Lapeña: TESDA contributes to anti-insurgency drive

ILOILO CITY – Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) chief, Isidro Lapena said the training TESDA provides helps a lot in addressing the country’s problem on poverty, which is the main root cause of communist insurgency.

“Poverty is the main root cause of the communist insurgency, y and what we do in TESDA is to train people for livelihood or employment,” Lapeña said at the two-day First Guimaras Bamboo Summit held in the municipality of Buenavista which started on June 7.

He said TESDA has trained around 7.1 million Filipinos under the Duterte administration and the trainees are expected to land  jobs or find a livelihood. “One certified TESDA graduate landing a job means one Filipino out of poverty,” he added.

Lapeña said TESDA helps in addressing gradually the problem on poverty, which contributes or serves as the main root cause of communist problem or insurgency. We have contributed to the campaign against communist insurgency,” he stressed.

The TESDA executive has likewise committed the agency’s support to the promotion of the bamboo industry. He disclosed that they have already developed training programs for Bamboo Production and Bamboo Processing (Engineered Bamboo), both with National Certificate Level II (NC II) qualifications.

“These were developed closely with the industry and were done to standardized training and qualifications for workers in bamboo production and processing in the country,” he said, adding that the training regulation has corresponding funding support that can already be cascaded all over the country.

The bamboo summit was organized by CAPMI in partnership with the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBIDC) and the provincial government of Guimaras aimed at developing the province as a hub for major bamboo planting materials in Western Visayas.

The organizers reportedly chose to prioritize bamboo because it can be used in mitigating global climate emergencies and alleviating poverty in the countryside through the bamboo economics program. (With PNA reports)