The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide skills training to persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) who are freed conditionally.
The MOA was signed last Friday, Nov. 15, by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla and TESDA Director General Jose Francisco "Koko" B. Benitez.
In a press statement, the DOJ said that under the MOA, TESDA will “facilitate the access to skills training through the extension and mobile training programs (MTP) of TVET (technical-vocational education and training) providers and conduct a Training Needs Analysis to determine the skills training programs to be provided.”
“TESDA also has the responsibility to facilitate the conduct of assessment and certification to graduates for certifiable TVET programs subject to the Philippine TVET Competency Assessment and Certification System (PTCACS) and other existing rules and regulation on TESDA’s scholarship programs, including other tasks germane to their mandate,” it said.
For its part, the DOJ has been tasked “to screen qualified clients (probationers, parolees and pardonees) considered as the main beneficiaries of the MOA to be referred to TESDA.”
“The MOA tasks the DOJ to be in-charge of informing and encouraging clients to avail of the various skills training programs such as but not limited to TESDA's short term and community-based training programs with the goal of acquiring technical skills for employment and career opportunities,” the DOJ said.
“Moreover, the DOJ shall coordinate with local government units (LGUs) for possible support and provide venue/facility through its Regional/Field Offices for the conduct of skills training,” it also said.
It added that the DOJ is tasked to “continuously monitor its clients regarding the status of their training in TESDA's regional, city and provincial centers.”
Probationers are “persons who are convicted of a criminal offense but are not sent to prison, but instead released, to be placed under the supervision of a probation officer.”
Parolees are “prisoners conditionally released from correctional institutions after serving the minimum period of prison sentence,” while pardonees are “prisoners released on parole or conditional pardon with parole conditions in place.”
"Once again, this milestone in our Corrections system was made possible by the earnest and diligent efforts of our present government under the Bagong Pilipinas movement to reform and transform lives, ensuring that no one gets left behind in our path to progress, even those undergoing reformation and corrections," said Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla.