VP Sara: No rule that DepEd chief should come from education sector 

Following her resignation as Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday hit back at groups saying that the next DepEd chief should be coming from the education sector, saying there is no requirement for such. 

Duterte told reporters in Cagayan de Oro that an Education secretary must primarily be a leader and a manager. 

“The position of the Secretary is a position of trust and confidence, unang una (first and foremost). Pangalawa, walang nakalagay na requirements para sa isang education secretary (second, there is no requirement who should be an education secretary),” she said. 

“In fact dito sa Southeast Asia kung makikita ninyo, hindi lahat ng education secretaries are from the education sector,” she added. 

(In fact here in Southeast Asia, not all the education secretaries came from the education sector.) 

The Teachers' Dignity Coalition earlier said that the next DepEd secretary must have a background in education to ensure the DepEd “is spared from political bickering and being dragged into divisive political fighting.”

The group thus urged President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to appoint a non-political figure to avoid political conflicts within the department.

Duterte, whose resignation as DepEd chief will be effective July 19, said she has no idea yet who her successor will be. 

“Wala akong [I have no] idea, but we welcome the new appointee of the President,” she said.

Although she did not give the exact reasons why she quit her post, Duterte had said her resignation was made in consideration of the department’s best interest and concern for teachers and students.

During the launch of the Kindergarten to Grade 10 (K-10) curriculum of basic education in August 2023, Duterte admitted that she had to rely on other officials' expertise as she has no background in the education sector.

She also said that she is one of the few ASEAN Education ministers who does not have these credentials.

“I do not come from the education sector, I don’t have an education background so I cannot review what they’re doing and I rely on their expertise and all the stakeholders who did the review,” Duterte said back then. 

“Ang magawa ko lang is I do very well, admittedly, is magpukpok talaga ng tao [is to push people] to do what they’re supposed to do." —LDF, GMA Integrated News