Newly appointed Director General of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez, former representative of the Third District of Negros Occidental, said yesterday that the Negros Island Region (NIR) will have a regional office of TESDA in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental.
"The regional office for TESDA specifically, will be in Dumaguete City, but by the agreed implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the NIR Law, the technical working group (TWG) will have to designate satellite offices for accessibility and convenience," Benitez said.
So if it is in the Negros Oriental, the chances are there will be a satellite office open in Negros Occidental, but it's up to the TWG yet to negotiate with each national agency where such a satellite office will be, depending on the availability of land, building, among others, he said.
He added that the regional training center for TESDA-Western Visayas was in Talisay City and it remains to be seen.
Benitez noted that there should be a satellite office in Bacolod City or a TESDA type of office in relationship with State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) or Local Universities and Universities (LUCSs).
He said he would also ask Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez what they can offer for TESDA in Bacolod City.
Mayor Benitez earlier asked his brother, Kiko, to put up a satellite office of TESDA in the city.
On August 16, 2024, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. named Benitez as the new director general of TESDA.
The turnover ceremony was held on August 19, at the Bagong PilipinasSerbisyo Fair (BPSF) Agency Summit 2024, at the World Trade Center in Pasay City./MAP