By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) came under intense scrutiny at the Senate budget hearing Tuesday over billions of pesos in questioned transactions, low budget utilization, and scholarship funds that auditors said were improperly handled.
Senator Erwin Tulfo cited Commission on Audit (COA) findings involving P3.6 billion in uncorrected accounting errors and omissions, including P574.9 million in scholarships granted to learners with doubtful eligibility and P197.4 million in scholarship allowances that were prematurely released, unreleased, or unclaimed.
Tulfo questioned why TESDA was seeking additional funding when significant portions of its existing appropriations remained underutilized.
“Kaya po nakakapagtaka, masyado pong glaring… Parang nagsasayang ho tayo ng pera samantalang kailangan ng ibang agency,” Tulfo said, suggesting that additional funds could instead be directed to the Commission on Higher Education for college students.
TESDA officials told senators that the agency was already coordinating with COA and its regional and provincial offices to resolve the audit issues.
TESDA District Director Cariza Dacuna said the problems appeared to be “more structural,” particularly involving the rectification and validation of records and the need for adequate budget and finance personnel.
The explanation did little to satisfy Tulfo.
“Yung sagot ninyo hindi ko ma-digest, parang inikot-ikot niyo lang ako,” the senator said.
COA said it had issued an Audit Observation Memorandum and was validating TESDA’s supporting documents and liquidation reports. The results of the validation are expected in October.
TESDA is proposing a P21.20-billion budget for 2027 and seeking an additional P5.7 billion to accommodate another 162,000 scholars and support the hosting of WorldSkills Asia 2027, according to TESDA Secretary Kiko Benitez.
But Tulfo said the agency’s unresolved audit findings should be addressed before any additional appropriation is considered.
“I’m not satisfied… I believe tama lang ho yung budget ninyo. Kung pagdadagdag po, I totally disagree at this point,” Tulfo said.
The hearing also exposed other concerns over TESDA’s ability to fully utilize funds already appropriated to it.
Senator Migs Zubiri questioned the utilization of TESDA training centers in the provinces, particularly in Bukidnon.
Senator Bong Go, meanwhile, pressed TESDA over programs that remained unimplemented despite having received funding as early as 2025.
Go pointed to TESDA’s reported 76-percent budget utilization in 2025, which had fallen to only 28 percent in 2026 at the time of the hearing.
“Maghi-hearing tayo ng budget for 2027, pero marami pang backlog from 2025 na budget,” Go said.
Senator Joel Villanueva, who chaired the hearing, urged TESDA to work closely with the Senate as deliberations on the proposed 2027 budget move to the plenary.
“You have to help me defend the budget, you have to help me defend why we need increase, why we need to put more funds sa TESDA, not just because si ‘TESDA man’ daw ako,” Villanueva told the agency.
The Senate hearing thus placed TESDA’s proposed budget increase under heightened scrutiny, with senators demanding clearer explanations on the agency’s audit findings, scholarship implementation and its ability to spend funds already made available to it.
ia/xf
