Former DepEd chiefs, officials back Leni-Kiko tandem

By: Leah D. Agonoy, Marlon Ramos - 3 years ago

Ex-CJ Davide says Leni-Kiko 'best tandem'; Salceda says Robredo 'good for economy'

FILE PHOTO: Vice President Leni Robredo (left) and Senator Kiko Pangilinan.

MANILA, Philippines — More than 90 former officials of the Department of Education (DepEd), among them six former education secretaries, on Friday backed Vice President Leni Robredo’s march to Malacañang, saying the opposition presidential aspirant has “solid experience and a grounded understanding of the education sector.”

In a joint statement, the group said Robredo and her running mate, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, had presented concrete plans to address the needs of the teachers and bring “honest and effective governance” to the state’s largest bureaucracy.

“A vote for them on May 9, 2022, goes beyond electing sincere, genuine, and competent leaders. A vote for them is a vote for quality education for all Filipino learners,” the former DepEd officials said.

“We need leaders who will advocate lifelong learning for all Filipinos [and] understand the value of education in every person’s life and as the foundation of our country’s development and growth,” they said.

Among the signatories were former Education Secretaries Edilberto de Jesus, Fe Hidalgo, Mona Valisno, Jesli Lapus, Florencio Abad, and Bro. Armin Luistro.

Meanwhile, Robredo still managed to pull a respectable crowd for a rally in Pagadian City on Friday morning despite having no Zamboanga del Sur politician to back her presidential bid.

Organizers estimated the crowd at the Plaza Luz grounds between 4,000 to 5,000 people who were mobilized by volunteers and sectoral organizations.

“You surprised me,” Robredo told her supporters.

She recalled that she lost in the province in 2016. But this did not stop her office from choosing the nearby Dumalinao town for several development initiatives under its Angat Buhay program.