PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is now busy looking for a replacement for Vice President Sara Duterte as Department of Education Secretary.
Marcos said Duterte’s successor may be known by the end of the week.
Her resignation takes effect July 19.
“I would like to be able to announce the appointment of a new DepEd Secretary by the end of the week,” Marcos told reporters.
It is an important position that cannot be left vacant for long, he said.
“We cannot just leave it like that na nakatiwangwang, na walang Secretary. Kaya minamadali ko lahat, sinasabi ko, bigyan niyo ako ng maraming pangalan (We cannot just leave it empty like that, without a Secretary. This is why I am speeding things up, telling them to give me names),” he said.
He has also asked officials to tell him what kind of leader the DepEd needs, whether an educator, an administrator, or an accountant.
“That’s what we’re trying to determine right now,” he added.
Marcos said the administration has to move forward.
“We have to carry on, and the Department of Education is quite possibly, arguably, the most important department because education is that important. No matter the change of leadership within the department, we still have to carry on,” he said.
Duterte announced her resignation from the DepEd and from the government’s anti-insurgency task force last week.
She said it was not due to “weakness,” but due to her concern for Filipino teachers and students.
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