FIRING LINE: TESDA official goes power tripping

By Robert B. Roque, Jr.

Seldom have I been called to strike down an agency like the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), which for many years has been running quite efficiently without much whiff of corruption since after the Arroyo administration.

But recently, I’ve been shown some quite disturbing documents, particularly about some executive-level behavior that tarnishes TESDA’s good name. At the very least, it is worth investigating if there is the truth about a seemingly impartial executive who is out to destroy an esteemed English language institute.

Sources reveal that the shadowy official may soon be dragged to court for allegedly orchestrating a campaign to cripple the operations of this institute as it stands to lose a projected 1,000 enrollees next year.

TESDA insiders suggest that their official is wielding authority with a vengeful spirit. By all indications, this official is out to deprive TESDA certification, manifesting in personal bias, arbitrary delays, threats, and unprofessional behavior towards the private institute.

Officers of the institute reportedly tried to reason out and comply with the TESDA executive’s whims but have found themselves entangled in a web of bureaucratic sabotage. It’s hard to figure out what this TESDA boss’s motives are, but theories range from personal vendettas to ulterior motives that remain shrouded in mystery.

Perhaps at this point, TESDA Director-General Suharto Mangudadatu should investigate and clean his house of those who abuse power and position.

PNP justice

Here stands Police Lt. Col. Mark Julio Abong, a stark testament to bad eggs that are allowed to reach their rotten state within the realm of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

I understand Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte speaking out last week as if a thorn had been pulled from her side, thanking Secretary Benhur Abalos profusely for the DILG’s decision to give Lt. Col. Abong the boot. We don’t want rotten eggs in QC.

It took the PNP ages to kick the police official to the curb for a hit-and-run that cost a life in our beloved city. Seriously, what took it so long? Abong’s dismissal for a 2022 hit-and-run speaks volumes of the PNP’s delayed sense of justice. It showcases a disturbing pattern of lethargy within the organization when one of its own crosses the other side of the law.

It took them long enough with this misfit, for sure! And here’s the kicker – if Abong hadn’t decided to turn a bar into a shooting range recently, the PNP might still be in La-La Land, denying their own man a dose of real justice.

The PNP needs to take a good, hard look in the mirror. Abong’s dismissal shouldn’t be a one-time event but the norm.

 
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