New DepEd Sec. Angara takes oath of office

Former senator Sonny Angara was sworn in by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the new secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) in a ceremony held on Friday at Malacañang.

"I have just administered the oath to our good friend here, Secretary Sonny Angara, for his new position in the Department of Education. That formalizes his taking on of the position of Secretary for DepEd," Marcos said.

Marcos, who named Angara as the new DepEd chief on July 2, said he is optimistic about what the latter can do.

"We are looking forward to many good things to come from this appointment. We have had some discussions before he took his oath to give ourselves a good idea of what we think that needs to be done," Marcos said.

"I know Sonny knows what is important and I know how that he knows how to get these things done, and so I'm very very optimistic for DepEd," he added.

Angara for his part expressed gratitude at having been appointed to the DepEd.

"I'm extremely grateful to our President for entrusting me with this important task to lead a very important department, to use the President's words," he said.

The former senator, who resigned from the Senate on Thursday, said he is looking forward to working with the President.

"Mr. President, I know how much you value education, much as every Filipino family does. I look forward to working very closely with you in the coming days and months for the needed reforms in our educational system, for the benefit of our young learners, for the benefit of future generations," Angara said.

The former lawmaker took over the Education chief post after the resignation of Vice President Sara Duterte as DepEd secretary.

Duterte and Angara met at the DepEd Complex in Pasig City on Thursday for the turnover ceremony. —KG, GMA Integrated News