Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III will be the Officer-in-Charge of the agency during Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte's trip to Tokyo for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's state funeral.
In a letter signed by Acting Deputy Executive Secretary for General Administration Lorajean Alamin, Densing will lead DepEd from Sep. 25 to 28.
This came as Duterte said she will be attending Abe's state funeral on Sep. 27 at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, where about 6,000 guests are expected to attend.
During the signing of the condolence book, the Vice President said she told Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa about her intent to deliver letters of condolences from her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
Duterte earlier remembered Abe, who was shot dead in July while giving a speech during a political event in Nara, central Japan, for "his love and kindness for the Filipinos and Davao City."
Abe went to former president Duterte's home in Davao City during a visit to the country in January 2017. He was the first head of state to visit the country during Duterte's administration.