ABANG Lingkod Party-list representative Stephen Paduano is hoping that his bill requiring the Technical Education and Skills Authority (Tesda) to allocate funds for scholarship of drug dependents who are undergoing rehabilitation would be approved.
Paduano said he based his bill on the result of his scholarship program that includes former drug dependents.
The scholars he pointed out are recommendees of the Parole and Probation authorities. They are encouraged to undergo and take Tesda courses to give them a sustainable option as they go back to their respective communities.
The recommended budget for Tesda for such program is declining given the drug program of the government that made the number of drug dependents to go down, Paduano said.
“We want these drug rehabs not to go back to their old ways,” Paduano added.
He cited that all over the country there are nearly half a million drug dependents who are undergoing rehabilitation and they would also like to determine how much budget will be allocated per province depending on the number of drug rehabs. (TDE)