Paying attention to our teachers, finally

Conclusion

It was both a reminder and a gesture of trust on Sec. Sonny’s capabilities. From the perspective of an advocate of quality education, however, I can say Sec. Sonny doesn’t need a reminder. He is, after all, one of the lawmakers behind nearly every flagship education bill that passed the Senate: the Free College Law, the Unified Student Financial Assistance System Act (UNIFAST), the Ladderized Education Act, the Open Learning and Distance Education Act, Youth Entrepreneurship Act and the institutionalization of the student fare discount, among others. 

His credentials were probably why his appointment to the education portfolio was one of the most warmly-received nominations we’ve seen in a while. We can say, too, that education is in his blood – his father, the late senator Ed Angara, served as the 15th president of the University of the Philippines and the Diliman campus’ first chancellor, and his mother, Gloria, was a teacher. I find it hard to doubt that Sec. Sonny would be a friend and advocate of our teachers.

Hours before the SONA, Sec. Sonny led his very first flag-raising ceremony at the DepEd central office. He addressed the DepEd body with the same honest and optimistic attitude the Chief Executive would display later that day, albeit with the humble and down-to-earth disposition Sec. Sonny likely got from Senator Ed. 

He called on his fellow public servants for dialogue, and asked for the department’s cooperation with the private sector, civic groups and non-government organizations. “I want to be a channel for reform, makikinig po ako sa inyo,” said the new secretary. (I will listen to you.) 

Sec. Sonny already had marching orders weeks before he was sworn in, and he wanted to hit the ground running. Later in the week, he would order the postponement of the implementation of the teachers’ performance review to allow teachers to focus on the opening of classes, and called on the department to revisit the evaluation with the goal of simplifying the process.

I extend my warm congratulations to our new education secretary and wish him success. We are in dire need of better results – not just in international assessments, but in the quality of life of our teachers and the learning journey of every young Filipino.