Vice President Sara Duterte is now a new member of the socio-civic group Fraternal Order of Eagles, which she said has brought about “social change to communities.” Duterte, who took an oath as a Davao Prime Builders Tagatugon Lady Eagle’s Club member, acknowledged the fraternity’s “philanthropic works” and how it helped the government. “Your acts of kindness have grown into a powerful force for good — spawning optimism and inspiring community members to be productive and better citizens, especially our children and the youth,” she said at the event in Davao City on Friday, Feb. 24. In her message to Eagles Club members, Duterte noted the organization has continually upheld “the principle of strong sense of family and community through service” from its conception as fraternity. For one, she cited the Eagles’ assistance to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in responding to the needs of the people especially during calamities. According to Duterte, the fraternity’s involvement in various social causes is “a testament and a demonstration to dedication to social change.” “It’s admirable how you so willingly pooled your resources to respond to certain issues and basic problems besetting underprivileged Filipinos like hunger and child malnutrition, poverty alleviation, homelessness, disaster preparedness and resiliency, and even peace and order,” she said. The Vice President, who is also the Education Secretary, said the education sector welcomed partnerships with other organizations that are willing to contribute to the development of learners, such as feeding programs, among others. “If you are thinking about how to help in some more, the Department of Education is looking for partners sa atoang [for its] school-based feeding program because the budget that we have right now [that has been] approved is for just 120 days,” Duterte said. She added the DepEd needs to implement the program for 220 days, or for the entire school year.