Angara takes over DepEd

MANILA, Philippines —Sen. Sonny Angara officially took the reins of the Department of Education yesterday, succeeding Vice President Sara Duterte as the 37th DepEd secretary.

Angara, who tendered his resignation as a member of the Senate yesterday, received the department seal and flag from Duterte during ceremonies at the DepEd central office in Pasig City.

In her last speech as DepEd chief, Duterte highlighted the programs and projects, including the Matatag Curriculum rollout and review of the Senior High School (SHS) curriculum, that were implemented during her two-year tenure.

Duterte said some projects were unrealized during her stint, including the Matatag Center and Portal, DepEd digital education agenda, overtime pay for teachers, revised curriculum for SHS, universal school-based feeding program for kindergarten learners as well as the calamity fund and health insurance for teaching and non-teaching personnel.

She expressed hope that Angara would push the unrealized projects.

Angara, during his inaugural speech, expressed his gratitude and commitment to improving the Philippine education system.

“It is a great honor that President Marcos has given us to serve as secretary of the Department of Education. I humbly accept this position, in response to our President’s trust and challenge to further enhance programs that will promote high quality education for our students,” Angara said.

He also paid tribute to Duterte and other outgoing DepEd officials for their dedication and service, underscoring the importance of building on existing efforts.

“We will build from what you have already started,” Angara said.

Civil society group Tindig Pilipinas also asked Angara to address the crisis in education and to reconsider the implementation of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.

“Our challenge to Secretary Angara is to address the crisis in education. He should change the legacy of former Deped secretary Duterte of purely drama. The squabble among politicians will not address the needs of students and teachers,” said Tindig Pilipinas convenor Matthew Silverio.

Reason for resigning

After turning over the DepEd to Angara, Duterte revealed that her reason for leaving the post was mainly personal and political.

“It’s a long story. We need a sit down for the reasons. There’s a personal (element) between me and President Marcos which stems from our agreement before I agreed to run as his Vice President. There’s an element involving work and one involving the nation,” Duterte said in Filipino but did not elaborate.

Asked whether her resignation had something to do with her spat with First Lady Liza Marcos, Duterte said: “No, the First Lady had nothing to do with this as she has nothing to do with my and President Marcos’ jobs.”

The First Lady revealed in April that she had come to view Duterte negatively because the Vice President laughed when her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, called Marcos bangag or high on drugs during a rally in Davao City.

Sara won’t campaign for Marcos Jr. , Duterte bets

The Vice President also said she no longer has any interest in serving in Marcos’ Cabinet “in other capacities.”

She also said that she has declined the invitations from Marcos and her own father to campaign for their respective senatorial slates for the 2025 elections, adding that she has yet to determine the direction of her interests.

Before resigning, Duterte said Marcos invited her to a meeting where he asked her to help the administration field senatorial candidates to a successful bid.

“I think President Marcos will also confirm this… I told him I will not participate yet in the midterm elections,” Duterte told reporters.

She also said that she met her father “by chance” and was asked to campaign for the senatorial candidates of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino, the former president’s political party.

“I also told him that I would not participate in the midterm elections. I still need to think about my direction for the midterm elections that’s why I can’t give an answer yet to the two of them on what I’ll be doing,” Duterte said in Filipino.

Duterte revealed that she has scheduled a meeting with Senators Bong Go and Ronald dela Rosa after Marcos’ State of the Nation Address “to sit down and have a heart-to-heart among the three of us.”

The Vice President’s involvement in the midterm elections may be sought after in some quarters as, aside from her current political capital, she also founded the regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago, which met great success during the last midterm senatorial elections. – Marc Jayson Caybyab, Bella Cariaso