TESDA Director General Suharto Mangudadatu paid a courtesy to Governor Gwendolyn Garcia at the Capitol last Friday, August 18, 2023.
Mangudadatu discussed with the governor about the Capitol’s plan of recovering the lot occupied by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) regional headquarters on Archbishop Reyes Avenue, Cebu City.
"I really needed to convince him nganong kinahanglan nga mag (why we need a) win-win mi kay ang TESDA property diha is no longer viable, commercial level II nana dili na gyud na insakto ilang kabutang. Legally, lisud ilang position kay NMYC (National Manpower and Youth Council) mana nato gi donate dili man TESDA unya wala naman ang NMYC (Legally, they are in a ‘problematic situation’ because we donated that to NMYC, rather than Tesda and because NMYC is no longer in existence)," Garcia said.
Among the seven regional government agencies that the Capitol sought to clear out so they could use the properties, which are close to the IT Park, were the regional headquarters of Tesda and the National Food Authority.
The governor revealed that if Tesda 7 would not vacate the area, she would be forced to bring the matter in court.
"It’s either we go to court unya taas na ni. Hopefully the TESDA board will agree kay he did say iya gyud i present ang position nako, maong niari siya i needed to see how passionate Governor Garcia is about this and I said yes I am, this is not for me para ni sa mga probinsyano. I hope we could arrive at a win-win situation," Garcia said.
According to Garcia, the recovery of the province's properties is a step toward the province's future defense of its title as the nation's richest, particularly in terms of its asset base.
If both parties agree, a usufruct agreement will be used to cover the use of another land in the province where the affected regional government agencies would be transferred.
To recall, the Provincial Board approved a resolution during its session in February of this year, authorizing the governor to take the necessary actions, such as bringing a lawsuit, to recover province-donated lands that were not used for their intended purpose.(ANV, TPT)