New Tesda chief cancels bid for P79M ‘irregular’ purchases

Stops payment for P39M ‘ghost deliveries’

MANILA, Philippines—The new head of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) has cancelled the bidding for P79 million worth of “irregular” purchases and stopped payment for remaining P39 million payables for an “irregular project, including ghost deliveries.”

In his first day of office Wednesday, newly appointed Tesda director general Joel Villanueva also ordered an immediate investigation into the agency’s P1 billion debt on scholarship.

“After hours of briefing and study, I cancelled the bidding for a P70-million irregular IT-related procurement,” Villanueva said in a statement.

“I also cancelled the continuous payment for the remaining P39 million payables for an irregular project including ghost deliveries and ordered an immediate probe for a P1 billion debt on scholarship,” he said.

Villanueva did not give other details of these supposed irregular projects that the agency had entered into.

Before joining the government, the new Tesada chief completed his nine-year term of office as representative of Citizens Battle Against Corruption (Cibac) party-list group in the House of Representatives.

“Tough decisions, but at the end of the day, kailangan talaga nating humakbang tungo sa matuwid na daan (we really need to take a step toward the right road),” Villanueva added. –Maila Ager, INQUIRER.net