Sara accepts DepEd offer; explains why she’s not heading DND

Presumptive vice president, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte has accepted the offer of presumptive president Bongbong Marcos to take over the helm of the Department of Education (DepEd) in the latter's incoming administration.

“I wish to express my gratitude to presumptive President Bongbong Marcos for the confidence in me to lead the Department of Education,” Duterte said in a statement on Thursday morning, May 12.

That Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) chairperson Duterte would be appointed as education secretary was first revealed by Marcos himself Wednesday night during the delivery of his live statement to journalists.

The lady mayor was Marcos's running mate in the just-concluded May 9 elections. The two comprise the so-called UniTeam.

Duterte said before the election campaign, she and Marcos talked about the possibility of her leading the Department of National Defense (DND).

“But seeing the way things are at the moment, I expect that people who want to see the new administration fail will fabricate intrigues about my loyalty and the DND position to break the UniTeam,” she said.

On Wednesday, she and Marcos “once again talked about how I could help the country."

“It was decided that I would work on producing skilled learners with the mindset to realize their full potential as individuals. Our country needs a future generation of patriotic Filipinos that advocate peace and discipline in their respective communities,” Duterte, a mother of three, noted.

She thanked DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones and the entire DepEd organization “for their readiness to work with our team for the transition of leadership after the proclamation."

“We recognize the sincerity, hard work, and dedication of Sec. Liling in implementing education reforms under the Duterte administration,” Duterte said.