Marcos says Sonny Angara is new DepEd Secretary

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed Senator Sonny Angara as the new secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Angara, whose Senate tenure runs until 2025, replaced Vice President Sara Duterte, who left her Cabinet post on 19 June after resigning from DepEd.

This, after Marcos said on Saturday that he needed "more time" to decide over the weekend considering the responsibilities of the post and the "valid concerns" expressed by many stakeholders.

Finally, in a social post, Marcos announced the appointment of a new DepEd chief: “President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has announced that he is set to appoint Senator Juan Edgardo ‘Sonny’ Angara as the new secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), replacing Vice President Sara Duterte who resigned last June 19, 2024, effective July 19, 2024."

In a separate statement, Angara thanked Marcos for selecting him to oversee the Education Department. 

The Senator said he embraces the great responsibility with "humility and a profound sense of duty."

“I am committed to working with all sectors of society, including my predecessor, Vice President Sara Duterte, to ensure that every Filipino child has access to quality education," Angara said.

"I look forward to building upon her accomplishments,” Angara added.

Together with Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian, Negros Occidental 3rd District Representative Kiko Benitez, and Synergeia Foundation president Milwida Guevara, Angara was among those who endorsed by Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) to Marcos.

Starting his political career as Aurora congressman from 2004 to 2013, Angara, the son of late Senate president and professor Edgardo Angara, has also actively promoted the welfare of young Filipinos and education while serving in the House of Representatives.

He co-authored the K to 12 program in the lower chamber, also known as the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.

He started his stint as a Senator in 2013 and wrote bills related to education sector, among others. Aimed to solve education problems, he was a commissioner of the Second Congressional Commission on Education or EDCOM II.

Angara promised a thorough evaluation of the K to 12 program as EDCOM II commissioner.

Like the Vice President, Angara, a lawyer, graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Law. He also obtained his Master of Laws from Harvard School of Law in 2003.