PHOTO FROM AFP/INQUIRER FILES
As President Marcos prepares to name a new education chief, the influential Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) short-listed four nominees for Marcos’ education portfolio: two lawmakers, a sitting Cabinet member and a highly regarded former government official.
In a letter on June 24 addressed to the President, PBEd president Chito Salazar listed Sen. Sonny Angara, Negros Occidental Rep. Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian and economist and public finance expert Milwida “Nene” Guevara of Synergeia Foundation to become the next secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).
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According to Salazar, these “exceptional” leaders are well “immersed in the education sector.”
In recommending these personalities to take the helm, Salazar stressed that the “choice of an experienced, qualified, competent and dependable secretary must be prioritized over political considerations.”
“To effectively lead the country out of the learning crisis, the new education secretary must be a competent manager with a good track record … and an advocate of transparency, participatory governance, and data-driven decision making,” Salazar said.
“The prompt appointment and seamless transition of the education secretary is crucial in addressing the education crisis,” Salazar told the President. “Our challenges in education and human capital development and the continued learning struggles of our children and youth demand both urgency and competence.”
First on PBEd’s list was Angara, whom PBEd lauded for filing a Senate joint resolution pushing for the establishment of the Second Congressional Commission on Education 2 (Edcom 2).
PBEd said Gatchalian, whose experience at DSWD and as former Valenzuela City mayor “provides a distinct approach to address the learning crisis through community development and local empowerment.”
Benitez, former president of the Philippine Women’s University, was also one of the Edcom commissioners and a co-chair of the early childhood care and development and basic education standing committee.
PBEd said Guevara’s experience as a longtime finance undersecretary in the 1990s provided a unique perspective on education reform.
“Guevara’s expertise in public finance, basic education delivery, and governance make her well-equipped for the demands of the position,” the group said.
Marcos on Thursday acknowledged the urgency of needing to appoint a new education chief and called on the education sector to pitch candidates for the plum post.
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