PEOPLE POWWOW: PROFESSIONALIZING TECH VOC

Professionalizing ‘tech-voc’

BY HERBERT VEGO

Thursday, March 16, 2017

ARRIVING from a two-week stay in Sydney, Australia, Regional Director Toni June Tamayo of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) talked to this writer about the importance that the Australian government attributes to technical-vocational education.

“Tech-voc graduates there command respectability,” he said, “because of the expertise they possess after studying in a TAFE institution.”

TAFE stands for Technical and Further Education. It’s an Australian government-run system that provides college-level education after high school in vocational areas. It focuses on specific skills – say, welding or carpentry — for a particular workplace. Entry into this system usually requires students to have finished at least grade 10. 

Incidentally, auto mechanics in Australia now earn the equivalent of P225,000 a month.

Tamayo added that the high demand for tech-voc skills locally may yet lead to conversion of TESDA into a department. A bill now being hatched by Rep. Raul “Boboy” Tupas calls for the creation of the Department of Technical-Vocational Education.  Hat’s off to Boboy for that. When departmentalized, TESDA’s present budget of P6.9 billion could probably double or triple.

This writer, in fact, has been saying that instead of the K-12 program or “compulsory kindergarten to grade 12,” the government should have defrayed more funds for TESDA to solve the problem on dearth of technical vocational workers. The job market does not look for college graduates who have spent more years in high school; it looks for skilled workers regardless of the number of years they have spent in school.

Therefore, the claim of the previous administration’s Education’s Secretary Armin Luistro that “we have been left behind” by other countries which require six years of high school as against our four is misleading. On the contrary, we have “brain drain” here because our professionals and skilled workers go abroad.

More years in school means more expenses, hence aggravating the dearth of college graduates. To reiterate the latest statistics, out of every 100 students who enroll in the elementary school, only 33 enroll in college. And of these 33, only 14 finally graduate.

To mitigate this problem, some private high schools have partnered with TESDA as venues for short-term technical vocational courses (two years or even less) that would attract poor students desirous of entering the job market.

The Lyceum of Alabang in Muntinglupa City, for example, offers two-year courses in Information Technology, Electronics, Bookkeeping and Tourism, among others. There are even three-month crash courses in Bartending, Cookery, Housekeeping, Food/Beverage Services, Baking and Computer Hardware Servicing.

The popularity of short courses truly mirrors the longing of poor parents to enable their children to live a more comfortable life sooner than later; and of children themselves to relieve their parents of financial burden.

It’s about time for TESDA to “graduate” into a department, having gone a long way since its inception as the National Manpower and Youth Council (NMYC) under the Department of Labor and Employment in 1970.

In 1994, the NMYC turned into TESDA with the signing of Republic Act RA 7796 by President Fidel Ramos. Thus began a new educational division aimed at harnessing the technical-vocational skills of the Filipino youth.

 TESDA aims to eradicate the labor-supply mismatch that involves students who complete college but don’t find jobs appropriate for their educational attainment because they do not have the required skills.

In 23 years, TESDA has reduced that mismatch. It has identified the employment-generating tech-voc courses as those related to construction, tourism, electronics, logistics and agriculture.  As of latest survey under the leadership of Director General Guiling Mamondiong, 68 percent of TESDA national certificate holders get employed whether here or abroad./PN

PEOPLE POWWOW: Is Treñas really quitting politics?

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

THIS WRITER had thought of opinionating on information aired by businessman Rommel Ynion concerning Rep. Jerry Treñas’ “death threat” against Councilor Plaridel Nava. The alleged source of the yarn (suspected drug lord Melvin Odicta) having died, however, it would go down as mere hearsay. Moreover, clashing opinions have already muddled the issue in the social media.

This corner would rather discuss it from an apolitical standpoint. Whether true or false, it would do no harm to Treñas because, after “graduation” from the House of Representatives in 2019, he would not seek another public office.

Skeptics, however, anchor their disbelief on no less than the congressman’s re-filed bill aimed at dividing Iloilo City into two legislative districts. With two districts, his allies – Mayor Jed Mabilog and Vice Mayor Jose Espinosa III – could both run for congressmen without clashing against each other, while he himself could run for mayor.

Otherwise, with only one district, he would have to give way to “bilas” Espinosa for mayor, thus preserving their strong triumvirate.

Treñas’ House Bill 1219 proposes the division of the city into two legislative districts, one comprising Jaro, La Paz and Mandurriao; the other comprising Villa Arevalo, City Proper, Molo and Lapuz. With two districts, the city would enjoy additional infrastructure allocations.

The bill argues that redistricting complies with all the parameters set forth by Section 5(3), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, which requires a city to have a minimum population of 250,000 to have a representative. It does not have to increase its population by another 250,000 to be entitled to an additional district.

In fact, the Supreme Court has resolved the issue with regard to two Metro Manila cities. Makati had a population of around 450,000 when it was divided into two congressional districts; Marikina, 424,000.

Since Treñas’ bill has already gained a counterpart in the Senate, authored by Sen. Panfilo Lacson, it’s a cinch it would turn into law.

Anticipating that possibility, would that restore the political appetite of Treñas?

With due respect to doubting Thomases, I don’t think so. Having been a councilor, mayor and congressman in the past two decades, Treñas at 60 would no doubt prefer to return to private life without worrying about his family’s future.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens,” he quoted the Bible (Ecclesiastes 3:1) on the day he announced his decision to quit politics and allow younger aspirants to take over.

“I want to enjoy the time left with my loved ones,” he added. “Time cannot be bought.”

Even the congressman’s wife, businesswoman Rosalie Sarabia-Treñas, has slowed down in order to hand over to their children the responsibility of taking care of the family business so that they, too, would rest on their laurels in old age.

Family business refers to the RJT Group of Companies.  RJT – which stands for “Rosalie & Jerry Treñas” – comprises Carlo’s Bakeshop, Ang Kamalig and Wild Bamboo restaurants. It is not surprising that today, all five children of the couple play specific roles in running the three establishments. They all have earned diplomas in various food-related courses ranging from Hotel and Restaurant Management to Culinary Arts and Pastry and Confectionery.

Put up by Mrs. Treñas 30 years ago, Carlo’s has morphed into one of the biggest local bakeries with 11 branches in Iloilo City, Capiz and Antique. Daughter Raisa is now its chief executive officer; son Carlo, director for store operations; and son Paolo, head of marketing and business development.

Strange as it seems, none of the Treñas siblings are interested in politics./PN

Panay News | PEOPLE POWWOW Boracay goes ‘green’ again

THE OTHER night, a TV newscast played a video clip of the beach of Boracay in its greenest “splendor”. The white sand thereat had disappeared, covered anew by a carpet of moss splashing ashore. The newscaster sounded fair when he echoed the assurance of the islanders that it was just a “temporary” aberration characterizing the onset of summer.

But the news was not really news; I had reported it in this corner three years ago while on a three-day vacation in Boracay. Suspicious that it was aggravated by worsening pollution emanating from nearby septic tanks and poor drainage, I begged of the municipal government of Malay, Aklan to solve the pollution problem. It was around 9 a.m. one morning when photojournalist Ric Octavio and I tried to see the then mayor, John Tan, but in vain; the security guards said he was still asleep in his room at Casa Pilar.

Until now, the hoteliers, restaurateurs and shop owners leave it to their staff to rake up the accumulated “green carpet” every morning. But the moss always tends to add up with every wave breaking over the beach.

It is alarming that three years have passed with no solution to the problem emerging. Moss is not “natural” in a tourist haven that is supposed to attract swimmers. Because it is not in its normal habitat, moss on the beach is clearly a pollutant, even on the assumption that it’s not toxic by itself.

Moss is a fibrous plant that normally grows on damp stone and wood, or even on a shipwreck under the sea. No matter how infrequent it appears, it is never a welcome site on a tourist “paradise”; it could discourage first-time tourists from coming back.

Of course, objectors may shrug off the warning by citing statistics. It is no secret that Boracay is the biggest contributor to the income of the province of Aklan, what with an unprecedented 1.7 million foreign and local tourists recorded in the entire year 2016.

If I heard it right from Regional Director Helen Catalbas of the Department of Tourism, thousands of international tourists on three cruise ships are coming to Boracay between now and the end of this month.

Do we have to wait for reversal of tourist volume to act decisively?

Let this be another wake-up call to local authorities. Either they act now and prevent further degradation of the island, or lose the tourists who lay the golden eggs.

If truth be told, the island no longer projects the ambiance of a natural hideaway. High-rise and air-conditioned hotels like those in Metro Manila now line the beachfront, replacing the bamboo-and-nipa cottages. Were it not for the surrounding white-sand beach, the place could be a mistaken for any other Philippine city where no one could escape air pollution belched by tricycles running on narrow roads that betray poor infrastructure planning.

The shopping area known as The Mall reminds us of the crowded shops in space-starved Divisoria and Baclaran markets in Metro Manila. The narrow roads, barely able to accommodate vehicles coming from opposite directions, betray the place’s lack of development planning.

Boracay is no longer what it used to be when Panay News founder Danny Fajardo and I first visited the island in 1982. There was not yet a single concrete building lining the beach front.  Spaced far between were a score of bamboo-and-nipa huts and carinderias. We rented a two-bedroom hut for an overnight stay at twenty-five pesos only.

Change has indeed come to Boracay.  But as to whether it’s an environment-friendly change, your guess is as good as mine./PN

Uncertain post-Duterte scenario

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

TWO unpalatable facts haunt President Rodrigo Duterte: disease and old age. By his own admission, he suffers from the spine-degenerative Buerger’s disease which he caught from years of cigarette smoking; and which, according to Dr. Irene Vergara of the University of Santo Tomas Hospital, forced him to quit smoking. It causes arterial swelling and blood clots, thus restricting normal blood circulation.

To free himself from pain, he takes Fentanyl, a regulated, stronger-than-morphine opioid.

Is Buerger’s the reason why he has repeatedly “joked” about dying? A case in point was when he told an audience of Filipinos in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Dec. 13, 2016, “This is my last hurrah. I am not sure if I will still be around by the end of my term.”

Based on the latest finding of the World Health Organization, the average person residing in the Philippines has a lifespan of 68.5 years.  Duterte is older at 71 going on 72 come March 28.

The President’s health and age, no doubt, are primordial reasons why both his political allies and adversaries worry over their own future.  Although the issue on presidential succession is well defined in the Constitution, “spare tire” Vice President Leni Robredo faces the possibility of being booted out because of the “electoral fraud” protest lodged against her by contender Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

We therefore don’t see the “vice” stepping up over and above the diverse pro-Duterte political forces who would scramble for power among themselves in case Duterte fades away amid a supposed destabilization plot which Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez attributes to “allies of former President Aquino.”

But how could the opposition Liberal Party (LP) seize power when most of its members have already jumped over the administration bandwagon? It could only do so in convergence with disgruntled elements within the Duterte circle, including sympathizers of incarcerated Sen. Leila de Lima and dismissed National Irrigation Authority administrator Peter Laviña.

The “courage” of Sen. Antonio Trillanes, steadfast in accusing Duterte of stashing away P2.4 billion in hidden bank accounts, implies undisclosed strong connections – say, with his “mistahs” at the Philippine Military Academy who now occupies high positions in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Then, too, the confession of a retired police officer, SPO3 Arthur Lascañas on his involvement in the Davao Death Squad (DDS) killings when Duterte was still mayor of Davao City – in effect reversing his denial before a Senate inquiry – bolsters the earlier testimony of another self-implicating cop, Edgardo Matobato.   

It’s a paradox that the two have found “safety” in holding Duterte liable for ordering them to eliminate suspected drug pushers and critical broadcaster Jun Porras Pala; and for having also named the other cops in the alleged operation.  Why would they risk their lives if they were not telling the truth?

The Matobato-Lascañas exposés are among the fodders that two prestigious human rights organizations – Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch – have used in urging the United Nations’ Human Rights Council to investigate the “human rights calamity in the Philippines.”

A defiant Duterte talked back last Thursday, “When you kill criminals, it is not a crime against humanity. The criminals have no humanity.”

Rather than cultivate “killings fields”, shouldn’t the President have sought the intervention of his Chinese friend and counterpart, President Xi Jin Ping? As admitted by spokesman Derrick Carreon of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, “The majority of the meth we have come from China.” 

Remember, China is the ally Duterte has embraced at the expense of the United States.

But then, let Digong Duterte be reminded that the Americans had played a part in the unexpected downfall of used-to-be popular President Ferdinand Marcos./PN