• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Former Negros Occidental Third District Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez assumed his new post as the director-general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) on Monday (Aug. 10), which also marked the agency’s 30th founding anniversary celebration at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
In a statement, TESDA thanked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for tapping Benitez to lead the agency and to actively address the concerns of the technical-vocational and labor sectors such as skills-job mismatch and unemployment.
As one of the commissioners of the Second Congressional Commission on Education, Benitez’s experience and advocacy in the education sector are vital to the advancement of the Philippine technical-vocational education and training (TVET) sector.
TESDA also lauded the predecessor of Benitez, Suharto Mangudadatu, for his service, and for introducing new initiatives to make TVET more accessible to Filipinos.
“We are confident that Director-General Benitez will continue to build on TESDA’s successes and pursue new avenues for growth and innovation. We look forward to working with him to uplift the lives of Filipinos,” the agency said.
In the same venue, Benitez was joined by Negros and Panay legislators at the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) Agency Summit 2024, where the President was the guest of honor and speaker.
The event is considered as the country’s largest government service caravan and recognizes the pioneering hosts who brought essential services directly to the communities. | GB
