TESDA-CAR pledges support to resolution of armed conflict

BAGUIO CITY --- The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s (TESDA) Cordillera will continue its full support in preventing and addressing local communist armed conflict in the country in line with Executive Order  No. 70 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

“The Executive Order No. 70 that was signed by the President aims to create a national peace framework and to institutionalize the “whole-of-nation approach” to achieve inclusive and sustainable peace, carefully getting to the root causes of conflicts in the country,” said engineer Manuel Wong, TESDA acting regional director.

He said that TESDA’s plays an important role in providing training, employment, and livelihood to the clients identified.

TESDA heads the Poverty Reduction Livelihood and Employment Cluster (PRLEC).

TESDA will continue implementing several interventions through skills training for the poor and other ‘special clients’ like rebel returnees, indigenous peoples (IPs), drug surrenderees, and persons deprived of liberty.

            He said training to be provided by the agency is part of the government’s effort to give special clients a better life and enable them to enhance their employability.

In 2018, TESDA had trained about 118 rebel returnees, 4,926 IPs, 17 drug surrenderees while 370 of these have already landed jobs or started livelihood activities.

During the joint regional development council-regional peace and order council (RDC-RPOC) meeting on Monday, Wong said through teamwork and convergence among government agencies, local government units and development stakeholders, poverty and insurgency would be addressed.

TESDA-CAR convened the regional PRLEC in an organizational meeting Friday in Baguio City.