K-to-12 has not been okay

For the past few days before assuming his new role as “acting” Secretary of Department of Education (DepEd), outgoing Senator Sonny Angara has diligently been meeting with various stakeholders in our country’s basic school system. With close to a million public school teachers and administrative personnel, the incoming DepEd Secretary is literally taking over the biggest bureaucracy in the Executive Branch producing our country’s future college graduates.

Angara himself is “graduating” from the Senate. Before his second and last term ends in June next year, Angara is joining this week the Executive Branch of the government.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) named Angara last July 3 to take over as his new DepEd Secretary. Angara replaces Vice President Sara Duterte who resigned as concurrent DepEd Secretary last June 19. VP Sara announced her resignation takes effect only after one month, supposedly to pave the way for a smooth and orderly transition to whoever will replace her at the DepEd.

I gathered VP Sara has scheduled a sit-down meeting with Angara this Thursday, or on the eve of her last day in office at DepEd. Presumably, lower level officials from DepEd and senior staff members of Sen. Angara are already doing the transition process for their respective principals.

VP Sara continues though with her public appearances as still DepEd Secretary while winding down from this Cabinet office. But VP Sara skipped attending the opening of the 2024 Palarong Pambansa held last July 9 in Cebu. She was supposed to join PBBM to ceremonially open the DepEd’s annual sports competition event.

At a public event in Davao City two days later, VP Sara disclosed she is not attending also the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of PBBM. Still fresh from their UniTeam victory in the May 2022 elections, VP Sara attended the past two SONAs of PBBM. But she is skipping the coming joint opening sessions of the 19th Congress this July 22, VP Sara told reporters in an ambush interview.

VP Sara announced, though flippantly, she has appointed self as the “Designated Survivor.” This was a takeaway from the title of a popular American TV fiction political drama series. Under our country’s 1987 Constitution, though, the Vice President is the first in the line of succession of the top three government officials to take over in case of incapacity, impeachment or death of the President.

VP Sara is obviously just making this “Designated Survivor” quip out of spite.

Described as a political conspiracy, thriller drama series, I’ve personally watched this in three seasons aired in Netflix. As the Housing and Urban Development Council Secretary, the lead character as “Designated Survivor” was thrust at the White House Oval Office after high-ranking American government officials were all killed in a bomb attack at the US Congress while their fictional President was delivering his State of the Union Address.

In reality, the fictional counterpart of the “Designated Survivor” under the US government system has never actually had to carry out the task based on this US tradition. This is said to have originated during the Cold War era over fears of nuclear attacks and continues on, especially after the Sept.11, 2001 terrorists attacks, could kill their country’s leaders.

The kind of violence anticipated by this US succession tradition include assassination like the attempt on the life of former US President Donald Trump who survived with minor injury from a sniper shot. While in a campaign in Pennsylvania, Trump is still in a comeback bid at the White House. So this US tradition does not apply.

In the case of VP Sara though, she is fast becoming a real “drama queen.”

Known for her feisty personality, many of her social media antics in video have been keeping her loyal supporters and allies happy. And it also keeps on their toes her arch political enemies.

Remember her “tambaloslos” remarks in her social media video post last year following a public feud with the President’s first cousin, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. Then her “mangga-gamit” video joke came out while the cracks at the UniTeam begin to surface following the interview on First Lady, Louise Araneta-Marcos. PBBM’s wife frankly admitted she considers VP Sara as already a “bad shot” to her. It was after the series of public tirades to PBBM and their children done by VP Sara’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Her most recent social media video post was trying to explain the origin of her scar in the neck. Pointing to it as “gurgur,” Visayan word of having been supposedly stabbed, it came out after she resigned from the PBBM Cabinet.

VP Sara did not cite reasons for her resignation from the Cabinet. Neither did she state reasons when she personally handed over her resignation letter to the Chief Executive. Several days later, PBBM confirmed to reporters that VP Sara refused to tell him also why she opted out of his Cabinet.

While he has yet to take his oath of office, Angara met and received personally PBBM last Friday in Baler, Aurora. The home province of the Angaras, the President announced his administration’s commitment to continue P796 million worth of projects in the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) that were stalled due to problems with government contracts.

Acknowledging his presence among the audience, PBBM revealed he has already Angara in his mind while still looking for someone to replace VP Sara as DepEd Secretary. After all, Angara has been a stalwart in pushing reforms at the Joint Congressional Education Commission (EDCom) 1 and 2 when both of them were together in Congress.

“And like what he (Angara) mentioned, there are a lot of problems that need to be put in order at Department of Education,” PBBM admitted. The Chief Executive further described Angara as not only intelligent but is also hardworking.

Angara revealed, among other things, PBBM wants him to focus on how to address these myriad of problems. Under DepEd’s K-to-12, our country’s basic education has not been okay.

VP Sara is obviously just making this “Designated Survivor” quip out of spite.