Vice President Sara Duterte (Noel Pabalate/ MANILA BULLETIN)

The next Department of Education (DepEd) secretary must be a true-blue teacher with a knack for solving problems. 

Thus, said Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua in a statement Thursday, June 20, less than 24 hours after Vice President Sara Duterte tendered her resignation as DepEd chief. 

"I humbly suggest to the 'search committees' in Malacañang looking for a new DepEd Secretary that they choose a real educator with a track record of success as a public school classroom teacher in basic education," Chua said. 

"The bottom line is we hope the next DepEd Secretary is a real, outstanding classroom teacher who is a problem solver and manager with multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary experience," he said. 

Before this, Chua underscored the need to "undo the damage" that Vice President Duterte allegedly caused during her time at the helm of DepEd. 

The lady official served as Davao City mayor before she won the vice presidential race in May 2022. Shortly after, she was designated DepEd head honcho by President Marcos. 

MUST READ: 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/6/20/time-to-undo-the-damage-vp-duterte-did-as-dep-ed-chief-chua 

Chua said the Palace could search for Duterte's successor among the public school teachers awardees of the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award, the CSC Dangal ng Bayan Award, the Ten Outstanding Filipinos Award, TOYM Award, and the Metrobank Outstanding Teacher Award. 

"I suggest these distinguished educators because they taught in DepEd public schools, rose from the ranks, and have been vetted for their competence, values, and integrity," he said. 

"Another pool from which the next DepEd secretary can be selected is the community of public school teachers who advanced to higher education through state universities and colleges," noted Chua. 

A third pool is that of former public school teachers who later became employers and entrepreneurs, the solon said. These can bring new perspectives into DepEd because of their wider range of experience and expertise not limited to public basic education, he said.