The Philippines’ basic education programs were at the core of Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte’s meeting with United States (US) Ambassador MaryKay Loss Carlson and European Union (EU) Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Véron on Wednesday, Sept. 21.
Carlson and Véron paid courtesy calls separately on the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in Mandaluyong City as Duterte stands as officer-in-charge while President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is in the US for an official trip.
In a Facebook post, the official shared what she and the US envoy discussed.
“Sa pagbisita ni (During the visit of) US Ambassador Her Excellency MaryKay Loss Carlson sa (at the) Office of the Vice President ngayong hapon, napag-usapan namin ang mga programa ng ating tanggapan at ng (this afternoon, we talked about the programs of our office and of the) Department of Education (DepEd),” she wrote.
She and Carlson talked about the programs launched by the OVP, such as the opening of satellite offices in different provinces to make the office more accessible and the Libreng Sakay program that benefits commuters in Metro Manila during peak hours.
Carlson, in a tweet, also spoke about her meeting with Duterte.
“Great to meet Vice President @indaysara today to discuss bilateral priorities and the achievements of our many U.S.-Philippine educational partnerships. #FriendsPartnersAllies @DepEd_PH,” she posted.
READ: VP Duterte hosts envoys in courtesy call
Duterte also took time to give the US envoy a glimpse of the next programs of the OVP.
“Bilang (As) Secretary of Education, binanggit ko din ang (I also mentioned the) Basic Education Development Plan (BEDP) 2030 na naglalaman ng ating mga plano sa pagpapaunlad sa mga kabataang mag-aaral at sa estado ng edukasyon sa bansa (that include our plans to improve the students and the state of education in our country),” she said.
The BEDP 2030 was launched during the time of former education chief Leonor Briones “to address the current challenges faced by the basic education sector through its four pillars, namely access, equity, quality, and resiliency and wellbeing.”
It is fully aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, with Phase 1 focusing on the immediate impacts of COVID-19 on learning an Phase 2 focusing on sustaining the gains and evaluating programs.
In the same post, Duterte shared this is what she was focused on upon meeting Véron because Finland, which is part of EU, is the leading country in Basic Education.
“Isa sa karanasan ng (The experiences of) Finland sa lagi naming pinag-uusapan sa (is one of the things we talk about in the) Department of Education,” she said.
“Nagpahayag naman ng kahandaan ang EU Ambassador na tulungan ng Pilipinas upang mas mapalakas pa ang sektor ng edukasyon dito sa bansa (The EU ambassador expressed readiness to help the Philippines to strengthen the education sector here),” the Vice President added.