TESDA staff holds noise barrage

Employees of the Technical Skills Development Authority (TESDA) held a noise barrage and lighted candles in an effort to force its beleaguered general manager former Rep. Dante Liban, to resign his post.

"We will hold a noise barrage everyday until he steps down," Sonia Lipio, national president of the TESDA-Association of Concerned Employees (TESDA-ACE), told reporters. An estimated 3,000 TESDA employees are members of the union, Lipio said.

Lipio said there have been too many corruption allegations hurled against the agency that employees would like to emphasize that "true TESDANs are not corrupt." "We want our soul and integrity back," she said. Lipio said TESDA employees want President Arroyo to intervene in the ongoing crisis at the agency. She added that a signature campaign among TESDA employees is going on nationwide urging Liban and Milagros Dawa-Hernandez, deputy director general for policy and planning, to resign.

"Their resignation would pave the way for an investigation into the allegations," Lipio said. She added that without Liban, the "healing process would begin at TESDA and employees could start to serve the people peacefully." But Lipio said the union itself is not accusing Liban of anything because it is "difficult to accuse."

The STAR tried but failed to reach Liban and Hernandez in their offices for comment.

Liban has been accused of deliberately delaying the issuance of Artist Record Books (ARB) to some 20,000 prospective overseas performing artists last year.

The Philippine Association of Recruitment Agencies Deploying Artists (PARADA) earlier said it also received information that the ARB is now being sold to prospective entertainers who do not want to undergo testing at P25,000 each. TESDA only charges P300 for the ARB.

The certification is a pre-requisite for the issuance of visas in countries like Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Liban has filed multimillion libel suits against Lipio, PARADA president Lorenzo Lagomez, Federated Association of Manpower Exporters (FAME) president Alfredo Palmiery, and Samahang Malaya at Magkaisang Kawani ng TESDA president Annie Geron after they allegedly accused him of participating in the anomalies at TESDA.

Meanwhile, TESDA director general Dante Libran yesterday expressed confidence that he would be cleared of the graft and corruption charges filed against him by a group of local recruiters and other members of the entertainment industry.

Liban, in a statement, even vowed to lead in the prosecution of any official and employee of TESDA who would be found involved in graft and corruption activities.

"Suffice it to stay, at this point, that this is another trumped up charge that cannot stand in court, since they have no evidence to prove guilt simply because the racket did not happen," Liban sad. – With Mayen Jaymalin