MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines needs Filipinos who will advocate peace and discipline in their communities, presumptive vice president Sara Duterte-Carpio said after she accepted to lead the Department of Education.
In a statement, Duterte-Carpio said she and presumptive president Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. had talked about the defense post before the campaign period “but seeing the way things are at the moment, I expect that people who want to see the new administration to fail will fabricate intrigues about my loyalty and the DND position to break the UniTeam.”
Related Stories
Liloan, Cebu mayor Christina Frasco, Duterte-Carpio’s spokesperson, told ABS-CBN News Channel Wednesday that the president’s daughter wanted to be appointed defense secretary. Marcos announced hours later that Duterte-Carpio had agreed to lead the education department.
“Yesterday, the presumptive president and I once talked about how I could help the country. It was decided that I would work on producing skilled learners with the mindset to realize their full potential as individuals,” she said.
The Davao City mayor added that the country needs a “future generation of patriotic Filipinos that advocate peace and discipline in their respective communities.”
As education chief, Duterte will deal with what has been called a deep-rooted and complex education crisis in the Philippines.
She is expected to address criticisms about the K-12 curriculum, poor teaching and learning conditions, below-par standing in international learning assessments, and insufficient instructional facilities worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.
Duterte-Carpio has no formal experience in the education sector. She has a bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy from San Pedro College in Davao. She also attended San Beda University and obtained a law degree from San Sebastian College-Recoletos in Manila.
She earlier said that she will push for mandatory military service for Filipinos aged 18 and up if she gets elected. Duterte-Carpio also said she will replicate the disaster preparedness training conducted by Sangguniang Kabataan in Davao City.
Transition of DepEd leadership
Duterte-Carpio thanked education chief Leonor Briones for their readiness to work with her team for the transition of leadership. Briones, in a statement late Wednesday, said her team will turn over the Basic Education Plan 2030.
“We are confident that DepEd will be in able hands and anticipate a continuity,” she said.
Duterte-Carpio said she recognizes the “sincerity, hard work, and dedication of Sec. Liling in implementing education reforms under the Duterte administration.”
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who leads the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, said Duterte-Carpio has the “political capital to ensure that much needed reforms in the education sectorr—including a review of the K to 12 system—will be implemented.”
Marcos is poised to succeed President Rodrigo Duterte, with 31,103,670 votes as of 10:02 a.m. Duterte-Carpio is leading the vice presidential race, with 31,560,847 votes, based on partial and unofficial tally. — with report from Kristine Joy Patag