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AS if in exasperation over allegations of corruption
in the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda),
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada has proposed the abolition of the agency and
the transfer of its functions and budget to the Department of Trade
and Industry.
In Senate Bill No. 585, of which
he is the author, the senator claims that the agency has failed to
meet its mandate of promoting technical education and skills
development by focusing on the “wrong priorities.”
His move came on the heels of the
reported filing of an administrative case against the Tesda chief,
Secretary Augusto Syjuco, for the use of P9.2 million in Tesda funds
allegedly without going through the proper bidding process for the
printing of his book, Salabat for the Soul.
A grave misconduct case has been
filed against Syjuco with the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PACG)
which, in turn, elevated the case to the Committee of Peers, the
body with jurisdiction over officials of cabinet rank facing graft
charges.
Syjuco claims that he did not
personally benefit from the project.
If the premise of Estrada in
seeking to abolish Tesda is the allegation of irregularities in the
agency, he is in error. He should go after the grafters, not the
institution. You don’t burn down a house to get rid of rats that
have overrun it.
Tesda is one of the four pillars
of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that the late
statesman Blas F. Ople had put together during his 18-year term as
labor secretary. The others are the Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration (POEA), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)
and the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC).
Each agency has a role to play to
carry out the labor department’s four basic functions of creating
jobs, protecting workers, establishing industrial peace and
developing manpower through skills training.
The POEA is tasked with
regulating and enhancing overseas employment, while OWWA looks after
the well-being of OFWs. The NLRC, in coordination with the
Conciliation and Mediation Board, is charged with promoting
industrial peace conducive to national productivity.
Tesda’s role is to intensify
human resources development through technical education, skills
training, testing and assessment.
Tesda evolved from the National
Manpower and Youth Council (NMYC), which was established by Ople to
train Filipinos to become world-class workers. Several manpower
training centers have been set up in key regions, with emphasis on
the training of out-of-school youths to give them a brighter future
through employment.
The NMYC was later merged with
the Bureau of Vocational Education of the Department of Education to
form what is now Tesda.
To wean Tesda from the labor
department and transfer it to DTI is to deprive DOLE of its training
arm in the production of skilled workers. The mandate of DTI is to
promote trade, watch out for fake products and stabilize prices.
We must professionalize Tesda by
appointing its top officials from the ranks who are familiar with
the nuts and bolts of manpower development. We should not politicize
it by not appointing politicians to head the agency.
GSIS insensitive?
A few columns ago, I wrote about
the plight of Guillerma R. Ferrer, a pensioner from San Carlos City,
Pangasinan, who lost about P45,000 of her pension money through
mysterious withdrawals by unknown persons from various ATM outlets.
She claims she has always been in
possession of her eCard Plus, which is also her ATM card. The theft
of her money is a whodunit in the brief history of the computerized
GSIS’ eCard Plus system, which has been hailed by GSIS boss
Winston Garcia as highly efficient and fool-proof.
What has the GSIS done to help
the victim? Has it conducted the necessary inquiry and, if so, what
is the score? Will it just leave Ms. Ferrer alone, without lifting a
finger to restitute her loss?
The GSIS proclaims that its total
assets reached P411 billion in 2006 and are still rising. What will
GSIS offer to the pensioner concerned in place of her stolen money?
I hate to think that the affluent
agency is insensitive to the suffering of its valued clients. Let us
hear from you, Mr. Garcia.
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