An Act Instituting a Philippine Labor Force Competencies Competitiveness Program and Free Access to Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and Appropriating Funds Therefor

Seventeenth Congress
Third Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day of July, two thousand eighteen.

REPUBLIC ACT No. 11230

An Act Instituting a Philippine Labor Force Competencies Competitiveness Program and Free Access to Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and Appropriating Funds Therefor

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress Assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Tulong-Trabaho Act".

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. - The Philippine Constitution provides that the State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation, and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all. For this purpose, the Constitution encourages nonformal, informal and indigenous learning systems, as well as self-learning, independent, and out-of-school study programs, particularly those that respond to community needs.

Section 3. Objectives. - This Act has the following objectives:

Section 4. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act:

Section 5. Philippine Labor Force Competencies Competitiveness Program. - There shall be established a Philippine Labor Force Competencies Competitiveness Program in accordance with Section 17 of this Act, and which shall be funded through the Tulong-Trabaho Fund created in accordance with Section 6 of this Act.

ARTICLE II
THE TULONG-TRABAHO FUND

Section 6. Tulong-Trabaho Fund. -There shall be established a Tulong-Trabaho Fund that shall provide qualified recipients with access to TVET programs under the STPs to be determined by the TESDA Board through the full payment of the STPs’ training fees, as well as the additional financial assistance such as transportation allowance and laboratory fees, as needed.

All costs to be incurred in undergoing assessment and certification, issuance of national certificates and other documents, administrative and all other procedures required for the completion of the TVET programs under the STPs shall be free of charge to the qualified recipients under Section 9 of this Act.

Section 7. Funding. -The funds necessary for the implementation of this Act shall be immediately sourced from the TESDA budget in the current General Appropriations Act (GAA) and hereinafter be included in the GAA of the succeeding year.

Section 8. Scope of Financial Assistance. -The Tulong-Trabaho Fund shall be used to pay the fees of qualified recipients in STPs selected in accordance with Section 9 of this Act.

Section 9. Qualified Recipients. -Access to the Tulong-Trabaho Fund shall be made available to (a) any person at least fifteen (15) years of age who are not employed, not in education and not in training (NEET), and (b) employed workers who intend to develop and expand their current skills and trainings: Provided, That existing workers in enterprise-based companies or industries currently trained by their employers shall be excluded from the coverage of this Act.

Section 10. Management of the Tulong-Trabaho Fund. - The TESDA shall be primarily responsible for managing the Tulong-Trabaho Fund. For this purpose, the TESDA Board shall promulgate the policies and guidelines to implement the Program.

The TESDA Board shall also have the power to receive donations from both government and nongovernment organizations to be used strictly and exclusively for the beneficiaries and qualified applicants of the Tulong-Trabaho Fund.

The TESDA Board shall provide the guidelines to determine the qualified beneficiaries entitled to receive financial assistance from the Tulong-Trabaho Fund.

Section 11. Determination of Selected Training Programs. - The TESDA Board shall approve the final list of STPs eligible to receive funding from the Tulong-Trabaho Fund based on the initial recommendation of the TESDA Secretariat.

STPs may be school-based, center-based, community-based, enterprise-based or web-based programs. The STPs shall initially be determined based on the following considerations:

Provided, That the TESDA Board may, in its discretion, adopt additional bases to achieve the objectives of this Act.

The TESDA Board shall release the initial list of available STPs within two (2) months from the effectivity of this Act, and shall update such list in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Section 12. Determination of Qualified Recipients. - The industry boards or bodies seeking funding for STPs shall submit a list of trainees who have requested assistance from the Tulong-Trabaho Fund to the TESDA Regional Directors. The TESDA Regional Directors shall assess the recipients and submit a list of qualified recipients to the TESDA Director General for his/her approval.

The list of qualified recipients shall be periodically updated depending on the availability of the Tulong-Trabaho Fund and the number of STPs.

Section 13. Evaluation of Assistance Given to Schools and Training Centers. - The TESDA Board shall periodically evaluate schools and training centers that receive funding from the Tulong-Trabaho Fund. The recipient-industry boards and institutions shall ensure that at least eighty percent (80%) of the beneficiaries of the Tulong-Trabaho Fund are able to pass the Philippine TVET Competency Assessment and Certification System. Failure to meet the passing rate shall subject the school or training center to performance review and audit by the TESDA Board.

The TESDA Board shall have the discretion to provide other criteria and standards to determine whether the school or center shall continue to receive financial assistance through the Tulong-Trabaho Fund.

Section 14. Public Online Registry. - The TESDA shall create a registry of schools and training centers that offer STPs and a database of qualified recipients of financial assistance and graduates of these programs. These lists shall be accessible through the website of the TESDA.

Section 15. Evaluation. - In accordance with the principles of fair and full disclosure, the TESDA Board shall issue and make available to the public, an annual report on the utilization of the Tulong-Trabaho Fund and other funds allocated in the GAA, donations from private and other organizations, expenditures, the performance of the qualified recipients and other pertinent information as may be necessary. An impact evaluation shall be conducted from time to time.

ARTICLE III
DEVELOPMENT MODALITIES AND SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Section 16. Primary Duty of the TESDA. - The TESDA shall design and implement the support systems necessary to achieve the objectives of this Act, particularly the development of additional TVET programs and the improvement of existing TVET programs.

Section 17. Support Systems for the Development of the Program. - Consistent with the recognition that a TVET program must be based on developing competencies and focused on learning outcomes to be relevant to changing demands, the TESDA shall ensure that only qualified recipients of the Tulong-Trabaho Fund are appropriately trained and their competencies are regularly updated.

For this purpose, appropriate standards, proper planning, trainers’ training and certification, competency assessment and certification and quality assurance system shall be put in place to ensure that entrants to the Program shall be sufficiently equipped. In addition, the development of modalities and programs for employed workers and accumulation of new learning modules shall be undertaken to upgrade competencies of employed workers.

The participation of industries and engagement of local governments and the labor sector shall also be sought.

ARTICLE IV
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Section 18. Oversight Committee. - There is hereby created a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Tulong-Trabaho composed of three (3) members each from the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education and the House Committee on Labor and Employment, to be appointed by the House Speaker, and three (3) members each from the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development and the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture to be appointed by the Senate President: Provided, That at least one (1) member from the House and one (1) member from the Senate shall represent the minority.

The Joint Oversight Committee on Tulong-Trabaho shall have the power to monitor and review the implementation of this Act and the disbursements of the Tulong-Trabaho Fund: Provided, further, That the secretariat of the Joint Oversight Committee shall be drawn from the Secretariat personnel of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, the House Committee on Labor and Employment, the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, and the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development. Funding of the expenses of the Joint Oversight Committee shall be taken from the appropriations of both the House and the Senate committees.

Section 19. Implementing Rules and Regulations. -The TESDA shall, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, issue the implementing rules and regulations of this Act within a period of sixty (60) days after the effectivity of this Act.

Section 20. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held,, invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain valid and subsisting.

Section 21. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly.

Section 22. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,

GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
Speaker of the House of Representatives

VICENTE C. SOTTO III
President of the Senate

This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 1431 and House Bill No. 8139 was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on December 11, 2018.

DANTE ROBERTO P. MALING
Acting Secretary General
House of Representatives

MYRA MARIE D. VILLARICA
Secretary of the Senate

Approved: February 22, 2019

(Sgd.) RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE
President of the Philippines