Negrense lawmaker declares support for new DepEd secretary

Rep. Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (left) and Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara. PHOTOS FROM FACEBOOK/SENATE PRIB

BACOLOD CITY — Rep. Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez of Negros Occidental’s third district has expressed his support for Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, who has been appointed Secretary of the Department of Education.

Although Benitez was considered a candidate for the position, he said he would support whoever President Marcos Jr. chooses for this important role.

READ: Angara gets DepEd post; choice widely welcomed

“We welcome the appointment of Senator Sonny Angara as secretary of education. We need someone who intimately knows the ins and outs of our education system, and understands it from a finance and management perspective. In this regard, Senator Angara is the right man for the job,” Benitez said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We wish Secretary-Designate Angara success. We express our full support to his leadership. We look forward to continuing working closely with him and education stakeholders to fix our education system and adapt it to changing times,” he added.

Grateful

Benitez was grateful to government officials in Negros Occidental, his colleagues in the House of Representatives, as well as friends and partners in the education sector who endorsed him for the position.

Various individuals and groups have endorsed Benitez for education secretary, citing his experience and competence in the field.

Those who backed him included the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities, Philippine Business for Education, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Representatives Emilio Yulo III, Mercedes Alvarez and Greg Gasataya, and University of Saint La Salle president Kenneth Martinez.

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Benitez, the co-chairperson of the Second Congressional Commission on Education, is the former president of the Philippine Women’s University (PWU).

He was an assistant professor at the University of Washington-Seattle and has taught various courses at Cornell University in New York, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Asia and the Pacific, and PWU.

Benitez obtained his master’s and doctorate degrees in comparative literature (with a minor in Southeast Asian Studies) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Bachelor of Arts in comparative literature (summa cum laude) and English (cum laude) from Cornell University.