TECHNICAL Education and Skills Development Authority Director General Isidro Lapeña vowed to provide solar power to remote areas that do not have electricity.

He made the pledge during the awarding of Certificates of Scholarship Commitment to six priority villages in Northern Samar under the Barangay Development Program.

“Mayroon kaming kasama sa scholarship certificates. These are the solar panels. These will be installed sa mga barangays na wala pang koryente,” Lapeña said during the meeting of the Joint National Task Force-Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict Eastern Visayas in Tacloban City, Leyte on March 18, which was attended by President Rodrigo Duterte.

TESDA is also set to provide skills training and scholarship to 1,768 individuals in Eastern Visayas who receive Certificates of Land Ownership. The CLOA was given by the Department of Agrarian Reform.

“Simple lang ang directive ng ating Pangulo, matapos maibigay ang lupa, ang TESDA naman ang magbibigay ng training para masigurong maging productive ang lupang ipinagkaloob sa kanila,” Lapeña said.

President Duterte vowed to distribute more lands to former rebels but warned them not to sell the property they get from the government.

“Kami ang makabigay ng lupa sa inyo, legal. Maipasa na ninyo sa inyong mga anak. May lupa sila. Maliit ang mundo ngayon. Maski na lang may dalawa, tatlong ektarya ka, you should thank God that you have a piece — a piece of land under the sun. Ang iba nga wala. Ito, bigay na sa inyo,” the President said.

As the lead agency of the Poverty Reduction and Livelihood and Employment Cluster of NTF-ELCAC, TESDA has been going to far-flung communities to empower residents through livelihood and other skills training.

Recently, members of TESDA Region XII, together with the local government unit of Sultan Kudarat and the 37th Infantry Battalion visited Sitio Blanga in Barangay Nalilidan, Kalamansig to assess the needs of the residents.

Based on their assessment, the community needs electricity and solar dryer. It also lacks school supplies and livelihood due to its geographical location.

To address this, TESDA-Region XII is set to bring to the village “Project IPEACE” or the Indigenous People Empowered Agripreneurs Towards a Collective End and “Project Tala” or TESDA Alay ay Liwanag at Asenso which aim to provide livelihood trainings to members of indigenous groups.