The Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday, August 7 officially confirmed the ad interim appointment of former Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd). 

This came after the CA Committee on Education, chaired by Sen. Raffy Tulfo, quickly approved the motion to recommend to the plenary Angara’s appointment as DepEd chief. 

Angara replaced Vice President Sara Duterte as DepEd secretary in July after the latter announced her resignation in June. 

The new DepEd chief expressed his gratitude towards his colleagues at the signing of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act which was held also at the Senate.

As the new education secretary, Angara vowed “to take care of our teachers.”

“So some of the first things we did was the signing of the IRR for the Expanded Career Progression System of teachers; the temporary suspension of RPMS; and of course the implementation of SSL VI,” he said. 

“Pero hindi pa po tapos ang trabaho. Kailangan ko ang inyong tulong at patuloy na kooperasyon at suporta para mas mabilis natin abutin ang kinabukasan na inaasam-asam para sa ating bansa (Our job doesn’t end here. I need your help and continued cooperation and support so that we can more quickly reach the future we hope for our country),” he stressed. 

Tulfo, who endorsed Angara’s nomination, hailed Angara’s confirmation as he vouched for the latter’s knowledge, experience and passion for education.

According to Tulfo, Angara’s legislative work on education “would show how in-touch he is with our students and educators alike.”

“Sec. Sonny’s experience as the Senate’s chairman of the committee on finance, has trained his eye in keeping watch over the country’s budget,” he said.

“And with the DepEd being allocated the highest budget of P924.7-billion, it is crucial that we place someone in the DepEd who knows about public spending,” Tulfo stressed. 

Sen. Loren Legarda also vouched for Angara to work hard in his new stint. 

“We need a leader with academic excellence to helm the DepEd. With Secretary Angara’s leadership, we can anticipate much-needed reforms in our education sector. His wisdom and competence make him more than ready to face the challenges of this new role,” he stressed. 

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, for his part, defended the CA’s swift confirmation of Angara’s appointment. 

“Para sa akin, dapat at tama naman iyon, bilang courtesy sa kanya (For me, that is only proper and right, as courtesy for him as a former member of Congress),” Escudero stressed. 

Also on Wednesday, the CA confirmed the ad interim appointment of seven ambassadors and eight mid-level career officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). 

Ambassadors whose appointments were confirmed by the CA include 

1. Antonio Alberto Morales, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Commonwealth of Australia, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Nauru, Tuvalu and the Republic of Vanuatu;
2. Domingo Pradiez Nolasco, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Finland;
3. Noel Eugene Eusebio Mejica Servigon, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Romania;
4. Raymond Reyes Balatbat, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Yemen;
5. Nina Padilla Cainglet, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the People's Republic of Bangladesh, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives; 
6. Adrian Bernie Cabardo Candolada, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Colombia, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Ecuador and the Bolivian Republic of Venezuela; and
7. Giovanni Endencia Palec, as non-resident ambassador to North Macedonia, in addition to being ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Hellenic Republic, with concurrent jurisdiction over The Republic of Cyprus. 

The mid-level foreign officers include Jabbar Marasigan Adiong, Jed Martin Asuncion Llona, Edwin Gil Quijano Mendoza, Jeffrey Peñamante Salik, Zoilo Atencio Velasco, Juan Carlos Cayosa Borromeo, Dyan Kristine B. Miranda-Pastrana, and Ella Karina Rivera Mitra.