Legarda to TESDA: Prioritize poor towns

CEBU, Philippines - Senator Loren Legarda asked the officials of Technical Education Skills Development Authority to prioritize the giving of assistance to 558 fourth, fifth and sixth class municipalities in the country.

“We should hit two birds with one stone by ensuring the equitable distribution of opportunities and wealth across all provinces, cities and municipalities in the country and in the process promote environmental protection,” Legarda said in a statement.

TESDA director general Joel Villanueva assured Legarda, the principal author of Republic Act 9509 – otherwise known as the Barangay Kabuhayan Act – that programs that she had initiated since the passage of the law are being monitored and supported.

Legarda said that TESDA should coordinate with the Department of Trade and Industry, especially with regards to its ‘One Town One Product’ program.

“There must be convergence of all the efforts of the different government entities and the private sector at the national and local levels,” she stressed.

Meanwhile, Legarda said that donated items or goods from foreign donors which are exclusively for humanitarian purposes benefiting the poor should be exempt from the Value Added Tax (VAT).

She said VAT hinders the receipt of food, medicine and equipment for government relief and rehabilitation programs in calamity affected areas.    (FREEMAN NEWS)