The new head of the Department of Education (DepEd) will be announced "by the end of the week", President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Thursday.

This was confirmed by Marcos during the media interview at the 2024 National Employment Summit in Manila.

"No matter the change of leadership within the department, we still have to carry on... I would like to be able to announce the appointment of the new DepEd Secretary by the end of the week," he said.

"We have to carry on and the Department of Education is quite possibly, arguably the most important department because education is that important," he added.

Marcos said when Vice President Sara Duterte submitted her resignation last June 19, she "didn't give any reasons" of her resignation.

"I asked her if there are any particular reasons why she has chosen to resign from the Department of Education and from the NTF-ELCAC. And she said, huwag na lang natin natin pag-usapan (let's not talk about it). So, I did not force the issue," he said.

In a press conference last Wednesday, Duterte did not say the reason for her resignation as secretary of the Department of Education and the vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ElCAC) but she announced that it will be effective on July 19. Robina Asido/DMS