Sonny Angara named as new DepEd secretary
Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara will officially take over as the new secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) following Vice President Sara Duterte’s resignation.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has officially announced that he has appointed Angara during the 17th Cabinet Meeting in Malacanang.
“Sonny has agreed to take on the brief of the Department of Education,” Marcos Jr. said on July 2.
Angara will take over the seat from VP Duterte starting July 19.
In his statement on Tuesday, July 2, Angara expressed his gratitude to the president for appointing him as the DepEd chief.
“This significant responsibility is one I accept with humility and a profound sense of duty,” he said.
“I am committed to working with all sectors of society, including my predecessor, Vice President Sara Duterte, to ensure that every Filipino child has access to quality education. I look forward to building upon her accomplishments,” he added.
Angara has been a part of the Senate since 2013 and has worked in the education and finance sectors. Some of his work includes pushing for the passage of the Free College Law, which helps in providing free tuition to all state universities and colleges (SUCs) and select local universities and colleges (LUC), Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act and the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 (K-12), Anti-Bullying law, and the Student Fare Discount, which covers all public transportation, according to his profile.
Marcos Jr. was supposed to announce the new DepEd chief before June ends, but he said on Saturday, June 29, that he needed “more time” to choose, saying “the work of the DepEd chief is very complicated.”
Some of his colleagues in the senate, including Sherwin Gatchalian, JV Ejercito, and senate leader Chiz Escudero vouched for his qualification for the post.
“He is on his last term, so this would be a good transition for him. He, as an active member of the Education Commission, knows the solutions to the problems of the education sector,” Gatchalian said in a dwIZ interview.
Escudero, meanwhile, said that he has "full confidence" in his strong leadership qualities.
"Secretary Angara's task ahead is indeed gargantuan, but I have full confidence in his ability to lead the DepEd with excellence and integrity. His proven track record in legislative work, particularly in education reform, uniquely positions him to address the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. His background in both Philippine and international education systems equips him with the necessary perspective and expertise to elevate our educational standards," he wrote in a statement.
As per the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) press statement, Angara is also backed by key educational organizations, including Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) and the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU).
Angara has a Master of Laws from Harvard University, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines, and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics. He also worked as a newspaper columnist and a professor of Law, as per his website.