Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Barangay Livelihood and Skills Training Act of 2008".

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policies. -  It is hereby declared a policy of the State to:

1. give the highest priority to social reform and focus its intervention to poverty alleviation through rural empowerment;
   
2. ensure that national economic development programs will promote the diffusion and more equitable distribution of opportunities, income and wealth across all provinces, cities and municipalities in the country;
   
3. strive to enhance the quality of life for all its citizens, especially the underprivileged, by expanding their capacities for economic productivity and increase their incomes to enable them to avail of essential goods and services for their own direct benerfit; and
   
4. pursue rural development with social inclusion.
   

SEC. 3. Objectives. - Pursuant to the aforementioned policies, this Act shall have the following objectives:

1. To promote and support the establishment and maintenance of livelihood and skills training centers in every fourth, fifth and sixth class municipalities;
   
2. To ensure that all livelihood and skills training being offered by the government are properly coordinated and implemented at the municipal and barangay levels;
   
3. To ensure that available livelihood and skills training are made available to barangay communities that need the most help from the government;
   
4. To ensure that the training needs of barangay communities based on local development plans are properly identified and adequately provided; and
   
5. To prioritize rural areas with the highest poverty incidence in the provision of programs and services under this Act.
   

SEC. 4. Establishment of a Livelihood and Skills Training Center. - A livelihood and skills training center, hereinafter referred to as the "Center", shall be established in every fourth, fifth and sixth class municipalities: Provided, That other municipalities shall be covered by this Act upon determination of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), taking into account the municipality's population density and demographic status, poverty incidence, Income class, level, abundance of raw materials which have potential for commercial production, and the availability and accessibility of existing livelihood skills training programs and services.

SEC. 5. Powers and Functions of the Center. - The Center shall provide educational and instructional activities designed to enhance the knowledge, skills and attitudes of intended beneficiaries and to a better prepare them to engage in gainful employment and/or entrepreneurship. It shall have the following powers and functions:

1. Conduct periodic training needs determination and skills mapping of barangays within their jurisdiction: Provided, That the Center shall coordinate closely with the local development councils, the local planning offices and other national and local government offices to determine and orchestrate the livelihood training skills required by the rural barangays concerned;
   
2. Gather information and maintain an inventory of all existing livelihood and skills training under the various programs of the government;
   
3. Coordinate the provision of livelihood and skills training and institute measures to ensure that such trainings are responsive to the needs of the barangays concerned;
   
4. Coordinate and orchestrate the conduct of livelihood and skills training independently or in partnership with national government agencies, private sector or civil society organizations;
   
5. Facilitate the development and implementation of capability-building programs and services that will ensure effective skills development and target the most number of people and communities in poor barangays;
   
6. Develop its capability to devise and formulate training curricula an training designes;
   
7. Develop its own capacity as a resource center for livelihood and skills training by developing in-house trainors to provide training services;
   
8. Monitor and evaluate the progress of the individuals or groups undergoing training as well as the implementation of training programs and services to ensure that such programs and services are relevant and useful to the needs of the communities; and
   
9. Ensure that the Center is networked with government efforts covering other aspects of livelihood development such as marketing and financing, under the livelihood development system.
   

SEC. 6. Creation of a Municipal Advisory Board. - The municipal governments shall be responsible for instituting and maintaining the Center with the assistance of a Municipal Advisory Board to the chaired by the municipal mayor and to be composed of the representatives from the following stakeholders;

1. Business organizations, chamber of commerce and cooperatives;
   
2. Micro, small and medium-scale enterprises;
   
3. Rural bankers;
   
4. Civil society organizations; and
   
5. People's organizations undertaking livelihood and skills training.
   

The following shall act as ex officio members of the Municipal Advisory Board:

1. Provincial officer of the Department of the Interior and Local Government;
   
2. Provincial officer of the Department of Agriculture;
   
3. Provincial officer of the Department of Trade and Industry; and
   
4. Provincial officer of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
   

SEC. 7. Powers and Functions of the Municipal Advisory Board. - The Municipal Advisory Board, through the leadership of the municipal mayor, shall provide policy advice and direction to guide the development of plans, programs and activities of the Center. It shall also develop information, education and communication plan to promote the Center.

SEC. 8. Program and Service. - The Center shall provide livelihood and skills training services that will develop individual and/or collective knowledge, skills and attitudes of residents in communities, for the purpose of enhancing their capability to engage in more productive employment and/or entrepreneurship. This includes, but shall not be limited to, trainings on:

1. Development of practical skills for home-based, viable income generating projects such as backyard gardening, aquaculture and livestock raising, and other such endeavors that make use of the available resources within the community;
   
2. Business development services such as product design and development, marketing and promotions;
   
3. Basic entrepreneurial management, financial literacy, organizational development and other such trainings;
   
4. Community participation skills development to promote and advance the barangay resident's awareness and application of community mobilization approaches, cooperative systems and techniques to create livelihood opportunities, and participatory implementation of livelihood programs and projects;
   
5. Occupational hazard and safety, labor rights, and values that promote the general welfare, develop people empowerment, self-reliance, and self-help; and
   
6. Sustainable development and environment-friendly livelihood technologies.
   

SEC. 9. Establishment of Satellite and Mobile Training Centers. - The Centers shall establish a satellite or mobile livelihood and skills training center in a barangay or a cluster of barangays where deemed necessary by the municipal mayor to ensure that the skills training to be provided reach the intended beneficiaries: Provided, That the satellite or mobile centers shall provide the program and service of a Center as provided for under this ACt.

Any private person, group, organization or business entity may sponsor the establishment, operation and/or maintenance of a satellite or mobile center in any barangay or cluster of barangays: Provided, That the activities, programs and projects of the sponsored satellite center are consistent with the objectives of this Act and the priority training needs of the community as identified by the municipal livelihood and skills training center.

SEC. 10. Operation and Maintenance of Centers. - The Center and its satellites must be located in an area which is safe and accessible to the residents.

1. Maintenance - The municipal government shall ensure that the Centers are supported by appropriate network of organizational support systems and mechanisms, including human resource.
   
2. Supervision - The municipal mayor shall have overall supervision over the programs and services offered by the Centers: Provided, That the Municipal Advisory Board shall provide assistance and guidance in organizing, strengthening and sustaining the Centers hereinafter created.
   
3. Personnel - The personnel component of the Center shall depend on the size of the population in the barangays which form part of its service area. The municipal mayor shall appoint a Municipal Training Coordinator (MTC) who shall serve in a full-time capacity.
   
   The MTC shall oversee the day-to-day operations of the Center. The MTC must be capable of supervising the planning and the implementation of services offered by the Center in coordination with other relevant municipal officers such as, but not limited to, the Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator, the Agriculture Officers and the Public Employment Service Officer.
   
   The municipal mayor shall determine the number of staff complement and appoint the same who shall assist the MTC in discharging its duties. Additional manpower for the Centers may include the following:
   
   
   
   1. Officers and members of barangay councils;
      
   2. Volunteers from the private or public sector, including staff of the sangguniang barangay, members of socio-civic organizations, out-of-school youth or students on vacation; and
      
   3. Students enrolled in practicum courses such as the on-the-job-trainess.
      
   
   
4. Funding - The municipal government shall set aside funds from any available local revenues in an amount deemed appropriate by the municipal official concerned for the operation and maintenance of the Center and their satellite centers, if any.
   

SEC. 11. Role of the National Government. -  The national government shall promote and guarantee the establishment of the Centers and assist local governments in instituting and maintaining such Centers and in ensuring the effectiveness of the services being provided.

The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) shall adopt guidelines for identifying additional municipalities to be covered under this Act as provided for under Section 4.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) shall jointly develop and implement, within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Act, a program to facilitate the establishment of the Centers in the municipalities covered herein: Provided, That the TESDA shall allocate twenty-five percent (25%) of its total annual appropriations for the development, evaluation, monitoring and accreditationof formal and non-formal technical, vocational, education and training, for this purpose.

All national government agencies that conduct or render community-based livelihood and skills training shall develop annual training programs specifically for the municipalities covered under this Act: Provided, That said agencies shall allocate funding for such programs out of their annual appropriations: Provided, further, That the agencies shall coordinate with the Center for the Inplementation of such programs and shall submit an annual accomplishment report on the same to the NAPC. The NAPC shall consolidate the submissions of the agencies and submit to Congress a consolidated accomplishment report and  recommendations for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 12. Donations. - The Center may receive donations or bequests of property or services which shall be utilized only for the implementation of the program. Such donations or bequests of property shall be covered by the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) exempting such from taxes and other fees and/or procedures.

SEC. 13. Repealing Clause. - Laws or part of laws, executive orders, circulars, regulations and memoranda inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

SEC. 14. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act shall be held invalid, the remaining provisions shall be given full force and effect as completely as if the provision held invalid had not been included herein.

SEC. 15. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

(Sgd.) MANNY VILLAR	(Sgd.) PROSPERO C. NOGRALES
President of the Senate	Speaker of the House of Representatives

This Act which is a consolidation of House Bill No. 4349 and Senate Bill No. 2092 was finally passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on August 5, 2008 and August 12, 2008, respectively.

(Sgd.) EMMA LIRIO-REYES	(Sgd.) MARILYN B. BARUA-YAP
Secretary of the Senate	Secretary General House of Representatives

Approved: Oct. 21, 2008