President Bongbong Marcos said that he will announce the new Department of Education Secretary by the end of the month.
The statement comes following the resignation of Vice President Sara Duterte last week.
In a media interview, Marcos said that the Education Department is an important government agency and it can’t be left without a leader.
“We have to carry on and the Department of Education is, possibly, arguably the most important department. Because education is that important. So no matter the change of leadership within the department, we still have to carry on,” said Marcos.
He said he has advised his team to submit all possible candidates for the position.
“So we are now, I will probably be able to, I would like to be able to announce the appointment of the DepEd Secretary by the end of the week. We cannot leave it open. We cannot just leave it like that nakatiwangwang lang na walang secretary,” said Marcos.
The President said Duterte did not give any reasons why she resigned from her post. He said that the UniTeam remains intact.
“She didn’t give any reason. I asked her, is there any particular reason why she has chosen to resign from the Department of Education and the NTF-ELCAC. And she said, ‘Wag na lang nating pag-usapan’, so I did not force the issue,” he said.
Marcos said it will all be up to Duterte’s political plans.
“Depende lang kung ano position ni Inday Sara pagdating sa election. Siya ba ay nasa administrasyon o siya ba ay nasa oposisyon? That will be the only major determinant. But as the parties involved, pareho pa rin ang UniTeam, hindi pa nagbago (It depends on Inday Sara’s position when the election comes. Is she in the administration or is she in the opposition? That will be the only major determinant. But as the parties involved, the UniTeam is still the same, it hasn’t changed,” he said.
