Senators have warned the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) that having more than two deputy director generals is already a violation of the law.

Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri and Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva pointed this out at the continuation of the Senate’s deliberation into the proposed 2023 national budget.

Under the TESDA Act of 1994, Villanueva, a former TESDA chief, pointed out that the President can only designate two on the recommendations of the Board.

But TESDA has four and just recently, another deputy director general was designated into the agency, Villanueva pointed out.

“My question is, do we need additional deputy director generals?” Villanueva asked during the Senate plenary session.

During the budget deliberations, senators suspended the rules to allow Cruz to directly answer the senators questions about the matter.

Cruz said that during the Duterte administration, there are already four deputy director generals in TESDA that’s why they submitted four applications who will man the seats. The fifth person will sit as deputy director general for special concerns.

According to Cruz, such practice also happens in other government agencies.

But Zubiri said such practice of appointing many deputy director generals is against the TESDA’s Charter.

Zubiri said he will raise the issue with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

“You came up with two new items without amending the law. Therefore, you are in violation of the law,” Zubiri told Cruz in response.

“The reasoning that it is being done by others should not be the right and legal reason. Just because it is being violated by other agencies, it should also be violated by Tesda. What we should do is clamp down on those other agencies as well,” he said.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, who is part of the TESDA Board, told the committee he was not consulted on the appointment of more deputy director generals in the agency.