A non-teaching employees group expressed appreciation for outgoing Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara, who submitted a courtesy resignation following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive, while a business group urged his reappointment.

Lawyer Domingo Alidon, president of the Department of Education National Employees Union (DepEd NEU), praised Angara’s efforts to improve the department and the welfare of rank-and-file employees.

“We, the Department of Education National Employees Union (DepEd NEU), express our deep appreciation for the service of Secretary Edgardo ‘Sonny’ Angara, particularly in his efforts to improve the department, including the welfare of rank-and-file employees,” Alidon said in a statement.

Alidon highlighted Angara’s commitment to fostering positive labor-management relations and cited the historic distribution of 10,000 Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) incentives to employees as a significant achievement.

“This landmark achievement is a testament to his dedication to improving the lives of educators and personnel,” Alidon said.

He cited Angara’s progress in improving employee benefits and working conditions, and expressed hope that his work would continue.

“It is our earnest desire that the momentum generated by Secretary Angara’s leadership will be sustained and further enhanced in the years to come,” Alidon said.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) reaffirmed its support for the current leadership of the education agencies, urging Marcos to reappoint Angara, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) director General Kiko Benitez and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairperson Popoy de Vera.

PBEd stressed the strong coordination between DepEd and TESDA under Angara and Benitez, which they deemed essential for addressing challenges in learning recovery, skills development, and workforce alignment.

“This shared commitment to transforming the Philippine education system is essential to addressing the pressing challenges in learning recovery, skills development, and workforce alignment,” PBEd said in a statement.

As De Vera’s term concludes next year, PBEd also urged the president to appoint a CHED chairperson who will continue aligning higher education with labor market needs.

“We believe that coherent and connected leadership across DepEd, TESDA, and CHED is crucial to unlocking the country’s full demographic and economic potential,” PBEd said.