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By John Victor D. Ordonez, Reporter 

THE Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday swiftly confirmed the appointment of former Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara as Education secretary, without having to answer questions. 

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte, Jr. moved to skip Mr. Angara’s opening statement to fast-track his confirmation, which senators and congressmen seconded. 

“I’m confident that we can entrust into his capable hands our biggest investment, that is the education of our youth,” Senator Rafael T. Tulfo, who heads the CA’s education committee, told the Senate floor later in the afternoon. 

At the same session, Senator Ramon R. Revilla, Jr. cited laws on education that Mr. Angara co-wrote, including one raising the allowance of public school teachers, and a 2017 law on free tuition in state universities. 

Under Republic Act 1197, which President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed into law in June, teachers will get a yearly allowance of P10,000 from P5,000.  

Lawmakers were set to sign the implementing rules and regulations of the law at the Senate late Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Angara’s office told reporters in a Viber message. 

“Sonny’s strength lies in his wisdom and understanding that his appointment to the Department of Education (DepEd) is not about what he has done but what he is expected to do,” Senator Lorna Regina B. Legarda said during her co-sponsorship speech. 

“It is about our shared responsibility in government to ensure that every Filipino child can dream ambitiously and have the tools and opportunities to pursue those dreams.” 

Mr. Marcos appointed the former senator on July 2 after Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio quit. 

 He resigned from the senate to take his oath for his new post on July 19. 

The Vice President left her post amid Filipino students faring poorly in global education assessments. 

Filipino students were still among the world’s weakest in math, reading and science, according to the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). It ranked 77th out of 81 countries and performed worse than the global average in all categories. 

Nine of10 Filipino students can’t read basic text. 

“I hope that he is able to listen to all the stakeholders, the teachers, the students, the administration, the parents and the DepEd officials,” Mr. Tulfo said. 

“With a holistic approach in addressing DepEd’s concerns, I know he will be able to come up with solutions that are practical and efficient.” 

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