PCUP chairperson Usec. Elpidio Jordan Jr. (left) with TESDA director-general Danilo Cruz (center) and deputy dir. gen. Tonicito Umali (right) when the former visited the latter in a courtesy call to urge the continuation of the memorandum of agreement of the two agencies. (Photo supplied by the PCUP Public Information Unit/Chelzy Jane Caspe)
BEFORE the year ends, the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will be signing another memorandum of agreement (MoA to continue the previous agreement between the two agencies that will end by December the current year.
In a courtesy call to TESDA, PCUP chairperson and chief-executive-officer Undersecretary Elpidio Jordan Jr. requested the continuance of their partnership for the benefit of the underprivileged, particularly the urban poor, in acquiring the services being offered by the country’s top authority on technical vocational education and training.
In the previous MoA, PCUP was authorized to endorse future scholars to TESDA from the urban poor communities around the country in order to avail skills training and services which would be useful for them, especially during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The PCUP wants to ensure that our urban poor families are given greater opportunities to access free education and scholarships that would provide them with new knowledge and skills so that they can earn an honest living, especially in the midst of the critical problems that our country faces with soaring prices of prime commodities and the depreciation of the peso that has triggered inflation,” Usec. Jordan pointed out even as TESDA director general Danilo Cruz agreed to the MoA extension which this time would no longer expire but will continue further on.
“I am very much grateful to TESDA for the collaboration and the new partnership we have forged because this brings renewed hope to our countrymen who want to study but do not have the ability. Today, I am confident that this initiative will continue to serve as a way to change the lives of many, especially those who need it the most,” the PCUP head added.
Under the new MoA, selected scholars endorsed by the PCUP will be receiving allowances and other necessities while being given the choice to enroll in courses to be offered by TESDA that includes bread and pastry production, food processing, food and beverage services, computer systems servicing, electrical installation and maintenance, shielded metal arc welding, driving and heavy equipment operation and many others.
As a final word, Usec. Jordan enthused that under his leadership, PCUP will be launching more programs that would enhance its capabilities in performing its mandate of providing service to the country’s urban poor. “Apart from TESDA, PCUP continues to engage with other government agencies to further develop collaborations that will promote other programs and services for the benefit of our poor countrymen,” he concluded.
