House Bill (HB) 9926, derived from HB 1756 that was filed by Davao City First District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte was passed by the House of Representatives last month.
The two bills have the same purpose, which is to open a new district office of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in Davao City.
Rep. Pulong said it is important that the bill be enacted immediately so that many Dabawenyos can be given Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) that they can use to get a job or to set up a small business.
Currently, only the TESDA Provincial Office handles the TVET needs of the Dabawenyos. It covers the whole of Davao del Sur, including Davao City.
Rep. Pulong said it is not enough to serve the whole of Davao del Sur because in Davao City alone there are 182 barangays and has a population of 1.78 million people.
Besides that, Davao City has 113 private technical-vocational institutions, and only three public TESDA training institutions that offer 504 registered programs.
There are 33 accredited assessment centers in the city offer 224 accredited programs.
“Kaya naman tama lang na magkaroon ng district office ang TESDA sa Davao City. Animnapung porsiyento ng populasyon na dapat pagsilbihan ng ahensya sa Davao del Sur ay nasa lungsod,” Rep. Pulong said.
HB 9926 states that the new district office should be built in an area that is easily accessible to Dabawenyos because it covers not only Davao City but also the nearby areas.
Once the bill is enacted, the initial funding of the TESDA-Davao City District Office will be taken from the current budget of the TESDA Davao del Sur Provincial Office so that the operation of the office can somehow begin.
