For the love of learning and serving
Our children will once again fill the classrooms of about 60,000 schools all over the country to mark the beginning of school year 2024-2025. Coinciding with the start of the new school year, we also welcome the new Department of Education (DepEd) secretary, Sen. Sonny Angara, who has just assumed the position in July.
As a friend to Secretary Sonny and his wife Tootsy, I extend my warm congratulations on his appointment. As an advocate for children and education, I sincerely wish him good luck and success, as he takes on the gargantuan task of managing the country’s embattled education sector.
It is sad to admit, but the facts about basic education in the Philippines paint a picture of a system that is struggling to provide Filipino learners the opportunity to be prepared for their future. Secretary Sonny is inheriting a challenging post marked by glaring problems across the sector’s stakeholders.
Primarily, there is a shortage of classrooms and teachers. EDCOM II last year flagged tens of thousands in vacancies and an alarmingly disproportionate teacher-to-student ratio in public schools, while a lack of classrooms means classes in two shifts have become the norm.
These and other factors, such as our basic education curriculum, inevitably led to our poor performance against global academic standards, like the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
But despite the challenges ahead, I’ve known Secretary Sonny long enough to know that he’s up to it.
Inheriting the father’s legacy and responsibility
In 2007, I covered the Batasang Pambansa bombing incident for ABS-CBN News, where the assassination of a lawmaker led to six fatalities and 12 injured. Among what was unforgettable to me during that coverage was the image of then-representative Sonny tending to the wounded and helping colleagues amid the terror and confusion.
It was not my first encounter with the senator, but it would be one of my most memorable. Without fanfare and with no cameras rolling, he was busy offering assistance as much as he could.
It was also in 2007 when I trailed the Arroyo administration’s Team Unity senatorial slate, and I got the chance to know the late legendary Senator Ed Angara – or SEJA as he was fondly called. SEJA’s reputation commanded respect but was deeply devoted to paving the way for the next generation. Many consider him a mentor, including several of his son’s colleagues today, such as former Senate President Migz Zubiri. Many can attest to SEJA’s intellect, political prowess, and patriotism. I can attest to his humility and down-to-earth attitude, which his son shares.
Another trait the two share is their commitment to Philippine education. They have, in fact, had the chance to work together, father and son, on a key piece of legislation that parents and young learners benefit from today. The free kindergarten law, or the Universal Kindergarten Education Act had the backing of both Angaras in the upper and lower house of Congress.
When it was time to pass the senatorial torch to Sonny, I’m sure he made his father proud. Education initiatives remained an Angara advocacy in the senate, with the passing of legislation such as 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 several others.
I believe that Secretary Sonny’s appointment to lead the Department of Education has been a long time coming; he is one of the few who are actually fit for the job.
Family as guidance and motivation
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his State of the Nation Address, outlined several challenges for the new education secretary. These include improving the proficiency levels of students in grades 6, 10, and 12 in information literacy, problem-solving, and critical thinking. The national learning recovery program must proceed uninterrupted, with a focus on strategic education reforms to develop students into problem-solvers and critical thinkers. Additionally, the classroom and digital gaps must be addressed by equipping students with the necessary technology and ensuring reliable power and internet access. Lastly, the process of producing up-to-date and error-free instructional materials, particularly textbooks, needs to be expedited from three years to one.
President Marcos also had additional marching orders for Secretary Sonny: take care of our teachers. Teachers “cannot teach properly kung inaalala nila ‘yung lagay ng pamilya nila.” (Teachers cannot teach properly if they are worried about the condition of their family.) “So we have to make sure that they are in a good place so that the teachers can concentrate on actual teaching.”
The president’s sentiment on taking care of our family must have resonated well with the incoming education secretary, too, as I’ve known him to be a true family man. From the opportunity I had to work with my good friend Tootsy, who is also an ABS-CBN executive, it was easy to see Sec. Sonny as an adoring father and a devoted husband.
Their friendship is a treasure I cherish, as I have repeatedly witnessed their sincerity in extending help. The couple is one of our regular donors and fervent supporters in ABS-CBN’s child welfare organization, Bantay Bata 163.
As the new education secretary, and as the son of SEJA, Secretary Sonny has big shoes to fill. He called it “the challenge of a lifetime.” But I’m confident Secretary Sonny will approach it with the same discerning and insightful spirit as his father, who called his work “a grand opportunity to serve the Filipino people.”
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