Wednesday, October 25, 2006 Technical skills agency workers sue chief for 'fund misuse'
THE staff of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) on Tuesday charged their head of allegedly embezzling government funds to fund his reported campaign for senator in next year's elections.
But Tesda chief Augusto Syjuco, a former congressman of Iloilo, denied the accusation saying the complaint was made by a disgruntled employee. He did not confirm or deny reports that he is running for senator in the 2007 electoral exercise.
In a complaint lodged before the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC), Tesda employees claimed Syjuco plans to run for senator in the May 2007 elections and used government resources for the campaign.
Futhermore they alleged that Syjuco made available more than P25 million of the Tesda funds to the second district of Iloilo, which is represented in Congress by his wife.
The employees alleged that Syjuco spent P7 million in Tesda funds for a "career caravan", a job generation campaign which is actually a political caravan to promote his candidacy.
Moreover, the former congressman also allegedly entered into anomalous transaction for the publication of 250,000 copies of the book "Salabat for the Filipino Soul 2", which are now being sold in various bookstores.
"He signed the P9.2 million deal for the publication of the books even though such amount was beyond his authority to sign. The printing job was also awarded to a printing company based on a bogus quotations submitted by two other printers," they said in the complaint.
According to the complainants, Syjuco also allegedly slashed the budget for more "critical programs" of the agency.
"Managers have to beg for support from private partners to support the vital training of the country's contestants in international skills competition," they added.
But Syjuco denied the charges against him and claimed that the complaint is the handiwork of a disgruntled employee who he identified as Annie Geron.
Syjuco was appointed director general of Tesda in August 2004 vice Alcestis Guiang, who was appointed commissioner of the Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC). (MSN/Sunnex)
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