TECHNICAL Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) Director General Guiling A. Mamondiong has ordered the reassignment of regional and provincial directors to dispel any rumors of spurious activities.
“I apologize to the directors but if only to prove that under my watch there is no corruption, I had to do it and I am doing it,” Mamondiong said.
He also warned he would cancel registered programs and sanction technical-vocational institutions (TVIs) from perpetrating corrupt practices.
Mamondiong’s warning came after he sent a memorandum to President Duterte in Malacañang as he vowed to sanction anyone involved in the illegal activity.
“In due time, we will be canceling registered programs and sanction TVIs if the inspections, which we have been conducting for the last two months and hope to complete this April, will reveal anomalies in their respective allocation of scholarship slots and absorptive capacities,” Mamondiong said.
Further, he added he instructed regional directors to be the sole authority in distributing scholarship slots to prevent any delays in their implementation, saying the “tendering system” in 2017 caused a delay in the awarding of scholarships to TVIs.
“Because the tendering system had caused a delay in the implementation of the scholarship program, the authority to award the scholarship grants has now been delegated to the regional directors,” Mamondiong said.
He added he also instructed regional and provincial directors to submit the list of names of the scholarship beneficiaries in their areas for verification and validation in an effort to eliminate the possibility of “ghost scholars.”
Tesda has also been conducting internal audits and technical audits in all registered tech-voc programs nationwide since 2017.
Mamondiong said the agency continues to conduct spot inspections at TVIs implementing scholarship programs of the agency to ensure their compliance to the Tesda Code of Conduct and its program on awards and incentives for service excellence.
He added that any resolutions of administrative cases should be sped up by coordinating closely with various oversight agencies, non-governmental agencies and international bodies.
In 2017 the Tesda chief conducted public consultations in all regions and provinces and announced a P0.5-million reward for anyone who could provide any information regarding illicit activities involving Tesda officials or employees.
However, Mamondiong said “to this date, nobody has come forth with any substantiated
complaints.”
The awarding of scholarship programs like the Training for Work Scholarship Program and the Special Training for Employment Program (Step) will be strictly monitored in line with the National Technical Education and Skills Development plan 2017 to 2022 and Tesda’s 17-point reform agenda, according to him.
The procurement process in the purchase of starter toolkits for the Step will also be stricter, requiring these to be approved by the Tesda Board and crafted to more closely comply with Republic Act 9184.
“While we do not claim to have perfect control mechanisms over possible areas of corruption, we remain steadfast in our fight against corruption and our resolve toward providing the best service to our citizens,” Mamondiong
added.