MANILA, Philippines – Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte assumed the council presidency of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), as the Philippines took over the leadership of the organization from Singapore.

SEAMEO Council is the highest policy-making body of the organization, which is composed of 11 member countries. According to the Department of Education (DepEd), the presidency of the council is assumed by the member countries on a rotation basis in alphabetical order, unless a country requests to be skipped in the rotation.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story said the SEAMEO council conference in Manila was in September. This has been corrected.

The Philippines is hosting the SEAMEO council conference in Manila from Wednesday, February 8, until Friday, February 10. The member countries are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

Addressing the council on Wednesday in EDSA Shangrila Hotel in Mandaluyong, Duterte urged ASEAN education leaders to “act now.”

“As education leaders, we cannot allow ASEAN children to miss out the beauty and benefits of learning,” the Vice President said.

Duterte told education leaders that the “decisions we make today will help the determine the quality of life in our countries, and the entire ASEAN region.”

On January 30, Duterte delivered her Basic Education Report, as she laid out the education woes and the learning reforms during her term. This, as the Congress was also deliberating on bills that would make the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) mandatory – a proposal which the Vice President has been pushing since the elections.

“The Philippines’ last leadership of the SEAMEO Council was conducted under the term of former DepEd Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro in 2010. This year, the Philippines’ SEAMEO council Presidency term comes after its chairmanship of the ASEAN Education sector for the years 2020-2021. Under the leadership of Hon. Sara Z. Duterte, the Department of Education is expected to lead the council for the years 2023-2025,” the DepEd said. – Rappler.com