepEd.   
Hence, ASSAT has to upgrade its curricular, operational and functional standards 
as an educational institution that will offer curricular programs that meet the 
requirements set forth in Level 5 of the Philippine Qualification Framework, 
which is the Diploma level.   
The time has now come for ASSAT to evolve from a mere technology 
training institution into a polytechnic institute for technical institution that will 
cater to knowledge and skills that are mainly theoretical and/or abstract with 
significant depth in some areas together with wide-ranging, specialized technical, 
creative and conceptual skills and the graduates competently perform work 
activities demonstrating breadth, depth and complexity in the planning and 
initiation of alternative approaches to skills and knowledge applications across a 
broad range of technical and/or management requirements, evaluation and 
coordination. 
The establishment of an educational institution in the technical education 
level known as the Agusan del Sur Polytechnic Institute for Technical Education 
(ADSPITE) as a public higher educational institution will indeed be a great 
blessing for the impoverished high school graduates and other sectors who shall 
be afforded alternative doors to a better life in our province and also to 
neighboring provinces in the region.  
With the soon-to-be-established-institution, ADSPITE will ultimately 
provide appropriate humanistic, scientific and practical knowledge, inculcate 
values and attitude, and hone skills for nation building to post-secondary students, 
particularly children of poor families, as well as other sectors of the community 


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who aspire to acquire technical education and skills training in order to raise their 
economic sufficiency levels and provide them unfair competitive advantage when 
seeking better employment opportunities. 
The silver lining of hope for these targeted beneficiaries is the 
establishment of the Agusan del Sur Polytechnic Institute for Technical 
Education dovetailed to the pocketbooks of the marginalized but deserving sector 
of the province of Agusan del Sur. 
Notably, this measure has been previously filed in the 18th Congress. The 
bill had been approved by the House of Representatives on 3rd Reading and had 
been duly transmitted to the Senate.  
The immediate passage of this bill is hereby earnestly sought. 
              ALFEL M. BASCUG 
EDDIEBONG G. PLAZA 
 1ST District, Agusan del Sur 
2nd District, Agusan del Sur 


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Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Constitution Hills, Batasan Complex, Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. ____________ 
Introduced by Representatives ALFEL M. BASCUG and EDDIEBONG G. PLAZA 
AN ACT CONVERTING THE AGUSAN DEL SUR SCHOOL OF ARTS 
AND TRADES (ASSAT) IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF PROSPERIDAD, 
PROVINCE OF AGUSAN DEL SUR, INTO A TECHNICAL EDUCATION 
AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (TESDA)- SUPERVISED 
AND ADMINISTERED SCHOOL TO BE KNOWN AS THE AGUSAN 
DEL SUR POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION 
(ADSPITE), AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the 
Philippines in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1.  Short Title. This Act shall be known as the “Agusan Del 
Sur Polytechnic Institute for Technical Education (ADSPITE) Act”. 
SECTION 2.   Conversion. The Agusan Del Sur School of Arts and 
Trades (ASSAT) located in the Municipality of Prosperidad, Province of Agusan 
Del Sur, is hereby converted into the Agusan Del Sur Polytechnic Institute for 
Technical Education (ADSPITE), and placed under the supervision and 
administration of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority 
(TESDA).  
SECTION 3.  General Mandate. Recent global and regional 
developments provided the impetus to re-engineer the state of technical-
vocational education to accelerate the country’s response to the fast changing 
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standards and requirements of the domestic and international job market, namely: 
1) the adoption of Republic Act No. 10968, or the “Philippine Qualifications 
Framework (PQF) Act”; 2) the ASEAN Economic Integration; 3) the global 
changes in technology and industry demands that have created a major need for 
skilled workforce and technical-vocational competency trainings; 4) the poverty 
reduction, livelihood and employment convergence for community-based 
livelihood and “techno-preneurial” skills development; and 5) the imperative to 
produce world-class Filipino “knowledge workers” whose skills are aligned with 
ASEAN integration goals and other international frameworks that respond to the 
challenges in the job market.  
 
The ADSPITE, as a technical-vocational education institution, shall 
restructure its technical- vocational education and training (TVET) programs to 
effect this major curricular shift as provider of leading edge technical skills for 
the local and international labor market, and aligned in accord with the standards 
of the industry.  
 
To this  end,  the  ADSPITE  shall upgrade  its  curricular  standards  as  a 
tertiary  TESDA-polytechnic skills educational institution and provide higher 
level competency qualifications for instruction in TESDA-registered TVET 
programs and certificate courses. It shall provide a wide array of relevant skills 
training and trade specialization courses to facilitate the acquisition by the 
citizenry of the necessary technical skills that shall enhance their access to gainful 
employment, practical livelihood, and entrepreneurial opportunities, and thus 
hasten the development of the host area and the adjacent localities in the Province 
of Agusan Del Sur into human resource and productivity hubs.  
 
Priority admission to the ADSPITE, including availment of scholarships, 
grants-in-aid and other forms of student financial assistance, shall be given to the 
most economically disadvantaged students, out-of-school youths, persons with 
disabilities, and indigenous peoples of the Municipality of Prosperidad and the 
adjacent localities to ensure their development into productive, self-reliant and 
globally competitive skilled labor assets.  
 
The ADSPITE shall serve as a TESDA-accredited assessment center for 
acquired competencies in TVET programs in the Province of Agusan Del Sur. It 
shall also provide teachers’ training 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, the TESDA, 
and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).  
SECTION 4.  Curricular Offerings/Training Programs. The ADSPITE 
shall offer TESDA- registered TVET programs, undergraduate certificate 
courses, and short-term courses and modular trainings in preferred technical-


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vocational skills specialization. It shall aim to meet the competency requirements 
under Level V of RA No. 10968, or the “Philippine Qualifications Framework 
(PQF) Act”, which is the Diploma Level in TVET.  
 
To this end, the 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 so the ADSPITE can produce skilled manpower 
to supply the needs of a robust and inclusive economy.  
 
The ADSPITE may establish research and technology hubs, technology 
development farms, satellite or extension campuses, as recommended by ASSAT 
& TESDA, promote mobile training programs, and strengthen linkages with 
industry partners and the academe.  
 
It shall also adopt the use of innovative training modes such as information 
technology- assisted instruction, dual training system pursuant to Republic Act 
No.7686 or the “Dual Training System Act of 1994”, open distance learning 
pursuant to Republic Act No. 10650 or the “Open Distance Learning Act”, 
community laboratory, virtual and blended learning modes, and such other 
instructional programs that shall allow local residents greater access to the TVET 
program offerings of the ADSPITE. 
 
Course completion at the ADSPITE shall be credited through skills 
competency assessment under National Certification Levels III to V. When 
applicable, TVET competency shall qualify for academic degree recognition 
pursuant to Republic Act No. 10647 or the “Ladderized Education Act”, provided 
that the requirements of the Commission on Higher Education are complied with.  
 
The ADSPITE shall offer skills development for higher competency 
qualifications in areas relating to technical industrial education, trade technology, 
tourism, agricultural technology, business literacy, and innovation in TESDA-
registered skills, as follows:  
 
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;  
 


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b) Tourism and hospitality-related courses relating to hotel, restaurant, and 
tourism development management;  
 
c) 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;  
 
d) 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; 
 
e) Basic   business     literacy     training   in             financial          managem
ent,   marketing,   accountancy, bookkeeping, 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;  
 
f) 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;  
 
g) Computer literacy and information technology-related skills, web 
development, animation(3D Digital), game development, and computer-
aided design application;  
 
h) Social communication skills and language proficiency courses in English 
and other languages for business process outsourcing employment and 
overseas job placement;  


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i) Seminars in personality development, career counseling, job placement, 
and work ethic and values; and (j) Other preferred skills and trades training 
that may be needed by the people of the Municipality of Prosperidad and 
the adjacent localities to enhance their capacities for practical livelihood, 
gainful employment, and entrepreneurial activities.  
 
 
SECTION 5.  Compliance with TESDA Requirements. The 
provisions    of    this    Act notwithstanding, the conversion of the ASSAT into 
the ADSPITE shall become operational only upon the issuance by the TESDA of 
a formal recommendation and certificate of compliance attesting that the 
ADSPITE has satisfactorily complied with the minimum standards of quality it 
has prescribed governing the following: a) standard procedures and guidelines for 
the conversion and operation of a TESDA polytechnic institute; b) operational 
sustainability of the ADSPITE in terms of licensed faculty-trainers and personnel, 
equipment, training and laboratory facilities, instructional materials, and other 
standard requirements     of a TESDA-accredited and supervised school; c) 
sustainable funding source and regular allocation of budgetary requirement for 
TESDA-operated schools; d) full alignment of the training programs offered with 
the minimum standards of competency-based quality technical-vocational 
technology skills and the needs of the host area and adjacent localities served 
within the context of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 
integration and the PQF for TVET; and e) compliance with such other TESDA 
conditionalities and standards, as may be necessary and applicable, on the 
conversion of the ASSAT into the ADSPITE. 
 
SECTION 6.  Administration. The ADSPITE shall be headed by a 
Vocational School Superintendent under the supervision of the TESDA, who 
shall render full-time service and be responsible for its administration and 
operation. The Vocational School Superintendent 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 Vocational School Superintendent shall enter into agreement with 
locally-based private and public counterpart agencies or instrumentalities and 
persons, and seek such assistance as may be necessary to effectively implement 
this Act, subject to the approval of the TESDA Director General.  
 
The academic and administrative staff of the ADSPITE shall be organized 
following the staffing pattern of the TESDA for such type of schools, pursuant to 
existing laws, rules and regulations of the Civil Service Commission.  


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SECTION 7.  Assets, Liabilities and Personnel. All assets, fixed and 
movable, personnel, records and documents, as well as the liabilities or 
obligations of the ASSAT shall be transferred to the ADSPITE: Provided, That 
the positions, rights and security of tenure of faculty and personnel therein 
employed prior to its conversion into the ADSPITE, shall not be impaired.  
 
All parcels of land belonging to the government occupied by the defunct 
ASSAT are henceforth declared the property of the ADSPITE and shall be titled 
under that name: Provided, That, should the ADSPITE cease to exist or such 
aforementioned parcels of land be no longer needed by the ADSPITE, the same 
shall all revert to the concerned local government unit (LGU), or to the 
Municipality of Prosperidad, Province of Agusan Del Sur.  
  
 
SECTION 8.  Appropriations. The amount necessary for the initial 
operations of the ADSPITE shall be charged against the current year’s 
appropriations of the ASSAT. Thereafter, the funding of which shall be included 
in the annual General Appropriations Act. 
 
SECTION 9.  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, DBM, 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. 
 
SECTION 10.  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 shall not be affected and shall remain in force and 
in effect.  
 
SECTION 11.  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. 
 
SECTION 12.  Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general 
circulation. 
 
 
Approved,  
 


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