Secretary Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) director general, authored 20 laws and pushed billions of pesos worth of infrastructure projects for the Third District of Negros Occidental as its congressman for two terms.
Benitez turned over the Third District leadership to his nephew, Representative-elect Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez, at rites at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City, on Saturday, June 7.
“Let us stand behind Javi. Let’s make sure the progress we’ve started in Metro 3rd continues, and that the legacy of our shared work lives on,” he said.
The TESDA director general, in his speech, said that in the almost six years that he served as congressman he sat in 17 house committees, filed 595 bills, 83 as principal author, and 20 were passed into law.
Among these laws were the establishment of Negros Island Region, Victorias City General Hospital, Cultural Mapping for all LGUs, and expansion of bed capacity at the Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City.
In terms of infrastructure, he also pushed for the construction of P3-billion worth of national and tourism roads, along with the P760-million worth of local roads, and about P319M worth of farm-to-market and farm-to-mill roads, from 2022 to 2025.
“But progress isn’t built by policy alone. Laws lay the groundwork, but real development is felt on the ground, on the roads we travel, in the schools our children attend, in the health centers that serve our communities”, he said.
During his two terms, he also pushed for the construction of P497 million worth of national road bridges and P163 million for development of local bridges sites and completed 66 linear meters of flood control infrastructure.
He also initiated the construction of 97 multi-purpose buildings, 19 new water system sites, 17 upgraded healthcare centers, 81 classrooms, and opened 304 hectares of newly irrigated farmlands.
The TESDA director general also helped 1,713 students through P22 million worth of educational assistance as well as distributed P190 million social assistance through AICS and AKAP, and P123.9 million livelihood assistance through TUPAD programs.
He also cited his programs for arts and culture as well as the establishment of the TESDA Regional Training and Innovation Center in the Negros Island Region.
Benitez thanked the Metro Third LGUs, Asenso leaders, and District Staff for their support during his two terms as congressman.*