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I wish to thank the Rotary Club of Manila for inviting me to talk about TESDA, particularly, the Best of TESDA. I have always believed in the vision and mission of TESDA and its contribution to the country's economic and social development, particularly in developing our Filipino workforce to be productive and globally competitive. I should know because I am one of the principal authors of the TESDA Law and I have seen the work of TESDA when I was in Congress and Chair of the Committee on Higher and Technical Education.

Today, I am pleased to be the messenger of good news about TESDA. This is the real TESDA, not the one portrayed and maligned in the media and by some disgruntled groups.

TESDA is the Authority in technical education. This is the spirit behind the creation of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or TESDA through Republic Act No. 7796 better known as the Technical Education and Skills Development Act of 1994. This is the essence of the recommendations of the Congressional Commission on Education or EDCOM. There is only one Philippine Education System with 3 pillars and with 3 focuses - (1) Basic Education under the Department of Education; (2) Post-secondary or Technical Education under TESDA; and (3) Higher Education under the Commission on Higher Education or CHED.

The creation of TESDA integrated the functions of the National Manpower and Youth Council (NMYC), the Bureau of Technical-Vocational Education (BTVE) of the former Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) and the apprenticeship program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). The law was signed on August 25, 1994.

TESDA was meant to be more than a sum of these agencies and their functions. As its name asserts, TESDA is to be an authority. As an agency, TESDA's components deliver services. As an authority, TESDA manages and quality assures the whole system of technical education and skills development, so that it serves national development goals.

Section 2 of RA 7796 mandates TESDA "to provide relevant, high quality and efficient technical education and skills development in support of the development of high quality Filipino middle-level manpower responsive to and in accordance with Philippine development goals and priorities."

In view of this, TESDA, being an authority in technical education and training defined its core business to effectively fulfill its mandate and articulate its authority role. The exercise of TESDA's role as the national leader and Authority on technical education and training shall be guided by its core business consisting of three planks which are mutually reinforcing and anchored on total quality management namely: direction setting, standards setting and systems development and support to TET provision.

As an Authority, our role is to provide a clear sense of direction for technical education and training in the country. We are also responsible for initiating the necessary reforms to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the whole technical education and training system. This is essentially reflected in the formulation of relevant policies and plans that would help guide the development of high quality middle-level manpower.

As an Authority, TESDA installs and manages systems that would ensure quality of technical education and skills development. These systems are conceptualized to provide relevant programs that meet industry needs. As quality assurance mechanisms, TESDA has been implementing these major reforms in technical education.

First, ensuring compliance of technical education and training programs to the minimum requirements or industry standards. It is being implemented through the UTPRAS or the Unified TVET Program Registration and Accreditation System. Registration signifies compliance to minimum requirements. Accreditation signifies quality assurance in the way the programs are delivered. This will confer on the institutions the right to conduct training programs. This would ensure that the training programs, conducted by the training institutions, conforms to minimum requirements in 1) Program design and curriculum including its concomitant facilities and equipment requirements, 2) Faculty qualifications, 3) academic concerns like enrolment requirements, grading system and certification and 4) organizational requirements in the establishment of the school or the center.

Second, is the competency assessment and certification program in accordance to national standards. The national standards are the prescribed knowledge, skills and attitudes that a person needs to demonstrate in accordance with specified performance levels of specific jobs. Anybody who surpasses the standard in formal assessment gets a national certificate from TESDA. This is technical education's version of the Professional Regulation Commissions Professional Board Examinations.

It is also TESDA's responsibility to ensure that TET opportunities are available whether provided by the government or the private sector. In this respect, TESDA provides technical supervision over the various public and private TET providers in the country. As a matter of policy, TESDA shall focus on providing equity and access on areas where there is lack of opportunities and minimal private sector participation.

My appointment as the Director General of TESDA came in the most opportune time since it has always been my conviction to do my share in emancipating the majority of our fellow Filipinos from the chains of poverty. And I know that in TESDA and through TESDA I can do more in the fight against poverty.

Poverty, indeed, has been a major social and economic concern in most parts of the world especially in developing countries like the Philippines. Today, poverty alleviation remains the centerpiece of our national government agenda. For our republic to be strong and remain strong, the war on poverty must be won. And everyone must do his share. We, in TESDA, will give our all out support to win this war through our most powerful weapon - technical education. This we resolve to do guided by our current policy thrusts which center on "Making A Difference in Poverty Alleviation".

At the onset of my administration, the translation of our goal to make a difference in poverty alleviation was guided by the following policy thrusts:

Empowering the Poor through Technical Education

The economic, social and political crises that the country experienced in the past have contributed significantly to the worsening of the poverty situation. The poverty incidence in the Philippines is persistently one of the highest in Southeast Asia at 33.7 percent in the year 2000. The number of people without work is rising and jobs are continuously being lost with the closure of many companies and factories. The unemployment rate as of April 2002 is placed at 13.7 percent, which translates to 4.6 million people without sources of income and livelihood.

Our resolve to be a major instrument in poverty alleviation is based on the recognition that technical education has a significant role in empowering the poor and in economic development. It is a tool for capacity building and provides the poor access and equity to economic opportunities. In concrete terms, the whole delivery network of technical education will be geared up to be able to reach out to as many Filipinos as possible.
Quality and Excellence in Technical Education

The pursuit of quality and excellence in technical education shall always be at the center of all our efforts. As already mentioned, the reform agenda shall be sustained and enhancement of quality systems and procedures shall be continuously undertaken.

A lot more needs to be done. One major concern is the consistent application of policies and standards at all levels of implementation. We will ensure consistency in our 'thinking', in our 'talk' and in our 'action'. We will strengthen and institutionalize monitoring of compliance to the standards that we set. And the strengthening of our quality assurance mechanisms will be done continually.
Building Strategic Alliances

Recognizing the magnitude and seriousness of our work in technical education, we should ensure that we continue to build and strengthen our relations with partners and stakeholders.

Our partnership, especially with industry, labor and training institutions and other stakeholders, is crucial not only in the delivery of training services but also in the other responsibility areas of TESDA such as standards development, policy and planning, information, enterprise-based training and dual training.

Increasing investment/funding for technical education is another focus of alliance building. Mobilizing resources from among the partners of TESDA must be done for the TESDA Development Fund. We are now working with the National Development Corporation towards this. Likewise, the regional and provincial directors of TESDA are given directives to continuously network and enlist the support of their respective Congressmen and local government units in funding technical education endeavors in their areas.
Building TESDA Through Good Governance

TESDA conforms to the national pillars of good governance such as (a) a moral foundation that guides leadership at all levels; (b) a philosophy of transparency in government actions; and (c) an ethic of effective implementation through the bureaucracy.

Instituting Reforms in OPAs

While there is more to TESDA than OPAS, and TESDA is not OPAS, let me address this serious concern that we are facing.

TESDA is now the subject of relentless media campaign by certain quarters from the overseas entertainment industry which casts doubt on the integrity not only of my leadership but even of the entire organization.

We cannot allow this to continue, not only because there is no truth to these allegations, but the overseas performing artists (OPAS) concerns have been impinging on the effective and efficient performance and delivery of our basic mandate and functions.

Rallies and bad press will continue for as long as TESDA manages OPAS. These have happened during the administration of Directors General Edicio de la Torre, Lucita Lazo, and now under my administration.

TESDA is the authority in technical education. Its mission is to develop technicians and skilled workers with world-class competence and desirable work values. Along this line, TESDA is responsible for multifarious tasks of direction setting, quality assurance and support to TET provisions. The sectors that we have been dealing with have earned for us and our organization the respect and cooperation of local government executives, non-government organizations, workers' and employers' organizations and associations of private technical education institutions. We have to protect the institutional reputation and integrity of the Authority.

It is in this respect, and to be faithful to the basic mandate given us by law, that we are convinced and resolute to remove all OPAS concerns from TESDA. This conviction is premised on the following:

TESDA's involvement in OPAS was mainly brought about by the issuance of DOLE Department Order No. 3 in January 1994 and now superseded by DOLE Department Order No. 10 issued in October 2001. These issuances provided the guidelines for training, testing/assessment, certification and deployment of overseas performing artists. All these concerns, except active deployment had been turned over to then NMYC and now TESDA
The basic mandate of TESDA on training and assessment and certification is for skilled workers. We are of the position that an OPA is not a skilled worker but a person possessing talent, and as such, there is a difference on how an OPA will be developed and assessed. Talent is defined as the natural endowments of a person and a special, often creative or artistic aptitude. It is synonymous with gift. It is normally assessed through audition, which is defined as a trial performance to appraise an entertainer's merits. A skilled worker, on the other hand, is being assessed through competency assessment. This is the process of collecting evidence and making judgments about whether competency has been achieved. The purpose of competency assessment is to confirm that an individual can perform to the standard as expected in the workplace and identified in the competency assessment.
The Artist Record Book (ARB), as provided in D.O. 3, is an instrument for deployment. It is only in D.O 10 that the ARB was made as a single document to attest to the competency and as a travel document.
The Migrant Workers Act provides for the minimal exercise of government regulatory power and the high involvement of the overseas employment industry itself.
There have been many reforms initiated to streamline OPAS operations to get rid of graft and corruption. We have worked closely with the different associations in the entertainment industry in setting up quality systems through standards setting, documentation of procedures and in setting up the mechanisms for the registration and accreditation of training and assessment centers.
TESDA is not really walking away from responsibility. It has laid the foundation and the reforms leading towards an industry-led OPAS training, assessment and certification. It is just about time to put things in order and for the Authority to focus on its bigger responsibility on technical education and training.

Despite all the bad press that we are getting, we are determined in our efforts to help stop the trafficking of young women to Japan through the reforms that we have been instituting. This is a national concern. This is a moral issue. This is a collective responsibility. I urge the Rotary Club to take a position on the continuing deployment of our women to Japan.

I enjoin you to help us in this effort and let us all make a difference in lives of our poor brothers and sisters.