Six former Department of Education (DepEd) secretaries and four former Commission on Education (CHED) chairs backed on Tuesday, March 22, the tandem of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Kiko Pangilinan.
Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Kiko Pangilinan (Photo from VP Leni Robredo's official Facebook page)
The signatories include former DepEd Secretaries Edilberto de Jesus, Florencio Abad, Fe Hidalgo, Jesli Lapus, Mona Valisno, Br. Armin Luistro, and former CHED Chairs Fr. Rolando V. de la Rosa, Dr. Ester Garcia, Dr. Angel Alcala, and Dr. Patricia Licuanan.
Also included in the signatories are former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Director General Edicio dela Torre as well as over 150 heads and officials of Philippine schools, colleges, and universities.
Citing the "learning crisis" in the country, the group lamented the Philippines' poor performance in the recent 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), wherein the country ranked lowest among the 79 and 58 countries, respectively.
"As Robredo has demonstrated in her tenure as Vice President and especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, her brand of leadership shines through best in times of crisis--one that can find solutions that are context-based, data-driven, and equity-oriented," the group said.
"We believe that Robredo is the 'Education President' our country needs to address the learning crisis and attain quality education for all, they added."
The signatories are also joined by more than 10,000 students, faculty, staff, and alumni from the De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines Los Banos, San Beda University, and Silliman University, among others.