Education Undersecretary Francis Varela passes away

Francis M. Varela, Department of Education undersecretary for finance and administration, has passed away.

In a statement on Saturday, the DepEd said it “deeply mourns the loss of one of its greatest officials.”

“Undersecretary Varela has been very instrumental in forging ahead education reforms particularly in ensuring that every cent in the education budget is spent judiciously,” DepEd said.

“He was a staunch advocate of anticorruption efforts in the department and played a very important role in instituting reforms to ensure that ethical standards are observed in all transactions involving the agency,” it added.

Varela, who spent five years in the DepEd, was described as “a highly principled man” who was willing to make tough decisions and had “compassion for the Filipino learner.”

“We are one with his family in this difficult time and one with the nation in mourning the loss of an extraordinary public servant,” the statement said. RC