United States Vice President Kamala Harris was reportedly impressed by the work of her Filipino counterpart, Vice President Sara Duterte, as the secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), the Office of the Vice President (OVP) said.
This came after Duterte and Harris met in Malacañang on Monday, November 21. Harris is on a three-day working visit to the Philippines from November 20 to 22, 2022.
According to the OVP, Harris told Duterte that she was 'impressed by VP Sara's work or responsibilities as VP and DepEd Secretary."
In response, Duterte said she looked forward to institutionalizing the blended learning modality in the Philippines.
Duterte also mentioned the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the education of Filipino children, saying it resulted in learning losses, specifically for younger children.
She said the government was implementing the K-12 program and is working with the Technical Education And Skills Development Authority (TESDA) on skills training for senior high school students.
Meanwhile, the two leaders also discussed security, where Harris reiterated that the US is strongly committed to backing the Philippines against forces that might attack the country.
For her part, Duterte said that coming from Mindanao, one of her agendas was security and anti-terrorism.
"Security is my first love," the former Davao City mayor said.