Marcos appoints key officials to DepEd leadership

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed several key figures, including Ronald Mendoza, a former dean of the Ateneo School of Government, and Georgina Yang, former spokesperson for Vice President Leni Robredo, to leadership roles at the Department of Education (DepEd), Malacañang announced on Thursday, October 3.

Mendoza has been named Undersecretary for Policy and Planning at DepEd. With over 25 years of experience in development policy and public administration, he previously served as Associate Professor of Economics at the Asian Institute of Management and as a senior economist at the United Nations in New York. Mendoza was also appointed to the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) from 2021 to 2025.

Georgina Yang, former executive director of the Galing Pook Foundation and spokesperson for Vice President Robredo, has been appointed Assistant Secretary under the DepEd Office of the Secretary. She also managed the flagship anti-poverty program at the Office of the Vice President from 2016 to 2018 and held roles at the Department of Social Welfare and Development prior to her tenure at the OVP.

In another notable appointment, Marcos selected Ani Rosa Almario, co-founder and director of Raya School, as Assistant Secretary for Curriculum and Teaching. Almario’s progressive school is known for holding "martial law" simulations aimed at educating students about the human rights abuses during the dictatorship of Marcos Sr. Almario is also the daughter of national artist for literature Virgilio Almario.

Other DepEd appointees include:

• Marcelino Veloso, Assistant Secretary
• Filemon Javier, Undersecretary
• Nilo Rosas, Assistant Secretary
• Kevin Carl Santos, Director IV

These appointments signal the administration’s efforts to strengthen DepEd’s leadership amid ongoing educational reforms.