President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has received the polite resignations of five senior Department of Education (DepEd) personnel, enabling the next leadership to freely choose its own team.
Undersecretary Michael Wesley Poa, a longtime department spokesman and chief of staff, Undersecretary for Administration Nolasco Mempin, Assistant Secretary for the Office of the Secretary Sunshine Fajarda, Assistant Secretary for Procurement Reynold Munsayac, and Assistant Secretary for Administration Noel Baluyan are the officials resigning.
The resignations were revealed by the new Education Secretary, Juan Edgardo Angara, to media on Tuesday at the Pasig City office of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
According to Poa, their resignations would go into effect on July 19, 2024, which is also the day vice president Sara Duterte will step down as education secretary.
Reporters were informed by Poa that “it is only appropriate to give Secretary Angara, the incoming secretary of education, the freedom to choose his team.”
Poa continued by saying he will wait for any additional directives from the vice president about his next course of action.
Angara acknowledged her admiration for the authorities’ choices to resign.
“On Friday, we are excited to begin taking on our new duties. Angara stated, “We want to move forward quickly, therefore we will immediately announce any new appointments.
In a statement, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers expressed their view that Angara should use the resignations as a chance to assemble a committed team to tackle pressing problems in the education system.
“We urge the incoming Secretary of Education, Sen[ator] Angara, to learn from the mistakes of the past administration and refrain from appointing individuals who lack a strong educational background and commitment, like retired military generals,” the group said.
Duterte and Angara will officially take over at the DepEd Central Office in Pasig City on Thursday, July 18.
