VP Duterte assumes presidency of Southeast Asian education organization

Vice President Sara Duterte — File hoto / SENATE PRIB

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte is now the council president of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO).

Duterte assumed the post on Wednesday during the opening ceremony of the SEAMEO Council Conference, where the Philippines took over the organization’s leadership from Singapore.

In her speech at the ceremony, Duterte pointed out that “learning poverty” worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused disruptions in school.

She called member countries to “act now as we cannot afford to waste more time.”

“As education leaders, we cannot allow ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) children to miss out on the beauty and benefits of learning,” Duterte said.

“We have a responsibility to them. The decisions we make today will help determine the quality of life in our countries, and in the entire ASEAN region,” she added.

The Department of Education (DepEd) said the SEAMEO Council is the organization’s highest policy-making body, composed of 11 member countries.

The Philippines is hosting the SEAMEO council conference in Manila from Wednesday, Feb. 8, until Friday, Feb. 10.

The member countries are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

According to DepEd, the council’s presidency is assumed by the member countries on a rotation basis in alphabetical order, unless a country requests to be skipped in the rotation.

The Philippines is expected to lead the council from 2023 to 2025.

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