by Billie Mercado

As the now presumptive president and vice president of the Philippines, Bongbong Marcos, and Sara Duterte-Carpio have remained steadfast at the top of their respective polls. 

Robin Padilla, Loren Legarda, and Raffy Tulfo have also consistently stayed as the three frontrunners of the senatorial race, while the Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support Partylist (ACT-CIS) continues to lead the party-list elections.

Sara Duterte’s plans as DepEd secretary

In the May 14 episode of “24 Oras Weekend”, it was reported that Duterte-Carpio stated that changing the martial law historical record would not be her priority as Education Secretary, and that “it would be difficult to change history”. 

She also said that while she will still push to make military service mandatory for all 18-year-old Filipinos, she will not impose the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program on students.

Further, Duterte-Carpio responded to the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT)’s claims that she “has no track record” of properly solving the various problems in the Philippine education system. 

The presumptive vice president said that despite not being an expert in the education field, she still has the executive experience that qualifies her to fulfill the role.

As for concerns regarding the K-12 program and increasing the salary of teachers, she advised the public to wait for her official proclamation as vice president, after which, she and presumptive president Bongbong Marcos would discuss with current Education Secretary Leonor Briones the best courses of action.

Through discussions with Secretary Briones, Duterte-Carpio aims for a seamless transition from the current Duterte administration to the soon-to-be Marcos administration.